Building a Better Workforce
An experienced workforce is good for the bottom line. Many hiring managers don't take advantage of that. Building a Better Workforce focuses on providing up to date, relevant information on how to use older talent effectively and how to create a motivated, multi-generational high performance workforce. The articles in this column highlight how, when, and why to focus on older workers as part of your overall human resource plan and how to blend them with the rest of your labor pool for optimum results.
Employers, are you missing out?
Find out if your assumptions are making you ignore an important human resource option. Take this quick quiz.
Reconsidering "Overqualified"
Have you ever ruled out job candidates because they were way too good to be true? We call it "overqualified" but what are we really saying?
Why Smart Managers Hire Experience
Hiring experience just might be the best "secret weapon" a company can have. Experienced workers are a better value in at least six different ways.
The Business Potential of "Old"
We're operating with a grossly outdated set of assumptions about what people are capable of as they get older. When you do that, you miss out on an incredible amount of talent. And you ignore the segment of the market that has the money.
Getting Older Workers to Buy-in on New Technology
It's easy to blame older workers' willingness to learn new things when they don't use the technology you invested in, but that may not be the cause of the problem.
Now Is the Time to Experiment with Work Design
Smart employers use a down economy rather than just enduring it. This is the time to experiment with alternatives to traditional 8 to 5 jobs.
Boomer Business Ventures -What They Mean to YOURS
When the going gets tough-as it has for many 50+ professionals, the tough get going-into their own businesses. Think again if you're assuming that has no impact on your own business.
Your Future Workforce Is Not Still in High School
When the economy finally bounces back, the notion that you can hire entry level workers and wait while they learn the ropes won't be with it. At least not if you want to stay competitive.
What's Going to Happen When Boomers Retire?
This year, the first baby boomers turn 65. They will continue to do so at the rate of about 10,000 a day for the next 18 years. The start of 2011 has spawned a lot of rhetoric about what that means. But what does it mean-for your business, for the national economy, for our overall well-being?
Older Sales Pros Rock
Experience makes a massive difference in a sales effort-on everything from calming an irate customer to anticipating and avoiding a costly shipping problem. Treating older sales professionals like the treasure they are-and providing adequate training to keep them on the cutting edge-can pay off big time.
Is that 8 to 5 Workday Still Best?
Letting go of the idea that people all have to work where-and when--you do might be the smartest thing you ever do to gain a competitive advantage.
Workforce Planning - It's More than Just Staffing Numbers
Workforce planning is more than just estimating what staffing levels you're going to have in the next five, ten, or twenty years. Assuming that a full pipeline of qualified fulltime candidates is automatically going to be there when you need it is folly. That is especially true for the next twenty years-when the entire generation of baby boomers becomes old enough to retire.
Don't Follow the Crowd in Hiring Strategies
How much of your human resource decision-making is based on "what everybody else does?" The tried and true ways offer the reassurance that other companies are thinking the same way. But to gain an advantage, a business needs to come up with unique approaches. Ignoring the skills and talent of the 50+ workforce is currently the mainstream strategy. Your business can get out in front by employing it wisely instead.
Getting the Most Out of Your Seasoned Employees
Before you dismiss all that talent, explore whether the poor performance from a seasoned employee is your fault - and reversible.
Addressing Performance Issues for Any Age Employee
One of the common "reasons" for not hiring seasoned employees is that "It's harder for supervisors to address performance issues with employees who are older than they are." Who dreams this stuff up?
Feedback for Any Age Employee
Changing your own performance so that you're more of a coach than an "omnipotent ruler" can make a big difference in both morale and performance level.
Motivating Older Workers
As workers gain financial security on their career paths, a good grasp of what else motivates them is essential to tapping their best work.
Dealing with a Negative Attitude
When your best performer starts coming in with a chip on her shoulder, pay attention. Negative attitudes in the work place are highly contagious.
Give Your Hiring Process a Check-Up
All those slick automated procedures that helped deal with the massive volume of applications may not be what you need as hiring picks up.
