Our start up centre partners, New Millennia Group Limited, share their thoughts on the advantages of hiring mature workers.
Recruiting new, young talent is on any growing busines’s radar, but what about snapping up some over 50’s? Are you overlooking this workforce asset? The average employee is working much later in life, often into their ‘retirement years’. Baby boomers, an ageing workforce, mature workers, however you refer to them, as recruiters, this should be a demographic of worker that you’re aware of and one that you and your clients can benefit from.
“There are 10,050,000 over 50s in employment – the equivalent of the population of Sweden.” – Centre for aging better
You might be surprised at the number of workers in today’s UK workforce that are over the age of 50; this currently lies at 31%, almost a third. So, is this significant force of mature workers being overlooked and underestimated and are recruiters missing out on a secret superpower?
Why you should be hiring mature workers:
Experience, Foresight & Perspective
The point that would spring to mind for most on this topic is the level of experience that the mature worker might bring to the company. With a potential of 30+ years experience in the industry just ready to be tapped into, an older worker may well have invaluable expertise to share. Startups especially may find this experience useful; perspective can be applied and offered with a wealth of knowledge. Having been witness to similar decisions and situations throughout their work life already, they may provide valuable insight to aid impending decisions.
Work Ethic
For your mature candidate, approach to work is likely to differ from that of a millennial; this is not to say that one is inferior to the other, just that you should learn to tap into the benefits of the baby boomers’ approach to work as well as tappig into that of the millennial and gen z. As a generation, the baby boomers are known to be a hardworking, work-centric bunch, so generally spaking, a strong work ethic can be expected from an older recruit. If they are appointed to a managerial position, this work ethic might even be something that is filtered down through the company! The only thing that you may want to prepare for or be aware of is the difference in approach to work from generations Y and Z and ensuring that all workers can work successfully in unison.
Networks and Contacts
Those 30 years spent in your business’ industry are likely to have resulted in deeply rooted contacts and a more extensive network of companies, competitor knowledge and industry professionals. As a younger company, this could prove very useful.
Initiative
With age and experience comes the confidence to make your own decisions. With a more mature recruit, you will hire a candidate who is more than capable of thinking for themselves; you’re unlikely to be hiring just another ‘yes man’. Taking and using initiative is a desirable trait in a candidate, as is the ability and confidence to verbalise opposing opinions and viewpoints when ideas are floated and decisions are being made. You could find that this injection of initiative is enlightening for your whole team.
Loyalty
Generally speaking, over the age of 50, the working lifespan has a shorter trajectory than that of a younger recruit, this is only logical. This is not to say an older recruit is a sure bet never to leave, but they are less likely to be always on the lookout for the next bigger and better opportunity and less likely to move on quickly for bigger and better things.
Utilizing the qualities of the ageing workforce that we’re experiencing in the UK is a skill that recruiters need to develop. As the baby boomers continue to work into their retirement years, we need to be taking advantage of the skills and experience that they can bring to teams and organisations.
New Millennia Group Limited offer the only true, fully insured, non-recourse, non-retention 100% funding facility in the market today. New Millennia Group Limited’s finance facilities have been used successfully since May 2000 by recruitment businesses just like yours. New Millennia Group Limited reviews every business’ needs case by case to help them grow as much as possible.
Contact details: Paul O’Rourke, porourke@nmgroup.co.uk, 0161 337 9882
