The value of hiring older workers

Increasing life expectancy and late retirements mean that businesses need to be ready to welcome more mature-aged workers into their organisation. Workers aged 50 and over are often overlooked by hiring managers, but diversifying your workforce to include this age group could be greatly beneficial to your business.

Saving costs

Businesses are likely to see lower rates of sick leaves and higher loyalty rates amongst mature-aged workers. These low turnover rates can save your business costs relating to recruitment and training, and increase productivity within your workforce.

Customer representation

If your target audience includes an older age demographic, it may be more beneficial to have older employees working for you. By including mature-aged employees, you gain their perspectives of your product, and key insights into how to make your business more attractive to an older customer base.

Upskilling the team

Teams with diverse age groups perform better in the workplace. Older workers are equipped with a wealth of knowledge and skills that younger workers may not have. Less experienced members on your team are likely to learn new skills faster with older mentors on board. This can also help prevent the loss of key skills when older employees transition out of the workforce.
As a result of their experience, older employees are also more adaptable to change and high stress situations, and fill skill gaps in the workplace which leads to more well-rounded teams.

Work ethic

Older employees have a more stable work-life balance. Years of working has provided them with a strong work ethic, and an awareness of their strengths and weaknesses. Their work experience helps them perform better in diverse environments, and they have high conflict resolution skills. If your business involves meeting clients, older employees might be more successful by being confident and reassuring from a customer perspective.