The H.R. Doctor is In - Sept. 19, 2016

Recruiting and Retaining Mature Workers

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We welcome from Coconino County, Ariz., HR gurus and contributors, Erika Philpot, human resources director; and Rose Winkeler, deputy county attorney. Each month Philpot and Winkler will address common and critical HR questions from their “boots on the ground” perspective, while HR Doctor Phil Rosenberg continues his unique vision of the HR practice.

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They are called mature workers, encore workers, senior workers or older workers. Regardless of the title, mature workers bring a diversity of ideas to the workplace. They bring experience and leadership. They often bring dedication and work ethic. As the median age of public sector employees continues to increase, more public sector employees are eligible to retire each day. Should mature workers be lost from the workforce, there could be a labor pool shortage and a  shrinking cohort of qualified individuals to train and mentor new employees.

Additionally, organizational and industry knowledge would be severely depleted. Encouraging employees to work longer, even with abbreviated schedules or more flexible hours, benefits not only the organization, but also residents.

Share with us — Send your feedback on how you attract and retain mature workers to cnews@naco.org.

We would love to hear about how engagement of encore workers led to success on your team. Shared ideas may be included in a future edition with your name and contact information to allow for reader networking.

Recruiting and retaining encore career employees expands and deepens the labor pool. How do you develop strategies and programs to attract and retain mature workers? There are many ways including job-sharing, telecommuting, training and mentoring, manager rotation, tuition reimbursement, succession planning, flexible scheduling, telecommuting, phased retirement and retiree pool. Some organizations have found success assigning mature workers to strategic projects that have long been on the back burner and need to move forward. These projects utilize the institutional knowledge and expertise of the employee while giving them a new focus and area of engagement.

Other employers have found that flextime and telecommuting options allow mature workers to care for a family member such as a parent or grandchild. Some employers use their retiree pool for temporary work, seasonal work, training, coaching or investigations. For each of these reasons, encore workers are a valuable resource.

Many organizations have found great success hiring encore workers. For example, Bob was a retiree from another agency before being hired with his current employer. Bob received relocation assistance and banked vacation when he began his new job. He also had an alternative work schedule to allow him to spend additional time with his spouse.

His banked vacation time allowed the couple the flexibility to travel, while his experience helped him bring his department to a new level of success. Bob participated in the organization’s mentoring program and he brought about efficiencies that not only saved the organization money but also boosted the morale of his team.

But aren’t we investing in people who will quickly leave? We never know how long any employee will stay. Family demands, following a spouse or changes in health can have an impact on any employee at any age. Additionally, many mature workers still want to contribute and impact the community in a positive way — what better way than through public service. The programs that attract and retain encore workers are also recruitment and retention strategies for all generations in the workplace, particularly millennials. Diversity of generations and ages in the workplace is just one more facet of diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

“Wrinkles should merely indicate where the smiles have been.” -Mark Twain