Retaining and Maximizing the Use of the Mature Workforce

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Retaining and Maximizing the Use of the Mature
Workforce

• Joint Conference
• of the National Council on the Aging
• and the American Society on Aging
• Presented By
• Jenny Erwin, Regional Administrator
• U.S. Department of Labor
• Womens Bureau, Region 9
• Wednesday, March 12, 2003

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Older Americans Emerging Demographic Trends
With Implications

• Demographic data
• Workforce Implications
• Womens Bureau Initiatives
• Employer Perspectives

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Demographics and a Shrinking Labor Pool

• By 2010 workers between ages 35 and 44 will
  shrink by 10.2
• By 2007 the growth of labor force will be under
  1 (down from 1.7 in the 80s
  and 1.3 in the 90s)
• Former rapid entry of young women into the work
  force has flattened
• For the first time in history, the number of
  younger workers entering labor market will not
  replace those leaving. (Due to declining
  fertility rates.)
• For the first time in history, new entrants to
  the labor pool will not have more education than
  those leaving

Source Bureau of Labor Statistics, General
Accounting Office (GAO)
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Older Workers Will Be Needed to Fill the Gap

• Highest growth rate in the U.S. workforce will be
  between ages 55-64
• By 2006 workers between ages 45-54 will grow more
  than 50
• By 2008, 1 in 6 workers will be over 55
• In 2000, 13 of the workforce was 55 by 2015
  20 of the workforce will be 55
• By 2019, 29 of the U.S. population will be 55

Sources Bureau of Labor Statistics, General
Accounting Office (GAO)
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Why Older Women?

• Availability increasing
• Employed in all occupations
• Valuable source of labor talent
• Mirror changing face of the customer

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Older womens labor force participation is
increasing nationwide
Womens labor force participation rates, ages 55
and above 1980, 1990, 2000 and projected 2010.
Source Monthly Labor Review, 11/2001
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Older women work in a variety of occupations,
but primarily in services.
Occupational distribution of women workers over
age 55.
Source Bureau of Labor Statistics
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They Mirror the Changing Face of the Customer

• The Customer Base is Aging Along With the Labor
  Force
• Older Women Workers are an Asset to Help
  Businesses Reach Aging Customers
• With the Aging of America, the Buying Power is
  Shifting to Older Customers
• Woman Often Live Longer Than Men so Often have
  the Buying Power

Source Packed Facts on the Senior Market
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They Are a Valuable Source of Labor Talent

• Human Resource Managers Report the Following
  Attributes
• Loyalty and dedication to the company
• Commitment to doing quality work
• Someone you can count on in a crisis
• Solid performance record
• Basic skills in reading, writing, and math
• Solid experience in job or industry
• Get along well with co-workers

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Role of Womens Bureau

• Raise the issue
• Research
• Local Programs
• Convene groups
• Catalyst for change

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Womens Bureau efforts across the U.S.

• Region 3 Philadelphia, partnership with HUD's
  Neighborhood Network Centers, One Stop Centers,
  and other city, state and federal agencies has
  created the "The Money Smart Plus" program.
• Region 8 Denver, working to streamline services
  and resources for seniors with local agencies.
• Region 9 San Francisco, held an employer
  listening session in Los Angeles about challenges
  that impede hiring and retaining older women
  workers, and generated discussion on how these
  issues can be overcome.
• Region 10 Seattle, "Hire Experience Age 50" job
  fair.

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LA Employers told us

• Myths false assumptions need to be addressed
• One false assumption is that older workers do not
  provide longevity on the job. The facts show
  otherwise. One participating company, DaVita,
  tracks 2/3rds lower turnover in older employees
  vs. the 68 turnover they face in younger
  employees.
• The assumption that customers want to deal with a
  younger person will soon be challenged by the
  reality that customers increasingly share the
  face of the older worker. As the population
  ages, it will be a strong advantage to have older
  employees to relate to older customers. This is
  already the case.

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• The cross-cultural, or cross-age work
  interaction needs to be addressed, especially
  in younger managers to ensure they are not
  operating with stereotypes. Solutions include
  training, mentoring, educating younger
  supervising and hiring managers.
• Overcome the stereotype that older women workers
  are not competitive or the best. Distribute
  the facts that show older workers offer
  experience, consistency, and greater pay-back due
  to better longevity.
• Older workers may need special pre-interview or
  pre-hiring training, re resume writing,
  interviewing and how to present themselves.
• The stereotype that older women workers cant
  deal with pressure needs to be overcome by
  recognizing that ability to cope with stress is
  related more to personality than to age. Also
  experience helps to deal with pressure and
  stress.

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• Fresh ideas do not only reside in younger
  employees. They come from older employees but
  they need to be asked for ideas since they may be
  less vocal in sharing them.
• Flexible work options provide important solutions
  to attract older women workers. Companies should
  address their policies. Companies need to
  reassure themselves that equitable treatment of
  employees does not mean treating them exactly the
  same. Different employees want equity, but not
  exactly the same work situation. For example,
  many employees do not want part time work, even
  if it is offered.
• The perception that older workers are more
  expensive must be overcome. One fact to help,
  is that health and benefits average out to be the
  same, and the only group with higher benefit
  costs are those with families.
• Some older workers do need training in computer
  areas. There are resources and organizations
  that can provide this at no or little cost to an
  employer.

