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Maintain the skill base
Organisations must ensure that their skill needs are met as precisely as
possible. This goal can be achieved by hiring new employees.
However, another approach is to invest in the skills and qualifications of
existing older employees.
Making a virtue of necessity
Age management may be driven by the need to involve older workers in
organisational restructuring or development.
This need may stem from the absence of younger workers with the
necessary skills or because it is mandated by collective agreements.
Reducing age related labour costs
In many cases, age management is implemented in order to cut additional
expenditure and/or labour costs that are the result of a workforce's high
average age or its unbalanced age profile. Such additional costs may take
the form of higher sickness or injury rates, for example.
One response to such a situation may be to lay off, or prematurely retire,
older workers. However, targeted measures to promote the health, skills or
motivation of older employees may ultimately be more economical.
Resolve labour bottlenecks
Good age management practice can make an effective contribution to
resolving bottlenecks in the regional or local labour markets for qualified
personnel. Companies that have recruited older personnel often report
that such applicants soon prove their worth.
Where projections indicate that demographic change will lead to a shortage
of labour or skills in the future, organisations should proactively invest in the
employability of their older staff: if the need arises, they will then be able to
satisfy their own employment needs.
So get on to it.. Don't delay... innovate and implement age management into
your workplace and consider this.. meeting the human capital demands of
your service today will positively impact your workforce options tomorrow.
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