Don't Let Older Workers Walk Out the Door
Tue, December 27, 2011 at 12:00 
It pays for leaders to tailor their treatment of more mature employees in a way that differs from that of other workers in the organization.
This is not because older workers are somehow less capable of performing at work and need mollycoddling — in fact, it’s quite the opposite. Older workers are a valuable resource, thanks to their wisdom, experience and knowledge of skills — in particular, engineering, science and math — that are dying out. Experienced professionals who were brought up with these skills and who already know how the company works best are therefore a precious commodity and ought to be treated as such.
As older employees near the end of their careers, they’ll be increasingly thinking about their flight path into semi- or full retirement. They’ll be making plans about how they’re going to make that transition from working full-time to part-time or stopping work altogether.
Leaders must be sensitive to the desires and needs of these workers, or else they might walk into the office one morning and hand in their notice without any warning.
A mature worker leaving an organization is not that much of a shock, but the timing can be. If there was no prior indication that an individual was thinking of leaving, leaders may suddenly find themselves in a race against time to replace the skilled worker — a difficult trick to pull off. Even if a suitable replacement is recruited, it will still take time for them to get up to speed; in addition, they won’t have the years of knowledge and understanding of the business that the departed, mature employee did. And this is the best-case scenario.
It could be worse if someone who’s wrong for the position is brought in and decides to quit, leaving the leader to restart the whole costly and time-consuming process of recruitment.
So, how can leaders treat older workers in a way that will make them feel valued and wanted? How can leaders communicate their interest in and offer help to older workers even if they’re thinking about transitioning into retirement? Here are some tips to ensure that mature worker feel appreciated and are motivated to keep the lines of communication open regarding their future plans.
Have regular conversations. Leaders can initiate informal meetings with each older employee and make it a regular event to show the individual they’re interested in communicating with them and hearing their ideas.
Be open to their ideas. It’s one thing to hear a person’s thoughts; it’s another to listen and be receptive. Leaders must keep an open mind when workers talk about their ideas for the company or their future. They may, for example, suggest that they gradually shift into retirement by initially cutting down their hours at work. This could prove beneficial not only for the individual but also for the team, as it’ll allow the leader to put the employee to work solely in their areas of strength and to slowly introduce new blood, instead of throwing a fresh recruit into the deep end of full-time work.
Show that experience is valued. To keep a skilled older worker in a team for as long as possible, leaders must show them they’re wanted and useful. For instance, they can involve older workers in the coaching or mentoring of employees with less experience or skills. Not only will this make the older individual feel appreciated, but the person being mentored will learn a lot and feed it back into the company.
About the author:
Simon North is co-founder of Position Ignition Ltd., a UK-based talent management and late career planning company aimed at helping organizations manage their most senior workers more effectively and providing career consulting for individuals.
