The Aging Workforce and Role Reversal Trend Influencing Workforce Management

Diversity in workforce is a key trend in recent times. This diversity is being implemented not only in terms of race, ethnicity and gender, but it also includes people from different age groups. The companies are making an effort to hire experienced professionals as well as young and fresh talents. Businesses are also approaching placement consultants for the purpose. While this is one aspect of recruiting people in higher age bracket, there has been a rising trend of aging workforce for other perspectives as well. The uncertainty related to the retirement income, recession and financial hit in retirement investments are also influencing the higher age group to be employed for longer duration. The percentage of working people above the age group of 65 years has risen by 40% in the past decade. This shows that the older age group is trying remain employed for a longer period of time. This has influenced the recruitment scenario as a whole. There are many job roles wherein people from younger as well as older age group are applying which posses to be a difficult scenario for the placement consultants.

The challenges faced under such conditions are as follows:

• The first and foremost situation rises with the older people being managed by younger managers. This gives rise to a significant role reversal in comparison to the traditional structure which might result in conflicts.
• In terms of recruitment, in majority cases, the younger fresh talents are preferred more than the older people. Despite the fact that these people are many times more experienced and appropriately fit the profile, they are not considered.
• When younger managers have some older people under their management, they face issues regarding communication and feedback due to lack of knowledge.

With these evident challenges, there are certain measures that can be taken to address the issue.

• First of all, it is very important to change the perspective of hiring. A candidate should be evaluated and selected based on knowledge and other required parameters rather than age.
• The workforce management should not be restricted to the younger or the older age group. The management should consist of people from both the categories in order to discuss and take strategic decisions for the betterment of the business.
• There should be a clear communication channel between the employees and management. The scope of feedback and suggestion should be maintained in order to facilitate the flow of ideas and creativity. In this manner, every employee gets the chance to speak their mind despite the age group they belong to.
• The performance standards for specific roles and responsibilities should be decided before commencing the recruitment process.
• Lastly, the room for rewards and recognition should be kept open in order to boost the employee engagement, morale and brand loyalty.

The placement consultants can be very beneficial in taking up such measures for companies in order to manage the aging workforce scenario and its challenges.