Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER October 30, 2017 16 FEATURES LOOKING FOR A SUPPLIER OR VENDOR? Visit hrreporter.com/hr-vendors-guide with these things, you're going to be able to contribute better or more to evolving and innovat- ing often because you have more experience with them — so that may be the more altruistic reason for it." "But there's also a bias as- sumed with that, that if you didn't get access to that technology un- til you're 20, therefore somehow you're not going to able to con- tribute as well." ere could also be a spiral ef- fect happening, said Weisbeck, in that the tech industry looked to bring in young talent with work- place perks such as ping pong or foosball, so employers started to build out the things that reinforce that culture, he said. "They reinforce bringing in more people who appreciate those things, and so it becomes a reinforcing loop to say, 'OK, that's the type of people who would like to work here, so that's the type of people we're going to source, so therefore that's the type of people were going to hire,'" he said. "People have a natural bias to hire people like themselves." ere's also the idea of bringing in "blue flames," meaning people who burn the hottest or brightest, said Weisbeck. "ere's a notion that if you bring in younger workers, they are going to work harder, they're not going to have the rest of the trap- pings of life and family and other commitments, so they'll be able to put in time and work and effort at a degree that older workers could not. So there may be some part of that bias as well." Another big reason younger people are hired more often is many older people who started out early in tech may not have stayed up to date with changes — because they didn't need to or their employer didn't make the in- vestment, said Elkhalil. "If that person finds them- selves on the market again, but now they're graduating with a level three in technology and technology's evolved so quick that now it's at level 10, there's now a seven-year gap between what used to be happening and what it is today. And now you're really caught." Technology is rapidly evolving and constantly reinvesting itself, said Elkhalil. "If you're talking technology, one year alone is like three times any other industry you're dealing with, and that's the problem… once you're out, you're not keep- ing up, it's tough to get back in because the technology is evolv- ing so quickly," he said. "You're not going to see it (in other sectors) because technology is constantly evolving." And younger workers are more inclined to stay up to date on the tech changes, he said. "ey're just wired that way so they've accepted it, and maybe they're quick to pick up 'is is going to be obsolete, I'm jumping on the next train, I'm moving, my loyalty is not to the organization anymore' versus (an older) gen- tleman... who's really loyal to the organization." Both younger and older tech workers have their pros and cons, and companies with emotionally intelligent managers are empow- ered to quickly come to this un- derstanding, said Davis. "There's little mystery to it: Older tech workers are more loyal, patient, reliable and pro- ductive," he said, adding they like some leeway when it come to location. "Older tech work- ers' domain experience is fre- quently helpful — it's why most get hired — and their compen- sation expectations are modest compared to someone younger with the same skill set. And yet they are also costlier to insure and terminate." In his niche of writing docu- mentation about complex soft- ware, Davis said the average indi- vidual contributor is well into her 50s, and there are several produc- tive, in-demand workers in their mid-70s. "Hiring managers often tell me that they don't want to pay for irrelevant experience or hire someone who can't adapt to their tools, priorities or speed. I ask them whether they've ever met anyone with just the right skills and experience — nope — much less a great candidate without 'ir- relevant' work experience." Some hiring managers also concede they fear arguments or fact-based discussions with more experienced tech workers, he said. "Essentially, they value control more than quality — and this can manifest as ageism. Companies that crow about their workplace amenities frequently don't invest even a tenth as much into attract- ing and retaining older tech work- ers by supporting telework or un- derwriting training. Is this ageist or just narrow-minded?" One company's bias against older workers can be another's secret sauce in favour of hir- ing those workers, according to Davis, who frequently sees bias related to the traits of many older tech workers, such as im- patience with poorly planned or unplanned action, disinterest in youth-oriented group social ac- tivities, a focus on work-life bal- ance, "ambivalence for the new and shiny," skepticism about a company's strategy or tactics, and a preference for flexible sched- ules and working from home. "But unless management is verifiably unenlightened (for ex- ample, at Uber), I don't necessar- ily equate that with a bias against age," he said. Overcoming bias As part of its report, Visier made several recommendations on how employers can root out the risk of ageism in their workforce, while acquiring the best talent — re- gardless of age. For one, they should review workforce data to understand the current state of age equity and see any signs of potential bias in