Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER April 4, 2016 NEWS 9 critical thinking, problem-solv- ing and leadership, said Jennifer Schramm, manager of workplace trends and forecasting at the Soci- ety for Human Resource Manage- ment in Alexandria, Vir., which has launched an Aging Workforce Research Initiative. "Leadership issues seem to stand out there and if the older demographic seem to have some strength there, then that can be one way to leverage that demo- graphic as well, and not just hav- ing leadership opportunities but also there's things like mentor- ing… (so) how to pass down that knowledge through having the generations work together and how to have the different genera- tions helping each other learn." ere's a feeling among older workers that they aren't being motivated, they aren't being used to their best ability, said Honoré. "ey really do feel they want to do something," she said. "It's that real desire to feel 'I'm doing something fantastic and feel good about what I'm doing.'" When it comes to solutions, Ashridge cited key areas to con- sider including: looking for side- ways moves or projects or ac- tivities that could motivate baby boomers and use their skills; finding ways to share knowledge, such as coaching and mentoring; showcasing older workers who role-model career moves; and finding ways to use their special- ized skills accumulated through experience, such as people skills, relationship management and project risk factors. "A lot of the people recognize that some of their skills are out- dated but it doesn't mean they don't have that decision-making capability or that analysis capa- bility in their brain that they can use to adapt it to new situations," said Honoré. "e older person provides that understanding of corporate policy and decision- making and experience and the younger person may provide skills in IT or in communicating with the world when you don't know the people." Sodexo looks to older workers To take advantage of the expe- rience and expertise of older workers, quality of life services company Sodexo created "Right Start" teams for when the com- pany opens a new account. e first three to six months can be really tough in getting to know the client, figuring out services and hiring new staff, said Kather- ine Power, vice-president of com- munications and corporate affairs at Sodexo in Burlington, Ont. It's not a good idea to put a new manager into that high-stress sit- uation. You need someone who's very seasoned, she said. "They get everything going, they set it up right, they build the relationship with the client, they make sure the start is smooth and then, once everything is running, then you bring in the younger manager who can lead it full-time going forward," said Power. "People really enjoy that oppor- tunity because it's really pulling on their expertise, it's a short-term opportunity, they get to bounce around a little bit, they might move around from place to place, temporarily, and it's a different… type of experience for them but they're not dealing with the pres- sures of managing a big team and all the people stuff that goes along with that or working the crazy long hours." HR should also review train- ing to ensure older workers are allowed to progress, said the Ashridge report. at's a perception that needs to change, that training dollars are only well-spent if they're spent on younger workers, said Schramm. "at's a fallacy, obviously — workers at all stages benefit from training and sometimes there's a good case that you're more likely to see that return on investment with the older worker demo- graphic because the turnover rate may be lower." Mature and experienced work- ers have a lot to bring to the work- place and want to be challenged, said Cook, "so that's why we need to rethink the way that we do work and provide opportunities and provide challenges to keep them engaged, to keep them motivated, so we need to be thinking about T&D for mature workers." At Sodexo, which has 10,000 employees in Canada, training is really not based on age, said Power. "It's based on your role, so it's not discriminatory in that way… it's really much more role-specific than it is anything else, and that ensures everybody gets those opportunities, whether you're a visible minority, older worker, woman." But there is a sensitivity in older workers, particularly senior ones, to not be seen as stupid, said Honoré. "This one-size-fits-all (ap- proach) is great to a certain extent but, in general, a lot of the more senior people — if they're learn- ing things that would seem basic to young people — wouldn't want to be in a course with them, they would want to have one-on-one training or something where it was a group of peers. ere's an awful lot about status and psy- chology behind that." e report also recommended employers make a point to listen to what older workers want and build up a culture of trust where discussions on career do not lead to an assumption a person is "on the road to retirement." It's about treating people individually, said Honoré. "You can have somebody who's work-shy and does the minimum and they can be any age, and you have somebody who's exactly the same age and they're the most driven person in the world. If you don't treat them as individuals, you won't achieve anything." Review training to ensure people can progress LOST < pg. 8

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