I am slightly
reluctant to return to the subject of ageism as it may be thought that I have a
hidden agenda (which I have).
At this stage I
have no intention of retiring, certainly while I still have my marbles, or at
least some of them.
I had a wonderful
colleague in the USA, Pat Hyndman, who died last year at the great age of 95, and was
still chairing two Vistage CEO groups.
Pat's approach to
retirement was that he intended to go on until "they had to carry me out
on the flip chart" and if only metaphorically that is what he achieved.
However in
conversation with several of my Vistage CEO members of late I have been looking
at the subject on a less personal and emotive basis.
My friends in the
recruitment industry tell me that in this period of GDP growth certain sectors
have become candidate-led simply because of increased demand for talent and a
shortage of the right people.
Indeed in one case
the member told me that they had offered positions to three potential
candidates all of whom had gone elsewhere.
The salaries being
offered were above the current market range and the member's company has an
enviable reputation as an exceptional employer. Because of the shortage, people are becoming more choosy.
The whole market
is going through a cyclical change right now and I suspect that it will get
even harder rather than easier to find and recruit great people.
What, then, can be
done about this problem?
There is a whole
range of variables that impact on the situation that I would suggest is one of
the most serious facing business leaders at this moment.
For example, the
change in legislation stopping companies imposing mandatory retirement to
employees is leading to the occasional blockage in available career paths.
Medical advances
are also leading to longer life (about which I am not complaining) that implies
that the bank of knowledge and skills is growing and still in employment.
In addition there
was a five-year gap in training skills leading to the current shortage of good
candidates.
This means that
there is a further issue stemming from the dramatic changes in business
technology.
The younger people
take these changes for granted and embrace them automatically while those at
the more elderly end of the workforce find absorption of these changes more
difficult.
There is no doubt
that many people who are passing or have already passed the notional retirement
age can expect two or three decades more and I have always said that much of
that skill bank is neither realised or exploited.
There is a natural
reluctance on the part of employers to bring older people into the workforce
but here and there it may be at least a part solution to the problem.
While I am a great
believer in the more mature citizens keeping working and contributing (should
they so desire) I would accept that there will be many whose skills can easily
be supplied by someone younger.
Manual workers for
example will find that the natural ageing process inhibits continued work with
the consequent reduction in strength and mobility.
However with the
growth in the apprenticeship scheme why not employ these older people to pass
on their skills to the young generation?
I suggest that this should be on a formal basis and not just ad hoc.
For the more
mature who have come through a professional career path, there is no reason why
they should not keep available to help out on a part-time or interim basis.
Alternatively a
portfolio of activities can bring intellectual rigour with a measure of freedom
of the diary.
There is an
opportunity for some farsighted entrepreneur to set up an agency to market
these skills and prevent their being lost by just draining away.
Finally remember
that as we age, it's the knees that go first closely followed by parallel
parking.
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