hiring, promotions, salary lev- els, turnover and performance ratings. "Understand how diverse you are by comparison to how diverse your talent pool is to get a little bit more sophisticated in your mea- sures," said Weisbeck. "It's not fair to say, 'We should be 50-50 on things' when the candidate pool doesn't look that way." Employers should also look for pockets of ageism, and address these through culture change, said the report. e age composition of specific teams, departments and business units should also be assessed, along with how managers can build diversity. "You tend to have more pointed problems in different areas, so if you can find some focus on where you need to address challenges, that does make a big difference," said Weisbeck. "It's often good to find those patterns, otherwise you apply that broad brush-stroke, and you can make mistakes along the way." Another option is to consider the Rooney Rule, meaning in- cluding a candidate during the interview process who's not like the others, who might have been disqualified otherwise. And do the same for the interviewers. "We have these natural biases to hire people like ourselves, and there's nothing untoward or bad about that, it's just a natural hu- man phenomenon, so make the interviewer team more diverse and you're more likely to be ac- cepting of more diverse candi- dates," he said. Employers should also develop hiring practices that reduce the potential for intentional or unin- tentional bias in the screening out of older applicants. ere's a calculus done by com- panies that says it's cheaper to get younger workers — but employ- ers should expand their math, said Weisbeck. "If you're hiring somebody who's closer to 35 than 25, you might have a four-times lower turnover resignation rate." People who are younger in their careers are still figuring things out, and may be more inclined to jump ship to accelerate their ca- reers and salary, he said. "When you do that fuller cal- culus, the cost savings you've as- sumed in hiring younger may not be fully realized because turnover is shockingly expensive." For organizations willing to confront age-related biases, there are a few sure-fire ways to attract older tech workers, said Davis, such as offering or underwriting training in relevant technologies, and letting older workers train people in their expertise. Employers should also engage independent contractors who are empowered to subcontract to older and offsite workers, he said, and commit to offering older contract workers salaried jobs, as "many older tech workers prefer predictability." Telecommuting should also be allowed when it doesn't com- promise quality or productivity, said Davis, and employers should be open-minded about best practices. "Older tech workers can save you millions just by asking the right questions." Some hiring managers 'prefer control over quality' AGEISM < pg. 3 ree years ago, the company realized that EAP resources were not getting to staff early enough to curb potential mental health is- sues. Many workers did not know enough about the program, be- lieving usage was reserved solely for counselling, said Falco. As a result, Niagara Casinos de- signed programming for supervi- sors, educating them on what resources were available and how they could spot red flags with their employees, which led to greater awareness and openness to talk about mental health within the company. A holistic health and wellness strategy, introduced five years ago, is the backbone of the com- pany's mental health successes, said Falco. "Our focus really is on preven- tion and health promotion," she said. "Mental health claims were always in our top three for short- term disability and long-term dis- ability. It's fallen off completely and we're actually under the bench- mark for similar industries now." Niagara Casinos targets differ- ent demographics and their spe- cific needs. is includes easing the mental stressors of older work- ers who are nearing retirement and require support or information on the subject of transitioning pen- sions. One psychological safety initiative tackled financial health and wellness in terms of options after retirement, said Falco. Financial stresses also occur on the other end of the genera- tional spectrum. Niagara Casinos offered seminars to millennials on how to budget and save for a house or car. e sessions were led by financial advisors and debt counsellors, said Falco. Other mental health initiatives include anti-bullying and diversity/ inclusion programming, as well as participation in community cam- paigns. For example, in conjunc- tion with the annual Bell Let's Talk campaign, Niagara Casinos shone the spotlight on some of its work- ers who are affected by mental health issues. e internal cam- paign was called "Great People of Niagara Casinos" and stories were featured on signage throughout the company's facilities. "It is a newer program that we're doing," said Daw. "We interviewed a few associates and had them tell a story about whatever it may be that mental health has impacted them in their lives. Our associates love it. It's peer-to-peer and it's relatable. And it gets you to know a little bit more about the associates." Target specific needs, stresses NIAGARA < pg. 6 "When you do that fuller calculus, the cost savings you've assumed in hiring younger may not be fully realized because turnover is shockingly expensive."

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