FiftyOn

1

Its an age thing!
age diversity and work life balance
2
ahead of our time

• Went live in February 2001 and
  still alive!
• Jobs, careers and lifestyle advice
• 
  Age diverse job advertising
• Targeting 45-60 year olds
• 
  Reach 500,000 silver-surfers
• 11,900 hits per day
• E-mail database of 25,670
  members

3
clients

• Abbey
• ASDA
• BT BQ
• Carphone Warehouse
• HM Revenue Customs
• Debenhams
• Edward Jones

• London Underground
• Marriott Hotels Audit
  Commission
• National Blood
  Service
• One Account
  
• 
  Sainsburys
• Powergen Trafford MBC
• William
  Hill

4
member demographics

London 11 Home Counties (N)
12 Home Counties (S) 10 South East
7 East Midlands
10 West Midlands 9 East Anglia
7
North East 7 North West
9 South West
9 Scotland 4 Northern
Ireland 1 Wales
3 Overseas 1
5
members profile

• 62 actively seeking change of
  lifestyle
• 
  78 employed
• 34 educated to degree level
• 72 male
  
• 67 aged 50-59
  25 60-64
• 31 read
  Daily Mail
• 40 read The Sunday Times
• (Source FiftyOn Lifestyle Survey November 2005)

6
some statistics

• One in three people of working age
  over 50
• 
  are out of work
• One in five employers yet to address
• 2006 legislation
• 
  One in eight CEOs unaware
• of
  demographic issues facing their businesses
• If older people continue to leave paid work at
  current rate, falling labour
• force will reduce economic growth reducing income
  tax
• revenue by up to 20

7
some anecdotes

Employers are concerned about
payback periods for
training, but younger workers more
likely to quit
Older people are more likely to
choose training
options but not offered them Productivity of
older workers is
higher than younger workers
8
meet David

• 
  Aged 56
• Married with two children aged 21
  and 26
• 225,000 mortgage with 14
  years to run
• Daughter at
  Leeds University
• He is an experienced Marketing
  Director
• Returned from Dubai 18 months
  ago
• 
  Made redundant
• Has applied for 82 jobs all over
  country
• Interviewed 6 times and short-listed twice
• Currently a
  mini-cab driver
• Equitable Life
  pension holder

9
society shift

• Son Stephen is an
  architect earning 36,000
• He now buys Dad the drinks
• Stephen
  drives an 05 reg Mazda MX-5
• David drives an S reg Peugeot 405
• Stephen owns his own flat
• David is selling up and downsizing
• His garden looks immaculate
• He has become an expert at DIY
• Hes considering applying
  to BQ . . .
• . . . but what will his friends think?

10
the experience mountain
700,000 Davids all ambitious, well
educated, energetic
They want to and need to work probably
until 70
Their pensions are shot Too
proud to sign on skewing unemployment figures
Have given up applying for jobs
Theyre making ends meet . . . they feel
useless
11
is it really that bad?

• Online member surveys September 2002 and May 2005
• 2002 - completed by 1,711
  out of 15,000 members (11.4)
• 2005 - 1,952 members from 20,000 database (9.76)
  
• 2002 - 54 had experienced ageism at work of whom
  66 quit
• 2005 - 42 experienced ageism at work
  but only 38 resigned
• 73 had suffered ageism in recruitment (78
  within previous year)
• Down to 64 in 2005 (with 62 within
  last 12 months)

12
is it really that bad?

• Agencies including AgeThing in
  their proposals
• 
  Longer contract periods
• Labour shortfall looms
• Choices need to
  be made
• Experienced older workers
• 
  or inexperienced immigrant labour

13
improving profitability

• A store staffed with older people achieved
• 
  18 more profit,
• 39 less absenteeism and
• 59 less
  shrinkage
• than the average store.

14
more loyalty

• 
  Staff turnover
• amongst older workers
• 
  is only 1.6
• compared to 12 overall

15
lower recruitment costs

• Experienced
  staff
• bring lower attrition rates
• 
  with an ultimate saving
• of over 7m
• 
  off annual recruitment bill

16
shared learning

• 
  Older workers are valued
  
• for the experience they bring to the job
• and
  impart to junior colleagues through
• mentoring,
• coaching
  and on the job training
• 
  

17
flexible working

• 50 of store workforce is over 50
  
• 
  Benefit from levels of enthusiasm
• experience and customer service
• 
  which are more than a match
• for those half the
  age

18
enhancing corporate reputation

• By recruiting older workers
• we
  address a growing social issue
• and employ better quality candidates
• who hit the ground
  running.
  
• 
  

19
age friendly

• By
  embracing the values of age diversity
• and mixed age teams,
• we are able
  to reap the benefits
• of a balanced workforce
• 
  and respond effectively to
• 
  the exacting market opportunities
• created by an ageing population.
• 
  

20
increasing sales

• An initial pilot of Open Days held at 6
  branches
• 
  specifically aimed at the over 50s
• and staffed by people who
• mirrored the
  age groups targeted,
• 
  generated increased profits
• in excess of 130,000.
• 
  

21
brand opportunity

• Marketing, corporate social responsibility and
  human resources
• all touched by ageing population
• 
  Work together to develop brand opportunity
• Governments Age Positive campaign working slowly
• More education needed
  legislation ignored?
• 
  Buy in from top
• Seminars for line managers
• 
  

22

Its an age thing!
age diversity and work life balance