AUSTRALIAN companies that fail to address ageing workforce issues could see an increase in lawsuits from older workers and jobseekers who have nothing to lose, according to an international expert on mature age workers
AUSTRALIAN companies that fail to address ageing workforce issues could see an increase in lawsuits from older workers and jobseekers who have nothing to lose, according to an international expert on mature age workers.
“One of the biggest challenges we face in tackling age discrimination is getting people to take it seriously. Ageism is not given the profile of sexism or racism –and is seen as acceptable,” said Sam Mercer, director of the UK-based Employers Forum on Age.
There has been a 40 per cent increase in age discrimination claims in the US (which now outstrip sex discrimination claims) while the UK Government anticipates eight times as many claims on age compared to sexual orientation/religion, she said.
The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission said that while the Age Discrimination Act 2004 is still in its early days, almost all the complaints received so far relate to employment, with the majority about being “too old”.
Mercer predicted Australian employers could expect to see an increase in such trends in the face of angry, articulate claimants with “nothing to lose”–sometimes known as the “pale, stale male”.
Speaking at a recent marcus evans conference on the ageing workforce, Mercer said UK employers were scared about age discrimination laws and the associated cost and time required in defending spurious claims.
Common stereotypes about older workers, according to Mercer, are that they experience difficulty in coping with change, they’re coasting to retirement, they provide little return on investment, they lack energy and creativity or that they’re out of date/technophobic.
She also warned that businesses which fail to introduce age neutral employment policies will increasingly suffer skills shortages, and in some circumstances this could cripple organisations.
Also speaking at the conference was David Deans, chief executive of National Seniors, who said that companies that fail to assess such risks and act accordingly may seriously compromise their ability to maintain a competitive business.
“It will be harder for you to attract quality staff, to fill vacancies, to move forward with expansion,” he said.
“The impacts of the ageing workforce are already being felt in many industries. Any organisation that plans to be around for a while must be looking at longer-term business goals and building or changing culture and people strategies now.”
Deans said that much will depend on the culture of workplaces and how clearly the HR team can represent the risk, opportunities and ideas to leaders.
“Unless the senior team are on board and understand the implications, changing policy and embedding some new thinking will be tough to trickle down into the business,” he said.
“You will need to have done your research and be able to paint a clear picture of how your workforce –and as a result, your business productivity, profitability, viability – is being and will be impacted by the trend.”
He also said HR professionals should get their story straight on strategy and policy, proposals, costings, and an implementation plan, and recommended they talk to senior managers whose areas might be more vulnerable than others to the ageing workforce issue. “Get them up to speed and onside before you go to the CEO,” he said.
Mercer said the most effective way to get buy-in from managers throughout the business is to make action on diversity part of an individual manager’s KPIs. “Work on the assumption that if it doesn’t get measured, it won’t happen,” she said.
HR professionals also need to understand the age profile of their organisations and assess the implications for their business, Mercer said. “For example, does their profile reflect their customer base? Are they likely to lose significant numbers of people as soon as they retire?”
HR professionals then need to build the business case specific to their organisation, and warned against using generic business cases, she said.
If HR professionals could demonstrate that an age diversity strategy will address a business problem, such as retention or recruitment, Mercer said this should help in securing adequate resources to tackle the issue.
“We then encourage HR to audit employment policies to identify and address any existing age bias and to look at ways to integrate an age diversity strategy into everything they do – it shouldn’t stand alone as an ‘equality’ initiative.”
Deans also said that budgets, expenditure and the bottom line usually represent ‘crunch time’ in relation to implementing new approaches and policy.
“Undoubtedly, your business will need to spend money on skills training or updating for mature workers, as for all staff, and have long-term plans for programs like phased retirement and the like – all of which affect your HR budget,” he said.
“If you have made a strong case in the first place for the recommended strategies, then adequate funding will hopefully be forthcoming. Spend it wisely on the elements that will have the most impact.”
