Good practices
Age management programme
The majority of staff working at a painting company are over 55 years of age. With high sickness-absence and staff taking early retirement, the company was facing labour shortages. The company realised that they needed to implement an programme to support its older workers.
The programme introduced individual career planning and performance reviews with its over-55s to identify their needs. It paired younger and older workers in knowledge transfer schemes to increase the overall skill level at work. Management were trained in
Age management refers to the various dimensions by which human resources are managed within organisations with an explicit focus on ageing and, also, more generally, to the overall management of the workforce ageing via public policy or collective bargaining. (Source)
Essential principles of age management include:
- An emphasis on prevention rather than reactive problem solving;
- A focus on the whole working life and all age groups, not just older workers; and
- A holistic approach encompassing all dimensions that contributes to effective age management.
The programme worked because it looked at older workers’ issues from a variety of angles – their training needs, the risks they were exposed to, the support they needed. It also, more importantly, demonstrated the value of older workers by emphasising their experience. As a result of the programme, the company reported a 50% decrease in long-term sick leave, and older workers were able to continue working for longer, leading to a gradual increase in retirement age.