HRM Report: Employing Older Workers in Contemporary Organisations

This report delves into the strategic importance of employing older workers in contemporary organizations, emphasizing human resource management as a key approach to achieving competitive advantages. It explores effective strategies such as training and development, flexible work arrangements, and phased retirement plans to retain older employees and maximize their contributions. The report identifies three key challenges: technology adaptation, adaptability to change, and management intimidation. It analyzes the implications of these challenges, suggesting that older workers may struggle with technological advancements, resist changes, and face intimidation due to generational gaps. Recommendations include tailored training programs, two-way monitoring schemes, and improved communication to bridge gaps and foster understanding. The conclusion emphasizes that older workers can face many issues and problems within the organization.

Employing older workers in
contemporary organisations

Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
Good practice/strategies for employing older workers...............................................................1
Three key challenges, using wider reading, in employing older workers and discuss the
implications of these challenges..................................................................................................3
Recommendations as to how these challenges can be addressed and overcome........................4
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................5
REFERENECS................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
Human resource management considered as an effective strategic approach that used by
manager for managing people at working area as it help company in attaining a competitive
advantage. Mainly, it is designed with the aim of maximising employee performance by
providing them proper direction and guidance so that they can easily attain all the strategic
objectives in an appropriate way (Moisander, Groß and Eräranta, 2018). Along with this, it is
also used to employing older workers that assist in reducing employee turn over and at the same
time also improve the overall performance. Thus, it is important for manager of business
organisation to focus on managing employees working activities that help them in developing
their positive performance at working area. With the help of this business organisation can easily
enhance their productivity level by sustaining their workers within the company for longer
period of time. Report is going to focus on determining good practices or strategies for
employing older workers. Along with this, key challenges in retaining older workers is also
mentioned in this reports. At last, appropriate recommendations is also discussed that help
organisation in overcoming from all the challenges arise in employing older workers at working
area.
MAIN BODY
Good practice/strategies for employing older workers
Employees are the important asset for business because it provide assistance in attaining
growth. This is the reason that, managing workers at working area is important because it help in
providing them proper direction. With the assistance of this, employees perform well and attain
their set goals and objectives in stipulated time frame. Along with this, every business
organisation focus on retaining their older workers along with critical skills and knowledge that
make them able to perform their task activities in an effective manner (Alcover and Topa, 2018).
By retaining older workers at working area, company can easily maximise their profitability and
at the same time also improve their overall performance. For attaining the same, manager of
business organisation is responsible for retaining employees by providing them proper guidance
and support. It may effective in developing performance of older employees. In relation to this,
there are some effective practices or strategies that used by company with the aim of employing
older workers are as follows:
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Proper training and development activities: It is an effective practice or strategy that
can be used by company to retain their older employees as it may assist in improving the
possibilities of attaining all the predetermined goals and objectives. In this, manager of company
provide increased training and educational opportunities to older workers is effective in which
employees get engaged with the company and its activities as well (Bratton and Gold, 2017).
Invest on training and development activities for older employees is beneficial for company to
bring value to the organisation. With the assistance of this, workers also improve their
performance and ability to perform well at working area. One of the main advantage of
organising training and educational activities, employees can develop their abilities to execute
complex task and activities along with higher efficiency.
Offer flexible work arrangements: In order to sustain older workers at working area,
providing flexible and comfort environment is one of the important practice in which employee
feel free and comfortable in executing their task activities. By providing flexibility at working
area is effective for older workers because it keeps them engaged with the organisation. This is
an appropriate practice because sometime older adults are not being able to work in traditional
full time schedules. In this, organisation provide flexibility that may includes part time
employment to the older people. One of the main benefit of this practice is that it can help in
enabling employees to extend their careers within the same business organisation. This will
contributes in reducing the employee turnover and at the same time also improve its performance
at competitive market place.
Phased Retirement plans: This type of practice is also effective as it also assist in
retaining older employees within the business. By this company can easily attain success by
accomplishing their determined goals and objectives. Skilled and experienced workers are
always valuable for company because they put their best efforts for accomplishing their targets
with more efficiency. For attaining the same, organisation develop or phased retirement plans for
older workers because many employees would like to continue working in past traditional
retirement ages. In addition to this, workers in DB (Defined benefits) plan have strong economic
incentives to retire from their current employer. With the use of phased retirement arrangements
is not increase older workers total labour hours but it will assist people to extent their working
lives. It may encourage people to move from full time to part time work (Jones and et. Al.,
2017). Along with this, it is also help workers to satisfy their preferences better at working area.
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All these practices are effective for retaining older workers within the business
organisation and at the same time also motivate employees to improve their efficiency level at
working area (Lim and et. Al., 2019). With the help of retaining employees, company can easily
reduce their employee turnover and at the same time also enhance their productivity. In relation
to this, there are some example that support to these practices are as follows:
As per Lilian Faithfull homes, flexible working and retention is an effective approach in
which company does not have a formal flexible working policy but they are respond naturally
towards the changing needs of their staff members as they get older within the company. BY
providing flexibility at working area, company can easily retain their older workers for longer
period of time. This will provide various benefits like it includes a stable workforce because
various older employees have been in part more than 10 years that assist in reducing the overall
cost of recruitment. Along with this, it also assist in providing high quality of customers care
from the older and experienced workers as they have ability to manage their customers.
