People Dynamics Newsletter - People Matters
Issue 13, December 2005 / January 2006 | Back to Newsletters Index
Our very best wishes to you and your team for the festive season. We hope your Christmas and New Year will be happy and safe, and your stocking full of good things.
Our December / January issue looks at the ageing Australian Workforce. Skills shortages caused by this will present a bigger challenge to small and medium businesses than managing ‘Gen Y’ does currently.
New Year, New Look
Our next issue will be February 2006 – look out for a revamped layout, but the same one page format.
Christmas Closure
The People Dynamics office will be closed from 4pm Friday 23 December and will reopen on Monday 9 January 2006.
The phone will be checked for messages over this time.
Do you have a question you would like answered? Let us know - your suggestions for topics are welcome.
If someone else in your business would be interested in People Matters let us know and we will forward a copy to them.
Ageing Workforce
I heard a disturbing statistic the other day - within 12 years Victoria will have more jobs than people to fill them. Many areas such as manufacturing and accounting are already experiencing difficulty getting the appropriate people.
October focussed on ‘Generation Y’, here we look at the other end of the spectrum and how businesses can overcome challenges an ageing workforce will bring. <
Over many years we have been conditioned to believe that people will start to retire from age 55, and that most jobs will be filled by younger people. This is no longer true – many people can not afford (or want) to retire at 55, certainly not ‘full time’ retirement.
Businesses that can utilise the skills and experience of older workers now will be better positioned to attract and retain them. Some changes may be needed though:
Roles – review existing roles to see if they can be modified to part-time or job share.
Recruiting – review CVs on the basis of skills - overlooking workers based on their age is discriminatory. Mature workers can also bring experience and knowledge.
Retention – treat all employees as the assets they are. This may require a more conscious effort, however it will be worth it as mature workers are more likely to stay with you.
Governments have also put in place various initiatives and recognition programmes to support workplaces. For example the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency (EOWA) recently introduced an award recognising businesses whose practices encourage recruitment and retention of mature aged women.