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Employers Commitment

• CATEGORY 1 Review and modify company job
  posting,
• interviewing, and hiring practices to assess
  how they
• support/prevent hiring older women.
• Assess all pre-screening tools that may unfairly
  bias against older women workers, including
  testing with assumed knowledge of tools such as
  MS word, MS excel, typing, etc. Evaluate
  training possibilities in these areas, rather
  than automatically eliminating applicant.
• Review all job posting practices, interviewing,
  training, and hiring procedures. Modify to
  include postings at appropriate Placement
  Agencies, to ensure prescreening tools dont
  eliminate older women without factoring in other
  capabilities and alternative prescreening tools.
  Overall, ensure company processes support hiring
  older women workers.

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• CATEGORY 2 Review the impact of contract
  employee regulations, health insurance, social
  security and DCAP guidelines and work to modify
  or adapt processes.
• Check with agencies we currently use to hire
  contract workers to determine if there are
  restraints to hiring older women workers in
  contracts. If so, identify and modify where
  possible. Any legal restraints will be passed on
  to FamilyCare Inc. and Dept of Labor, Womens
  Bureau.
• Review company policy on flexible spending
  accounts, and add eldercare as an option for the
  pretax spending account.

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• CATEGORY 3 Provide information and
  communicate
• internally and externally to educate and
  raise awareness
• among staff and other companies about issues
  and
• opportunities pertaining to hiring older
  women workers.
• Talk with hiring managers when a job opening
  exists so they will check to see if there is an
  older woman worker available, internally or
  through external resources.
• Speak with CEO and other top management about
  this critical issue to develop buy-in and support
  from top levels of management.
• At regular meetings with other companies and
  organizations, raise awareness about the benefits
  and barriers related to hiring older women
  workers, and provide the Older Worker-Friendly
  assessment tool for company self-assessment.
• Discuss the older women worker issue at Corporate
  Advisory Meeting.

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• CATEGORY 4 Partner with resources on how to
  locate, interview, hire and train older women.
• Identify and use recruitment channels or
  organizations specific to older women to
  locate applicants for positions.
• Also use these recruitment organizations to refer
  potentially hirable older women applicants who
  need some assistance in resume writing,
  interviewing skills, etc. to help them proceed
  successfully through the hiring process.
• Present workshops on resume writing and
  interviewing specifically geared to older workers
  so that job seekers using our placement agency
  (Work Source) will be prepared.
• Communicate more widely to Chambers of Commerce
  about the issues and that placement agencies and
  organizations are available to companies seeking
  to hire older workers.
• Review what agencies our company uses to hire
  contract employees and begin to use agencies
  familiar with the issues and supportive of
  referring older women workers.

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• CATEGORY 5 Identify and request training,
  workshops,
• tools, guidelines and informational material
  from
• appropriate resources on how to avoid barriers
  and
• stereotypes in interviewing, hiring and
  training older
• women.
• Provide training to supervising managers on how
  to hire, and to effectively supervise older
  women.
• Provide materials and workshops/training on
  cross-generational interaction and communication.
• Use and distribute internally and externally the
  increasing wealth of tools and tips on the topic
  of hiring older women workers.

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• CATEGORY 6 Review and modify employment
• policies and practices such as flex-work
  options,
• scheduling flexibility, part-time schedules,
  seasonal hiring cycles, etc., to ensure they
  benefit from and allow for older women worker
  needs.
• Address company practices to allow for scheduling
  flexibility.

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Steps You Can Take

• Take the Wisconsin Department of Workforce
  Developments Older Worker Friendly Employer
  Assessment Tool to determine how attractive your
  business is to older workers (www.dwd.state.wi.us.
  )
• Look at the demographics of your employees and at
  any practices that might unintentionally
  discriminate against older women at your place of
  business.
• Complete Womens Bureau Older Worker Action Plan

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Employers win with strategies to recruit and
retain older workers

• Create non-traditional recruiting strategies
• Create flexibility in scheduling (i.e.,
  telecommuting, job sharing) and options in
  benefits (i.e., phased retirement).
• Promote opportunities for older workers to update
  their skills.
• Combat negative stereotypes in the workplace.

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Ability is Ageless
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Web Resources

• AARP www.aarp.org 800-424-3410
• Administration on Aging www.aoa.dhhs.gov800-677-
  1116
• American Society on Aging www.asaging.org
  800-537-9728
• FirstGov for Seniors www.seniors.gov
• Experience Works www.experienceworks.org
  800-901-7965
• Institute for Womens Policy Research
  www.iwpr.org 202-785-5100
• The National Council on the Aging www.ncoa.org
  202-479-1200
• The National Center on Women Aging
  www.heller.brandeis.edu/national/ind.html
• 800-929-1995
• Older Womens League www.owl-national.org
  800-825-3695
• Senior Community Employment Program
  wdsc.dol.eta.gov/seniors
• Senior Job Bank www.seniorjobbank.com
• Women Work! www.womenwork.org 800-235-2732
• Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW)
  www.wowonline.org 202-638-3143

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