According to the Partnership in care, is a medium employer that provide training to their
older employees as company provide better training to their workers in improving their
competencies and abilities to give their efforts for accomplishment of all the set goals and
objectives in an effective way. With the assistance of this, older employees are willing to
continue developing their skills and knowledge by attending further training. By this employees
play a better roles to attain their set objectives in an allotted period of time.
Three key challenges, using wider reading, in employing older workers and discuss the
implications of these challenges
In business organisation, retaining as well as employing older employees is not an easy
task because it may increase the possibilities of arising issues among workers at working area.
Most of business are believes that older employees are overpaid and also can be replaced with
younger worker. Organisation think that, younger people are smarter than older people as they
also have ability to give their best efforts for accomplishing this targets in stipulated time frame.
Most of the companies are talking about Millennials and Generations Z, determine ways through
which they can attract them. But nobody thinks about hiring old workers and concerning about
the workers who are already associated with the organization (Rego and et. Al., 2017). Based on
the assumption companies have developed, some of the challenges they can face in the process
of business and performing their activities. As a result, very little attention is given to this section
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of the business. Therefore, to understand this better, some of the implications which the company
can face because of employing old worker are given below:
Technology: Old-aged workers are considered to be outdated because, with the change in
the business scenario, the majority of the jobs required people who are good with technology.
Thus, evolution in technology is sometimes deliberately, and some unexpectedly affecting the
old aged people. For example, as the person grows old, he/she go through physical, cognitive,
and perceptual changes. Therefore, the ability of the working memory can get reduced, and the
process of information may differ as it used to be earlier. Henceforth, considering the betterment
of the workforce, such negative changes can put an adverse impact on the working, and the
company can reduce its strength as a productive team.
Adaptability: In some instances, workers who are older especially those who have held a
position in a company become more responsible and they become more secure about the work
they do. Sometimes being overly confident about knowing everything related to the job make
them rigid, and they disagree to adopt the new change in the working environment (Tempest and
Coupland, 2017). Aged workers can resist accepting new ways of doing any particular kind of
job. As a result, it creates a lot of chaos in the working environment because of which growth
gets hamper. Rather, aged people should encourage new talents to try to work differently for
accomplishing their goals and objectives.
Management Intimidation: Old aged workers are vulnerable to bullying, and the main
reason behind this is the generation gap. Despite having so much knowledge about the respected
field od aged workers are not given the amount of admiration they want. This is the biggest
challenge that a company needs to address because an experienced person can lead the company
towards the height, and due to some management intimidation, all the efforts can go to waste.
Hence, the company might not achieve what it is supposed to achieve in the speculated period.
Recommendations as to how these challenges can be addressed and overcome
Millennials and old aged workers both the generations have a different perspective for
looking into a matter. Management should throw out all the assumptions about old aged people
and their working styles. Some say that old aged workers are difficult to train but a company
should get rid of this stereotype. Moreover, unlike young employees’ company should provide
training to old aged people as well. However, there should be a range of ages. The company
cannot compare the manager aged 45 to a young 21-year-old employee. Thus, the company
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should categorize employees into groups. The company should first provide basic information
about the latest tools and technologies and then must carry forward the training process. This will
help the old aged people with an opportunity of understanding things more clearly and
appropriately.
Incompetent in handling the new technologies and changes in the working environment can
challenge the ability of a person in adapting to new things. In terms of digital skills, some may
struggle to get over it and learn complex technologies. In order to manage this, the company
should adopt a two-way monitoring scheme as it will help in bridging the gap which old aged
employees may have. This kind of training will help the old aged people in eliminating their
flaws and will provide with an opportunity for doing things correctly. Assuming things related to
what a person is expecting is that one entity that can lead the business towards downfall
direction. As all the individual doesn’t have the same background for a respected topic, rather
there can be a possibility that needs a clear explanation. Here, communication plays an important
role, being a great communicator, an individual can directly convey what he/she is supposed to
convey. As a result, it develops better understanding between individuals which can further
reduce the chance of mis happenings such as bullying, harassment, etc.,
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it has been concluded that old aged workers, while working within
the organization can face many issues and problems and this develops a fear towards the hiring
process of the old people in the company. Some problems might need to look after but with an
effective strategy, these can be overcome. The reason being, old aged workers are highly
experienced, and working with them can enhance the knowledge and skills of new recruitments.
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REFERENECS
Books and journals
Tempest, S. and Coupland, C., 2017. Lost in time and space: Temporal and spatial challenges
facing older workers in a global economy from a career capital perspective. The International
Journal of Human Resource Management, 28(15), pp.2159-2183.
Rego, A. and et. Al., 2017. Developing and validating an instrument for measuring managers’
attitudes toward older workers. The International Journal of Human Resource
Management, 28(13), pp.1866-1899.
Lim, D.H. and et. Al., 2019. Mediating role of career coaching on job-search behavior of older
generations. The International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 88(1), pp.82-104.
Jones, K.P. and et. Al., 2017. Isms and schisms: A meta‐analysis of the prejudice‐discrimination
relationship across racism, sexism, and ageism. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 38(7),
pp.1076-1110.
Bratton, J. and Gold, J., 2017. Human resource management: theory and practice. Palgrave.
Turek, K. and Henkens, K., 2020. How skill requirements affect the likelihood of recruitment of
older workers in Poland: The indirect role of age stereotypes. Work, Employment and
Society, 34(4), pp.550-570.
Alcover, C.M. and Topa, G., 2018. Work characteristics, motivational orientations,
psychological work ability and job mobility intentions of older workers. PLoS One, 13(4),
p.e0195973.
Moisander, J., Groß, C. and Eräranta, K., 2018. Mechanisms of biopower and neoliberal
governmentality in precarious work: Mobilizing the dependent self-employed as independent
business owners. Human Relations, 71(3), pp.375-398.
Watson, T., 2017. Sociology, work and organisation. Taylor & Francis.
Bowman, D. and et. Al., 2017. ‘Rusty, invisible and threatening’: ageing, capital and
employability. Work, employment and society, 31(3), pp.465-482.
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