One way of addressing the challenges of an ageing workforce is via internal mobility policies, such as the training and reskilling of new and existing workers, opportunities for people to explore new roles, and flexible working including the chance to reduce someone’s working hours or working days.
These policies have known benefits in terms of retention, career development, reductions in the time taken to hire new workers and increased engagement within the workforce.
To delve into this subject area further, we conducted two surveys to inform our whitepaper, one of 500 senior HR managers from organisations with 1000 employees or more, and a separate survey of 1000 employees over 40 years of age.
Results from these surveys revealed almost one-in-five employees surveyed have experienced age discrimination, and three-quarters of hiring managers did not understand what the term ‘internal mobility’ meant when applied to the ageing workforce.
Other key stats include:
Less than half of employees surveyed said their companies offer opportunities for learning and development, for them to reduce their hours, or for older workers to change their levels of responsibility
62% of employees and 45% of hiring managers said experience was the biggest benefit offered by older workers
A third of employees said their company sees the biggest issue with older workers as being inflexibility or an unwillingness to adapt
Less than half of hiring managers said their company had a specific policy for older workers
A third of hiring managers said their business offers employees a mid-life MOT
On the back of our research, we also held a webinar with industry experts to discuss ‘Internal mobility and the ageing workforce’.
Our experts consisted of:
Tim Whitaker, Trustee, Wise Age
Gemma Carter-Morris, Director of Wellbeing and Clint Relationships, Next Steps Consulting
Martin Mason, CEO and Founder, Unleashed
Lee Gudgeon, Managing Director, Reed Talent Solutions
Based on the results of our surveys and commentary from the industry experts above, our whitepaper examines:
What constitutes the ageing workforce
The benefits of implementing an internal mobility strategy
Perceptions of and discrimination against the ageing workforce
How would older workers like to be treated – and the reality
How internal mobility can shape an ageing workforce
To learn more about the challenges – and opportunities – facing companies around older workers, download our whitepaper on ‘Internal mobility and the ageing workforce’ now.
