If you want to attract talent from those over 55 then it helps to understand what motivates them. In Britain, Mercer have just concluded their Age Friendly Employer Research Report and one of the outputs is a look at what motivates older workers.
The report found that the top factors that influenced commitment and motivation for those over 55 are;
– Base pay
– Being treated with respect
– Type of work that you do
– Work life balance
And, interestingly the factors that over 55 year olds don’t feel are important are;
– Long term career potential
– Promotion opportunities
– Learning or training opportunities
– Variable pay, for example a bonus
There are many ways to interpret this data. However, what is interesting and important for employers to grasp is that those over 55 may be motivated by factors that are different to those that are under 55. They may not be interested in long term, career – building incentives. They are more focused on the here and now.
Or, another way to look at this is they are motivated by their work environment right now. The money they take home this month, the nature of the work they do today and is the work environment enjoyable, can they balance their work day around the rest of their life.
Those businesses that understand these differences and more importantly shape their recruitment and work place structure around these findings will be in much better shape to win the battle for talent.
I encourage you to read the full report and if you have any questions or would like to know more about improving your recruitment process then please contact me paul@paulgreening.com
