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One of the popular workshops at the recent NHS Employers Annual Conference and Exhibition in October 2007 covered approaches to workforce ageing. Dr Andrea Winkelmann-Gleed from the Working Lives Research Institute outlined the study that is underway across European member states to identify creative approaches to workforce ageing. Good practice examples from other industries were given by Pat McMullan from Centrica/ British Gas as well as from Raj Chana, Associate Director of HR at University Hospital Coventry & Warwickshire NHS Trust. Key points from the participants' group discussions include:
How feasible is flexible stepping down towards retirement?Yes, it is feasible and worthwhile given the context of demographic change. These things need to be considered:
Is investment into training older workers a waste of resources?No, it should be part of the service needs analysis. The business decision would need to be made as to the time and cost of training any worker regardless of age. Older workers can be used to mentor younger or newer staff. They are more likely to stay in that role and should be equipped to do so. How can ill health and poor performance among older workers be managed successfully - for all parties?Treat older workers the same as anyone else in the workforce and performance manage as for everyone else. Have a robust sickness absence policy. Retirement plans and pensions crisis - whose choice is it? And are there ways forward?Good information needed by individuals in order to make choices. Ensure there are plenty of briefings for staff and that communications are made to staff of all ages. Redesign the pension scheme to reflect different working patterns (see NHS Pension Scheme Review). What works when trying to keep older workers at work?
There are barriers as age goes up: there is the potential for problems of fitness capability. Adapting roles is not always a viable option and can impact on level of earnings. If the employee is in a non physical role this may be more viable with regular health checks. How can such practices become sustainable and who are the key people in facilitating sustainability and mainstreaming of initiatives?It is helpful to have clear policies in place with working examples. By providing training these practices can become sustainable. Key people are human resources, the diversity lead and occupational health department. It needs to be driven from the top down along with leadership across the organisation at all levels. People must understand the age profile of the organisation as well as the demographics of the local population in relation to the recruitment pool. HR can help with these aspects and can develop links with Further and Higher Education to capture future workforce including schools. Occupational health can give advice on limitations and redeployment. Recruitment and selection processes to get the right people in the right jobs. Evaluate the reasons why individuals leave the organisation then develop a retention strategy. Last reviewed 25 Oct 2007 |
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