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Thursday, September 10, 2009

AARP Announces 2009 Best Employers for Workers over 50

AARP has announced its annual list of the 50 best employers in the United States for workers 50 and over, and, for the first time one employer--Cornell University--has repeasted as the top finisher.
“AARP is delighted that Cornell has placed first for the second year in a row in the Best Employers program,” said Deborah Russell, AARP’s Director of Workforce Issues. “The university is famed for its creative academic policies and its approach to 50 and over workers is no different. It has continued to innovate with new programs in the past year.”
Among the programs offered by Cornell, noted AARP, are a formal phased retirement program for faculty and staff, telecommuting and compressed work weeks, a retiree health and prescription drug plan heavily subsidized by the university, paid time off for care giving, and access for retirees to continued university education at no charge.

At AARP's Best Employers site, AARP has published its list of the top 10 innovative international employers and, for the first time, a separate hospitals and health care best employers honor roll.

Source: AARP Press Release (September 9, 2009)

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Saturday, February 14, 2009

United Kingdom: NHS Employers Puts Forth Best Practices for Older Workers

In conjunction with the Channel 4's broadcast of "Too Old To Work," NHS Employers has emphasized the importance of demonstrating new and imaginative approaches to age diversity in the workforce in light of the demographic challenge it faces.

NHS Employers states that there is clear evidence that both staff turnover and absenteeism are reduced and that motivation and commitment are improved in organisations employing people of all ages. In particular, as a result of the NHS Employers age diversity work programme, 78% of NHS organisations had workforce policies for age in place in 2007, either as part of wider equal opportunities policies or specifically on age diversity.
NHS Employers knows that the NHS is working hard to address the issue of age discrimination and has a key role in highlighting good practice case studies among NHS organisations. One good practice case study is Sheffield PCT.

Chris Stocks, Head of Human Resources, Sheffield PCT, said:

"After we'd fully assessed the legislation, the Board - fully supported by the trade unions - agreed to do away with the default retirement age of 65 and give employees the choice of working longer if they so wanted.

"We then wrote out to staff and briefed managers on the reasons and practical implications. The move has been well received by staff."
NHS Employer resources include information on the business case for utilizing older workers and anonymised examples of good practice in the NHS.

Source: NHS Employers Press Release (February 10, 2009)

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Tuesday, October 21, 2008

AARP Study Reports Most Older Works Intend To Work into "Retirement" Years

An AARP survey has found that 70 percent of mature workers plan to work into what they view as their retirement years. Updating a 2002 survey, "Staying Ahead of the Curve 2007: The AARP Work and Career Study" reports that 27% of the 45-75 year olds questioned cited a need for money as the reason for continuing to work, while 21% attributed their decision to work in retirement to the fact that they enjoy working.

The study also reported that 51% of those interviewed said they plan to work part-time in retirement, while 29% do not plan to work. Another 11% plan to start their own business or work for themselves, while 6% plan to work full-time.

Included in the final report is a "Blueprint For Change" section that focuses on creative policies utilized by progressive employers. Among other things, these best practices include flexible schedules and work arrangements, cCompetitive health and other benefits, restructuring jobs or workplaces to accommodate employees’ unique needs later in life, recharging late-career workers with updated training, and utilizing knowledge retention strategies.

Source: AARP Press Release (October 20, 2008)

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Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Conference Board Launches Mature Workforce Employer-Practices Locator

The Conference Board has launched an Employer-Practices Locator--a web-based database that enables employers, reporters, and researchers to locate examples of specific actions companies have taken to address the challenges presented by the mature workforce.

According to the Conference Board, the Locator is searchable by key word or company name. The database selects, pulls together, and summarizes material from a variety of print and online sources from 1996 to the present. It delivers a more select list of results than a user would get using a search engine such as Google or Yahoo. It includes a broader range of companies and industries than the perennial examples that are most frequently cited.
"The database answers the question: 'Who is doing what in the fast-growing world of the mature workforce,'" says Linda Barrington, Director of Research for The Conference Board. "Any employer working with this important labor sector-or writing about it-will find the Locator a valuable shortcut to a wealth of real-world examples of what can and is being done."
Industries covered in the database include healthcare, utilities, transportation, chemicals, manufacturing, and government. The search result output includes the citation for each reference, its length and a summary of its content including companies mentioned and related key words. A URL is also provided, when available, so the user can click through to the source.

Source: Conference Board Press Release (December 17, 2007)

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Thursday, November 22, 2007

Canada: Workplace Institute Announces Winners of Top Employers of Older Workers

Workplace Institute announced its winners of its 2008 Best Employers Award for 50 Plus Canadians. The nine companies chosen on the basis of a written application and the results of an in-depth interview were HSBC Bank, Merck Frosst, Stream, EDS Canada, Wal-Mart Canada, Home Instead Senior Care, Metasoft Systems Inc., and Catholic Children’s Aid Society of Toronto.
"This year’s winners realize that boomer and veteran workers are the key to weathering talent shortages and are taking some novel approaches to attracting and retaining 45+ employees,” says the Workplace Institute’s Barbara Jaworski, founder of the awards and author of KAA-BOOM! How to Engage the 50-Plus Worker and Beat the Workforce Crisis. “The judges felt these organizations had found ways to meet their business and mature workforce needs by using strategies in one or more of the areas of career development, retention, recruitment, workplace culture/practices, management practices, health support, retirement/retiree practices, benefits, pension and/or recognition.”
Source: Workplace Institute Press Release (November 21,2007)

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Thursday, November 15, 2007

MetLife Study Provides Case Studies of Companies Successfully Implementing Programs Addressing Changing Workforce Demographics

MetLife Mature Market Institute has released a study exploring what proactive organizations are doing to creatively meet the challenges posed by an
aging workforce, including in-depth case studies about four companies that have successfully implemented programs to address the changing workforce demographics: Boston Scientific, First Horizon Corporation, The Aerospace Corporation and Weyerhaeuser. Among other things, the study provides insights for HR managers on such topics as implementing effective flexible work arrangements, helping older workers successfully transfer knowledge, and devising creative solutions for rehiring retirees.

The study, "Searching for the Silver Bullet: Leading Edge Solutions for Leveraging an Aging Workforce", which was developed in collaboration with David DeLong & Associates, suggests a number of lessons that can be learned, including:
  • The need to think of phased retirement or flexible work options as a program, not a policy;
  • How to create effective knowledge sharing relationships between older mentors and younger
    workers;
  • The need to make knowledge transfer an explicit part of any job when rehiring a retiree; and
  • Why companies must stop searching for the “silver bullet” and recognize that there is no quick fix to these workforce challenges.
In addition, the study provides specific tips to help employers:
  1. Create and leverage a network of former employees;
  2. Rehire retirees indirectly on a project basis when pension restrictions prevent direct re-employment;
  3. Hire retirees with special expertise to innovate on critical projects; and
  4. Tap the expanding pool of older people seeking employment.
Source: MetLife Mature Market Institute Press Release (November 14, 2007)

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