business today Monday 16 February 201535

Older workers offer employers experience, commitment, skills and long-term value

Melody Tanbiz@mediacorp.com.sg

Singapore The ageing population here may be a cause for worry, but it also has a silver lining.

With an increasing life expectan-cy and lower birth rate, the share of workers aged 55 and above is esti-mated to rise from the current 21 per cent to one third of the local workforce in 2030. The upside? According to a survey, which was a joint collabora-tion between the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, com-panies stand to gain a variety of ben-efits from their older employees.

age: More Than a nuMber

The survey, The Value of Mature Workers to Organisations in Sin-gapore, showed that older workers were perceived to have higher loyalty and commitment, as well as a strong-er work ethic that manifests itself in lower turnover and work absences.

Older employees also had bet-ter mentoring, leading and coaching abilities, good transferable skills and better problem-solving capabilities. Employers observed that this led to a stronger ability to manage crises and think strategically.

Older workers often come with pro-fessional networks they have cultivat-ed over the years, long-term customer relationships and in many cases, com-prehensive institutional knowledge that adds greatly to their mentoring and training of younger colleagues.

a MulTi-generaTional and diverSe Workforce

In a globalised marketplace, diversi-ty is no longer a pro; it is a necessity. A multi-generational workforce can be tapped on to meet the demands of customers who may hail from an older generation, more traditional environ-ments or an entirely different culture. Older workers, with their greater ex-perience, are more likely to possess the requisite skills or knowledge to manage customers needs.

Within the workforce itself, older employees can take on training and mentorship roles, offering useful ad-vice to younger workers and collabo-rating with them to solve challenges. A fresh graduate and a seasoned vet-eran can combine their different per-spectives to offer innovative solutions.

To create a successful, thriving multi-generational workforce, em-ployers should make an effort to widen their recruitment reach by using more

traditional means like job fairs, refer-rals and career centres, instead of re-lying solely on online advertisements.

Once older workers are brought on board, they benefit from a supportive work culture, which may include ini-tiatives such as a buddy system where colleagues help each other settle into their jobs. Having an older interview-er as a generational peer will show older workers that they are welcomed and valued.

Older job-seekers can aid the re-cruitment process by being open to new job scopes, positions or pay. Keep-ing fit and upgrading ones skills by taking courses are also beneficial.

redeSign JobS, MaxiMiSe benefiTS

By redesigning jobs to ensure older employees are able to contribute at the same rate, companies gain more than just a loyal and experienced worker.

Besides the increase in employee motivation and satisfaction, the com-pany may also benefit from higher em-ployee performance and productivity, especially if technology is used to free workers from repetitive functions so they can focus on higher-level tasks.

The challenge of redesigning jobs spurs creativity within the company

Mature employees turn to shineCelebrating eMployers who value older workers

and the solutions can be adopted as best practices, which spread across in-dustries and lead the company to be perceived as a thought leader.

There is support for companies that wish to redesign jobs in order to retain employees nearing retirement age. Under the WorkPro scheme developed by the Ministry of Manpow-er and the Singapore Workforce De-velopment Agency they can apply for the Job Redesign Grant, which of-fers funding of up to S$300,000. This will assist in meeting the cost of re-designing a workplace to ensure suc-cessful recruitment and retention of older workers.

flexi Work arrangeMenTS offer a leg up

The shrinking labour market makes every worker valuable, particularly older workers who are often highly experienced and who possess sharp-ly honed skill-sets. Companies can ac-cess more of these workers by offering flexible work arrangements.

Doing so results in a higher quality of life and greater employee satisfac-tion, as well as cost savings for com-panies that see reduced rates of ab-senteeism, late-coming and sick leave.

Flexible work arrangements can

be time or place-related. Employees may have a part-time schedule of fewer than 35 hours a week, or share a job that normally requires a full-time employee. They may be allowed to start or end later, or compress the full number of working hours into a shorter work-week, such as working 40 hours in four days. They may also be allowed to telecommute from home or a branch office, or simply work on the go without a fixed desk set-up.

Under the WorkPro scheme, there is a Work-life Grant of up to S$160,000 per company that assists employers in implementing and maintaining work-life strategies, especially flexi-work arrangements.

re-eMployMenT MeanS reTireMenT can WaiT

The Retirement and Re-employment Act requires employers to offer re-em-ployment to eligible workers who turn 62, up to the age of 65. Many employ-ers choose to go beyond that, re-em-ploying valued workers who are older than 65 years.

They do so because older employ-ees often possess a high level of ex-pertise and job experience, and are fa-miliar with the company culture and work processes. Besides sharing this knowledge, older workers can impart their positive values and dedication to quality to younger counterparts.

The WorkPro scheme helps em-ployers who want to re-employ val-ued older workers by offering the Age Management Grant, which goes up to S$20,000 per company. The grant can be used to learn about age manage-ment practices in order to manage and maintain an inclusive, multi-gen-erational workforce.

Besides that, there is an On-the-Job Training Allowance that partially defrays salary costs of training newly hired back-to-work locals and newly hired workers aged 40 and above. The allowance provides up to S$2,000 per new hire being trained in a new job scope, and is capped at S$1,000 per month, for two months.

Finally, there is the Special Em-ployment Credit, which offers sup-port by paying up to 8 per cent of an employees monthly wages. The em-ployee should be above the age of 50, and earning up to S$4,000 a month.

With all these incentives, employ-ers will find that being more inclusive of senior generations can have an ef-fect that reverberates across the en-tire workforce. Costs are lowered, pro-ductivity is improved and innovation driven to new heights all thanks to older workers.

a collaboration between Today and the Tripartite committee on the employabil-ity of older Workers, this story was first published on nov 26, 2014. This is the final story of a 5-part series.

What benefits do mature and younger workers bring to your organisation? (% of respondents)

0 20 40 60Percentage

Mature

Younger

Previous experience of working in recession

Higher loyalty and commitment

Stronger work ethic

Reduced turnover and associated costs

Reduced absence

Better mentoring, leading and coachingBetter knowledge of

your business and ways of doing things

Better problem-solving abilities

Good transferable skills

Fewer mistakes

Better understanding of customers

Stronger skills base

Good organisational ambassadors

More efficient and well organised

Better communication skills

Good salespeople

Reduced salary costs

Greater flexibility

Greater experience

96

84

87

79

86

76

69

65

75

68

65

74

66

63

57

56

41

36

31

4

4

6

18

17

15

20

21

34

30

24

38

34

44

42

52

57

80 100

58

69

Source: The Value of Mature Workers to Organisations in Singapore, May 2013, a joint publication by Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development