Easy Small Business HR

Menu
  • HOME
  • ARTICLES BY TOPIC
    • All Articles
      • Background Checks
      • Dealing with Difficult Employees
      • Diversity
      • Employee Benefits
      • Employee Performance
      • Employee Retention & Engagement
      • Employee Theft
      • Employee Turnover
      • Employment Law
      • Fair Labor Standards/FLSA
      • Family Medical Leave/FMLA
      • Firing/Disciplinary Actions
      • Managing Employees
      • Pay and Salary
      • Policies and Procedures
      • Recruitment, Interviewing, Hiring
      • Supervisor Tips and Strategies
      • Workplace Safety
    • Close
  • RESOURCES
  • PODCAST
  • ABOUT US

December 23, 2010 by Dianne Shaddock Leave a Comment

Mature Workers – Tap into the Golden Years

They cost too much money in salary. They’ll need more training to get up to speed. They’ll raise the cost of company-offered health insurance. When it comes to older workers, there’s a litany of reasons—often not articulated—that prevent employers from hiring them.

Out of the 15 million Americans who are out of work, mature workers have been hit particularly hard. While it takes about 8 months for the average unemployed American to find a new position, it often takes longer for those over 50.

Yet if you’re an employer looking for the kind of employees that give you an edge over the competition, you can’t afford to overlook Baby Boomers and beyond. Here are just a few of the
Mature Worker advantages of hiring older workers:

  • They’ve learned how to communicate – Aging employees have decades of experience working alongside a range of personalities. From navigating office politics to calming the rattled and nervous newbie, these communication skills are a valuable addition to any corporate environment.
  • They want to perform well – For many, the middle-class lifestyle, complete with vacations and 401k plans, is gone. Now older workers find themselves sharing living space with relatives or scrounging for babysitting jobs just to make ends meet. Older workers know exactly what’s at stake when they take on a new job, and the results may show in profit-boosting, money-saving productivity.
  • They offer life experience – Many of today’s older workers don’t just offer typical job skills, like the ability to manage events or oversee a staff. They offer a depth of life experience that younger employees may have a hard time matching. Employees who are older have experienced joy and grief; they have been through upticks and downturns; they have succeeded and failed. And they’ve learned from it all.

By employing an older worker, companies benefit from this lifelong experience. Put it to work for you by assigning mature staff members to mentor younger employees or by asking them to be members of workplace committees or advisory boards.

Working on improving employee engagement?

EPIC is an Employee Engagement software that gives you the tools and insights to create a workplace culture that encourages engagement, loyalty, and trust.

TRY IT RISK FREE HERE

Don’t let misconceptions about mature workers prevent you from finding the perfect employee. There are advantages to employing an older worker—advantages that just might give your business the competitive edge.

The following two tabs change content below.
  • Bio
  • Latest Posts
My Twitter profileMy Facebook profileMy Google+ profileMy LinkedIn profile

Dianne Shaddock

President and Founder at Easy Small Business HR
Get more tips on interviewing, hiring, managing and engaging your employees. Dianne Shaddock is the President of Easy Small Business HR, Employee Hiring and Managing Tips and the author of the eGuides, "How To Supervise:  What Your Boss Never Told You Before You Took the Job", A Step-By-Step Guide For New and Seasoned Managers and "How To Find and Hire the Best Employees".
My Twitter profileMy Facebook profileMy Google+ profileMy LinkedIn profile

Latest posts by Dianne Shaddock (see all)

  • Build the Best Team for Your Small Business - November 12, 2019
  • Cross Training Staff – Doing the Right Thing For the Wrong Reasons - January 18, 2019
  • Proactive Employee Management Really Boils Down To The Basics - December 21, 2015
  • Office Meetings Do Not Have To Be A Productivity Time Drain If Done Right - November 17, 2015
  • Proposed Changes To Employee Rights Laws: WAGE Act Bill - November 3, 2015

Filed Under: Diversity, Managing Employees, Recruitment/Interviewing/Hiring, Supervisor Tips and Strategies Tagged With: Hiring older workers

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I accept the Privacy Policy

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Be Social, Let’s Connect!

Follow Us on FacebookFollow Us on Google+Follow Us on TwitterFollow Us on LinkedInFollow Us on YouTubeFollow Us on Reddit
Follow Us on FacebookFollow Us on Google+Follow Us on TwitterFollow Us on LinkedInFollow Us on YouTubeFollow Us on RedditFollow Us on iTunes

Recent Posts

  • Build the Best Team for Your Small Business
  • Cross Training Staff – Doing the Right Thing For the Wrong Reasons
  • Proactive Employee Management Really Boils Down To The Basics
  • Office Meetings Do Not Have To Be A Productivity Time Drain If Done Right
  • Proposed Changes To Employee Rights Laws: WAGE Act Bill

Recent Comments

  • Lucia on The Consequences for Supervisors Who Ignore Poor Employee Performance
  • Norma on 10 Helpful Tips When Dealing With Difficult Employees
  • Henry Killingsworth on Clearing Up Legal Misperception of Reference Checking
  • Nyangoma Rachel on Diversity in the Workplace: Benefits, Challenges and Solutions
  • Online Training on Workplace Negativity Is Contagious – Here’s How You Can Control an Outbreak
  • Kristofina Grace on Diversity in the Workplace: Benefits, Challenges and Solutions

Top 25 Online Influencers in Human Resources

HR Examiner Top 25

Copyright © 2025 · Executive Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in