Targeting Older Workers

Experienced, older employees are an asset to any business, whether the company employs them on a full-time or part-time basis. More and more experienced workers reaching the age of retirement, or those over 65 years old, are interested in continuing to work because they need to earn extra income to supplement their retirement investments, pay for necessary healthcare or just want to stay active in the workplace.

Often times, older workers are overlooked when considering candidates for an open position. However, hiring an experienced worker could prove to be a wise investment for any company. Older workers bring a wealth of knowledge, require very little training, have a very good work ethic, are reliable and can be flexible in their work schedule. These attributes are important to any company in order to maintain a healthy balance of staff to support and grow their business.

How to Conduct Effective Recruitment Advertising to Older Workers

Older workers are overcoming the myth of a “digital divide” and are becoming more Internet savvy than ever. Seniors spend a significant amount time on the Internet searching for information or communicating with friends and family. Located below are some helpful tips on how employers can successfully target an older audience online to fill employment opportunities:

Advertise Jobs with Senior Associations and Senior-Related Career Sites
Because information is the key driver, employers should look to associations that cater to delivering information to the senior community, such as the AARP. These resources attract seniors by offering a variety of information such as available discounts, information on funding your retirement, guides to purchasing prescription drugs and available pension and social security benefits, among others. At Beyond.com, we recognize the value of senior workers and have created an entire Senior Network to cater to this important demographic. We also manage other senior-related sites such as: www.RetiredBrains.com and www.workingsenior.com
Advertise Yourself as an Equal Opportunity Employer
Be sure to emphasize that your company is an equal opportunity employer on your corporate website, as well as within the job posting itself. Also, it helps to add language such as “this company values workers of all ages” and to display pictures of workers of all ages on your corporate website.
Create a Senior Friendly Job Posting
Organizations wanting to target recruiting toward older workers should develop messages that speak to this segment of the population. Employers can use a skills-based approach to recruiting that creates a level playing field for older workers. List the kind of projects for which the employee will be responsible, the skills needed, and, most importantly, the training that will be provided. Ensure that older workers receive the same access to employer-provided training as their younger colleagues.
Consider Changes to Employer-Provided Retirement Benefits
To attract older workers, you may want to consider changes to your retirement benefits. Employers should tailor retirement programs to people's needs and desires within a reasonable cost structure that will build loyalty and increase productivity. Offer “cafeteria” style benefit packages to facilitate the hiring of older workers in flexible work arrangements.

Incentives Keep Experienced Workers Motivated

Employers should strive to keep older workers interested in continuing employment with their company well after they reach retirement age, as well as continue to attract older workers who may be looking for employment after retirement. Here are a few guidelines on what incentives older workers are interest in:

Offer flexible hours. Provide employees with the option to work from home or provide remote access to their desktop. Providing flexibility often times leads to increased productivity.
Allow older workers to work part-time. Retired individuals are perfect candidates for temporary assignments or consultants to the business. Employers can also consider utilizing a job sharing programs to offer even more flexibility to the workers.
Money is not necessarily the most important factor for seniors. Older workers enjoy recognition and support for their efforts. If an experienced employee is doing a good job, it is important the employer to say so and also offer rewards beyond compensation, such as increased vacation time or awards and acknowledgements.
Be sure to ask for their input and use it. Their experience can be of great value and will we viewed by the employee as extremely humbling and rewarding. Older workers provide a wealthy of knowledge and experience that can be leveraged throughout the company.
Set up training programs for hiring managers. It is important for hiring managers to understand the appropriate way to recruit older workers. Offering training programs will help prevent managers from subjecting the company to age discrimination.
Have younger or new employees involved in shadowing programs. Many older workers have knowledge and expertise that would be very valuable for other employees to experience first hand. Setting up a shadowing program would allow the senior employee to become a mentor to others and be viewed as and expert in their area of expertise.

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