Recruitment Tips for Tapping Older Workers
By: Source: AARP.org Date Posted: 2007-09-14 18:39:06.864906-04:00
The job of recruiters is harder now than ever. Considering that the age difference of today's workforce can span more than 50 years, recruitment campaigns must reach across four different generations, attracting job seekers with completely different values and perceptions about work, family and everything in between.
To cast recruitment successfully into the mature worker segment, forget vanilla recruiting tactics and nine-to-five jobs. If you want to grab the attention of workers 50+, consider the following tips from experts who share their experiences about what works and what doesn't.
Be strategic: know your target market
Recruiters often assume that there's a monolithic, one-size-fits-all strategy that reaches all workers, says Annette Merritt Cummings, vice president and national director of diversity services at Bernard Hodes Group, a NY-based recruitment communications company. So they mistakenly budget one lump sum as opposed to dividing resources into demographic segments.
"Each group requires different strategies when it comes to recruitment," she says. "Don't write this group [older workers] off. It's a huge market of individuals who have huge amounts of knowledge that may go untapped."
She recommends these steps when recruiting mature, experienced workers:
- Analyze your market. Ask yourself a series of questions. What are the differences between the mature worker segment and others? How do they prefer to communicate and receive messages? What are the media habits of workers 50+?
- Realize that even within the mature worker segment, age matters. Never assume that the preferences or habits of sixty year-olds will be the same as those who are in their seventies or eighties.
- Identify their favorite social spaces, including virtual spaces. Focus on print and online publications that cater to the 50+ market segment. Look into social organizations like college alumni associations, churches, synagogues or veterans’ groups. Also check out listservs as well as blogs, job banks, and other online places that serve as popular gathering spots for mature, experienced workers.
- Build relationships. Reach out to retirees who have the experience and skill sets your company desires. Market your business as an age-friendly workplace that values mature workers and provides career opportunities for growth and leadership. To reach retirees, Cummings says you may be better off targeting organizations they're affiliated with and communicating with them on a more personal level, something that’s not nearly as important to younger generations.
- Appoint someone in your organization to head up a mature worker recruitment program. This individual would be responsible for acquiring the expert knowledge on the mature worker market, sharing it with others in your organization, communicating with older workers and tracking results.
Think outside-of-the-box
For the past decade, Yuma Regional Medical Center in Yuma, AZ, has relied on an unconventional source for recruiting experienced professionals, such as nurses, respiratory therapists, medical technologists, imaging specialists and other healthcare specialists that are in short supply.
During the winter months, the city of nearly 89,000 residents almost doubles in size. That's a busy time for the hospital's recruiters who visit popular snowbird hangouts, such as RV parks. They hand out brochures that include a self-addressed response card, asking visitors to either volunteer, make employee referrals - mainly nurses - or donate to its foundation, says Sharon Gardner, the hospital's vice president of human resources. Snowbirds receive a free dinner when their referral fills out a job application and $1,000 if that person is hired full time. The cash reward is also prorated for part timers and seasonal employees.
But the main draw is really the hospital's flexible work shifts between four and twelve hours and three, six and nine month positions, with the latter offering year-round benefits. "Most mature workers are not interested in nursing for twelve hours a day but can do it for four or six hours a day," she explains.
Free housing — utilities included —rounds out the benefits package. But those who prefer to live in their own RV instead of the hospital’s 84-unit apartment complex receive housing and mileage allowances. She says approximately 80 percent of the hospital’s seasonal workers are over the age of 50 and come from the Northwest, Midwest or East Coast.
"We frequently target experienced people - they can hit the ground running," Gardner says. "[These jobs] are attractive to people who are in a different stage of life where income isn’t the key driver."
Mistakes can turn off mature workers
Employers still have a lot to learn when it comes to reaching older workers online. Rich Milgram, chief executive officer at Beyond.com, which posts and powers over 15,000 niche job boards, points out mistakes that can turn off mature workers.
- Don't focus only on one national job board. Post on multiple boards, including those targeting the 50+ worker .
- Don't hide the fact that you welcome mature workers. Use employee-magnet phrases such as, "We're an equal opportunity employer" or "All candidates welcome."
- Don't request skills that aren't necessarily required for the job. Be open to a range of skills that are transferable and can benefit your business.
- Don't advertise exclusively full time jobs. Market part time jobs and/or those with flexible hours.
- Don't promote mismatched benefits (e.g. childcare) that many mature workers can't use. Mention benefits that will capture their attention, such as health and retirement plans, or eldercare services.
"Employers don't look enough at what they're saying and how they communicate it," says Milgram. "Most times, it's a posting that came from somebody in Human Resources and isn't considered a marketing opportunity to attract people to their brand and to their company."
Resources
AARP Employer Resource Center
AARP National Employer Team
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