3. Data Best Practices | Age Pioneers Action Panel Report

Read the Speaker Conclusions

1. We Need to Start Recording Age in the Recruitment Process

To date, many companies have avoided recording age as part of the recruitment process for fear of falling foul of the age discrimination legislation, however, they are collecting other sensitive data around diversity characteristics. In order for companies to show they are not exhibiting age discrimination in their recruitment process, it's crucial to capture age data in order to ascertain if there are any trends that point to older candidates being rejected from the process before offer stage.

2. Don’t be Afraid to Have the Discussion

Many employers fear that initiating age-related discussions could be perceived as discriminatory and the result of avoiding these conversations leaves organisations unable to succession plan, and employees unsure of their long-term prospects. An overtly inclusive approach might be engagement through focus groups employee feedback, surveys and exit interviews.

3. Keep the Conversation Going

An openness to assess the success of initiatives can be a valuable exercise – particularly if employees are engaged as a source of information. With adequate soft skills training, managers can gauge the efficacy of processes in place – for example., to deal with any health or performance issues.

4. Stick to General Themes

Keep discussions general around employee’s short-, medium- and longer-term plans, asking open questions about their goals and ambitions. For example, “Where do you see yourself in the organisation, in the next three years?” rather than presupposing retirement plans. Ensure you keep a record of these – perhaps as part of development/performance review processes to ensure this data is captured across all age demographics.

5. Understand the Demographics in Your Organisation

Understanding the age demographics across your organisation is important because that data gives you a holistic view and can help in planning a targeted experience for each demographic, as needs will be varied.

6. Leverage the Knowledge of the Over-50s Market

One-third of working people in the UK are aged above 50 but organisations are not targeting this demographic. This is staggering when you consider the wealth of know-how and transferable skills this demographic offers, so it’s important to identify where you could leverage such skills in your organisation.

7. The Benefits of Accreditation

Boots received huge plaudits for getting accredited by 55/Redefined but where to begin with getting accredited? Since age-related data has 100% disclosure, no disclosure campaign is needed so you can immediately get into the details of the split of age by level and function, tenure of employees and whether they join the company at a certain age. For outgoing employees, find out who is leaving and why.

Final Thoughts – How Can Your Reporting Have Real Meaning?

You know it’s important to use your age-related data to extract accurate and useful reports. But where do you start?

Your current reports might indicate that your organisation has a statistically positive over-50s workforce. But do you know how long their tenure is? Are they all long-term employees? Do you know what the age range is for your recent hires?

When you get insight into what your data really says about older workers, it allows you to identify the issues which arise as part of the age sector of your Diversity & Inclusion strategy.

Once you have a clear understanding, you get the confidence to know that you are on the right path to creating a workforce for the future, and a business and employer of choice.

This session was recorded in September 2022.

The Action Panel privately discussed these points following the speakers Q&A which is not recorded. To be part of this confidential conversation, get in touch HERE.