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 CIPD PRESS RELEASE 31 January 2008
Employers need to do more to tempt older workers
With demographic changes, skills shortages and
recent UK legislation on age all making their
mark, a new Research Insight from the Chartered
Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD)
highlights the importance for employers to
address the challenges presented by an ageing
workforce to recruit, retain and engage talent.
The research, carried out on behalf of the CIPD
by Cranfield School of Management, examines what
employers are doing to ensure that the way they
reward and recognise individual and collective
contribution is actually appealing to older
workers. It shows that a more holistic approach
to pay and reward is necessary - organisations
need to look across their financial and
non-financial reward offerings to consider
whether they are attractive to older workers.
However, while the research finds many examples
of employers introducing initiatives to make
their organisation more appealing to older
workers, most have been introduced on an ad-hoc
basis to deal with specific issues. What is
lacking is a systematic and integrated approach
to reward that examines whether the pay and the
financial and non-financial benefits are
appealing to all individuals, irrespective of
their age, race, gender, etc.
This 'total reward' approach can help employers
meet the challenges of an ageing workforce by
looking at what motivates them in the workplace.
The use of non-financial rewards, for example,
initiatives to promote work-life balance, can
be an effective way of promoting the attraction
and engagement of an older workforce.
Charles Cotton, CIPD Reward and Employment
Conditions Adviser comments:
"Employers are recognising the importance of
an older workforce but this is being influenced
by the law and what they can and can't do,
rather than what they should be doing. For
instance, while employers have been examining
pay progression, few have taken the opportunity
to evaluate whether the way they structure pay
is sufficiently flexible to meet individual
aspirations across all age groups. When reviewing
and revising their reward approach, employers
need to take the opportunity to examine whether
how they reward their employees is appealing
to older workers, as well as other groups."
The research also warns employers not to neglect
the training and development needs of older
workers as this age group becomes an
increasingly important part of the labour market.
Cotton adds: "These workers still wish to make
a significant contribution to the business,
have a great deal to offer and may want to
learn new skills in order to do this.
"Possibilities for rewarding an ageing workforce
are endless - Reward and HR professionals need
to consider whether they are doing enough to
motivate and retain employees of all ages,
otherwise, they may discover in a few year's
time that they do not have the skills and
experience that they need to sustain high
performance working."
Dr Emma Parry, Research Fellow at Cranfield
School of Management and author of the research
adds: "Many employers are worried that providing
benefits that appeal specifically to older
workers is discriminatory, but this is not the
case as long as they offer the same rewards to
the whole workforce. Our research shows that
employees who are getting near to retirement
have different needs to those at alternative
stages of their careers. The total rewards
package offered to employees should be designed
in such a way as to accommodate these differing
needs so that workers of all ages are
motivated to stay with the organisation."
Managing an ageing workforce: The role of
total rewards will be launched at this year's
CIPD Annual Reward Management conference, 5th
February 2007.
The research insight is based on interviews
with a number of bodies and employers including
Hertfordshire County Council, ASDA, Shell,
First Group, BT and Sainsburys. The report is
also supplemented by a focus groups organised
with older workers from Molton Brown and a
survey of 1000 employees aged between 50 and
64, conducted in 2007.
Notes to editors:
* Members of the press should contact Anna Wallace
on 020 8612 6399 or mailto:press@cipd.co.uk for an
advanced copy of the report - 'Managing an ageing
workforce: The role of total rewards'
* The report will be available to the public from
05 February from the CIPD website at
http://www.cipd.co.uk/researchinsights
* Research was also carried out in December 2007
on behalf of the CIPD by IPSOS Mori. 1000 workers
in the UK aged between 50 and 64 were surveyed.
* The Chartered Institute of Personnel and
Development (CIPD) has over 130,000 members and
is the leading professional body for those
involved in the management and development of
people.
* Cranfield School of Management is a world-class
university business school, renowned for its
strong links with industry and business. It is
committed to providing practical management
solutions through a range of activities including
postgraduate degree programmes, management
development, research and consultancy. Its
website is at http://www.cranfield.ac.uk/som
Press enquiries, please contact:
Gregor Ridley, Meera Vohora, Hannah Smith or Anna Wallace
Tel: 020 8612 6400
Email: mailto:press@cipd.co.uk
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