Age is an asset: How older workers’ skills solve talent shortages

by Robert S. Teachout, Brightmine Legal Editor

In a recent Manpower Global Talent Shortage Survey, 71 percent of US employers surveyed reported having difficulty filling job vacancies. At the same time that 35 percent of employees report they plan to leave their current job within six months. The combination of these two facts highlights the difficult situation employers find themselves in as they try to find skilled workers to fill upcoming vacancies. But a solution may already be at hand – hiring older workers.

Older worker stereotypes

It may seem obvious that hiring older employees would resolve the issues of lack of experience and skills, but employers have been slow to embrace that option. This may be because some employers hold stereotypes that make them hesitant to consider hiring senior workers at or nearing the typical retirement age of 65.

For example, employers may express concerns that older employees will:  

• Be resistant to or unable to learn new technologies;
• Cost more due to higher absenteeism and health care costs; or
• Be less productive and have a shorter tenure.

Sometimes employers may also assume that an older worker will have difficulty working with younger supervisors and coworkers, will be reluctant to travel or will enter the company already burned out and not really wanting to work

Studies have shown none of these stereotypes are true, according to Peter Cappelli, co-author of Managing the Older Worker: How to Prepare for the New Organizational Order and a director of Wharton’s Center for Human Resources. In an interview with Harvard Business Review, Cappelli noted that when it comes to performance, seniors outperform younger employees in almost every aspect of job performance. They have less absenteeism, are more conscientious and have developed better soft skills. They also have experience in implementing and adapting to changes due to new technologies and can even provide insights and advice on how to manage change effectively.

As for costs, any higher pay for older employees is primarily a result of and offset by their higher productivity. And while older workers do use more health care individually, they often do not need more expensive family coverage for children. 

Furthermore, Capelli notes that older employees tend to be in the workforce because they want to be. They want to keep working first and foremost because it keeps them engaged with other people and makes them feel as though they’re contributing. Older employees know what they are getting into and what the job requires and are not usually looking to compete with younger employees for promotions.

Basing hiring decisions on stereotypes and assumptions about older workers can result in an employer being liable for age discrimination and prevent an employer from gaining the benefits these experienced workers bring.

The benefits of hiring older workers

For employers who want people to come in and hit the ground running, older employees can do exactly that. They have already trained and done a job before and know the system. In addition, they bring competencies and attributes that employers need: 

As employers continue to face a talent shortage, they should explore the talent pools that are often overlooked – including older workers. Hiring older employees is one of the smartest and most beneficial business moves an employer can make. Any employer looking to develop a skilled, disciplined and motivated team should not shut their eyes to the value older workers bring.