When it comes to how best to manage people, HR professionals often look at age differences to determine the best strategy. While you might assume that Millennials bring the most value to your organization, it is important also to understand the benefits of hiring perennial workers too.
Employees around age 55 and up are called perennials. They bring plenty of skill to the workplace, thanks to decades of experience and knowledge gained over their careers.
That industry know-how is something that HR professionals can tap into by encouraging perennials in leadership roles. They can also become mentors to motivate others, which can improve company culture.
These older workers also bring with them a strong network of all ages that has grown over the years. Thus, they can help you reach more candidates for job openings by encouraging them to help get the word out.
It’s important to point out that hiring, onboarding, and retaining perennials is not without its challenges, though. For example, they may develop health issues that associate with aging, such as hearing loss.
Those health conditions can make staying up to date with technological advances and maintaining a healthy work-life balance more difficult than the average worker. However, the benefit of experience that businesses can gain from the older generation means they are not workers to ignore in hiring campaigns.
Instead, HR professionals must understand how to attract and engage perennials for the benefit of the organization. Offering flexible working environments is one option.
While the younger generation might want swanky offices, older workers are more likely to want to focus on finding the right approach for the project. Avoiding the daily commute to the office by providing an at-home workplace can help them do that and be easier for those who have mobility issues.
To engage a remote workforce and prevent feelings of loneliness among them, provide employees with access to health resources, such as an online channel. This platform could be an information source, help them be more active by spotlighting different exercises and include topics like mindfulness.
Make sure you provide workers with the right hardware and software for their positions as well. Otherwise, you risk reducing their productivity by not equipping them with faster laptops and better programs.
Given the above discussion, it is clear perennials are a great return on investment. They can engage fellow workers, as well as bringing well-defined skills to the organization.
Also apparent is the unique qualities of the older worker. Being able to customize your recruiting efforts through Talcura’s software can save time as you source, screen, and organize perennial candidates separately from the others. When you want to gain workers with more experience, this approach is advantageous.
While perennials may require some effort in bringing them up to speed on technology and ergonomics for their home office, the attention is well worth it. What’s more, their focus and strong skill set can encourage co-workers, which can propel your organization forward.
