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Ageing is a fact of life, and that there are more older people than young is a concern. However, the resources are there for all businesses, if the approach the skills strategy with but Employers must decide quickly what they are going to do about filling the skills gap and how they’re going to do it; re-skill and upskill older workers and strategise and prioritise recruitment.
Article by Michael Kosmas, Author, Talent Management Specialist and Founder – NXG Enterprises
Skills shortages are impacting on the UK’s much derided levels of productivity, as well as forward business planning and staff morale. With the marketplace evolving, a completely different set of talent management challenges face HR professionals. Trends such as flexible working, virtual teams and cross-cultural collaboration are nothing new, yet when you add to this the volatility of adding a younger cohort to the resourcing and recruitment mix, the changeable fast-moving markets and the increased uncertainty generated from Britain’s looming departure from the European Union, it’s clear that identifying a talent strategy which ticks all of the boxes is far from clear. Granted, not every role will require significant investment to build a suitable and sustainable a talent pipeline, however roles that are critical for future survival and require specialist skills should naturally be a top priority. Initial observations would seem to indicate that the solution lies in a combination of both reskilling and upskilling as well as specific recruitment strategies to plug any critical skills ‘gaps’, acting as an insurance policy for your business by covering all possible workforce eventualities.
Addressing the UK’s current population demographics, in particular the Aging Population, is a clear focal point in the reskilling and upskilling debate. As life expectancy has increased in the UK to 81 years this has inevitably increased the pension age. From 2019, the State Pension age will increase for both men and women to reach 66 by October 2020. As the general workforce becomes older, there are clear concerns that many organisations are failing to adequately train and prepare their older workforce for the digital needs of the evolving business. As technology continues to transform the way many jobs are undertaken, a growing number of older employees are being left unsupported and neglected, and are more likely to feel that their employers aren’t consulting on how technology and automation could affect their job.
In a recent report entitled The Missing Link: An ageing workforce in the digital era, this issue is explored further. It calls on employers to make sure they are actively supporting their older workers and helping them to become ‘digital adopters’, through making training and skills development opportunities readily available and accessible. Mentoring, one to one training or offering IT and Digital Marketing workshop classes could help support your older employees in gaining the digital skills and confidence they need for future. Ergonomics are also an important considering, so perhaps consider following BMW’s lead with their widespread implementation of easier to read computer screens in their factory, to assist their older workers. Higher productivity, motivation and engagement levels all stem from a feeling being valued, so it is important to make sure you have training and development plans in place specifically for older employers, to ensure that they can remain a key part of the organisation well into the future.
Research conducted by Regus revealed that over 50 percent of workers now work in a location other than their main offer for 2.5 days a week or more and it is important to explore the impact of this further, as it impacts a broad demographic of employees. Whilst there is a growing acceptance that more flexible ways of working are aligned with the Millennial mindset, this requirement for virtual working, work from home days and hub-working also apply to those staff with young or new families as well as older workers who are looking to achieve a different work-life balance as they age. An ageing population also places pressures on existing middle-age workers, who may also be the sole carers for their own ageing parents, leading to the introduction of a new debate for what has been coined ‘gran-ternity leave’. What is clear is that technology will play a central role in the continued development and facilitation of flexible and virtual working practices, requiring employees of all ages to be adequately trained and supported in delivering from a variety of locations. Cloud-based document solutions, collaborative working solutions, video conferencing and even tasks such as booking annual leave, will all become remote tasks, for which everyone in the organisation will need to understand and embrace. When it comes to attracting new talent, it’s worth remembering that an organisation has already adopted a more forward-thinking approach to task and role delivery is likely to be far more attractive to the higher quality young graduates.
With 12 million graduates leaving UK Universities alone and this figure increasing annually, it would be easy to assume that the market is flooded with potential young people to fill vacancies and bring in much needed skills to an organisation. However, this assumes that the only skills required by organisations are relating to the digital landscape. The reality is that there is growing concern for the ‘soft’ skills shortages of younger employees, with 55 percent of businesses claiming graduates are not ‘work ready’ when they leave university. In a further report, over a third of businesses were not happy with their younger employees’ attitudes to work, citing issues such as lack of resilience, self-management and customer service skills. What this suggests is that organisations looking to recruit in new talent, need to ensure that they are not only screening for a broad range of additional skills and competencies, but are also putting training and development programmes in place to ensure all new talent are equipped with the basic skills they need to succeed. With the introduction of new Apprenticeship Levy, there has been a renewed focus on the both the graduate and the pre-graduate phase of recruitment, and this is an area I believe has particular importance in the debate over skills.
Addressing any skills gaps in your existing talent pool could be considered a reactive strategy and one which can be easily identified and remedied, but preparing your future talent pipeline is a little more complex. Investing in developing the skills of employees from a younger age through more structured apprenticeships, work experience and internship programmes is probably the most cost effective and efficient way to equip younger talent with the skills you need from them as future employees. We are already aware that the motivations of Millennials are different to their predecessors, with value, contribution and community impact all playing as important, if not more important roles than salary expectations. This is why it is essential for organisations to take the time to review their current recruitment criteria for roles at all levels, to understand exactly what they need from existing and new employees, what skills are reasonable to expect the candidate to posses or bring with them and what skills the business should be fostering and developing once the employee is in the organisation. All too often the responsibility is placed on employees for their apparent ‘lack’ of appropriate skills by organisations who aren’t doing enough to ensure they provide the right training and development to help harness those skills, either earlier in the recruitment process, or in the initial induction stages.
Most organisations are experiencing a period of transition and change, which can often be disruptive and create uncertainty. Many employers find there is natural resistance to change from existing employees, whilst newer and younger employees are more enthusiastic and willing to drive forward new ideas and practices. This can naturally create conflict between older and newer employees, which is why creating and communicating a clear and concise learning and development culture is essential. For change to be widely accepted, all employees must feel their views and opinions are listened to and that they understand their role and contribution to the business. It’s not about everyone achieving the same set of skills as organisations thrive from having diverse workforces. Moreover, it is about creating a culture where employees not only understand what they can bring to the table, but what they can go on to learn once they are there.
