Top reasons for hiring retirees

11/24/08

As recent and soon to be retirees watch their 401(k)s shrink in the current economy, more older workers are delaying retirement or choosing to return to the workforce. While hiring retirees may be challenging at times, the qualities they bring with them are worth it.

According to a recent AARP survey, 27 percent of workers 45 and older were postponing retirement and two-thirds reported having more difficulty paying for essential living items such as food, gas and medicine.

The number of older workers on full-time schedules nearly doubled in the past decade and those working part time increased 19 percent.

Hiring older workers creates unique challenges for HR -- learning how to mesh communication styles across generations, teaching young and old coworkers how to blend work styles, and training young supervisors how to have the confidence to manage older employees.

Though hiring older workers may come with some minor difficulties, many will find that the benefits far outweigh the troubles.

Here are the top reasons for hiring retirees:

• Experience. Even if they have been out of the working world for a few years, this group of workers has years of on-the-job experience. In most cases, hiring an older worker will involve less training and coaching than a recent college graduate.
• Work ethic. Older employees are more dependable and focused than their younger counterparts. After many years of training, they have developed strong values that are reflected in the quality of their work.
• Loyalty. As young workers jump from job to job, older employees remember the time they spent at one or two companies during their entire career. Today’s retirees grew up in an era where employee loyalty was something to be admired.
• Pride. Senior employees find a personal sense of pride in the work they produce. Older workers are more likely to stick around past closing to finish their work and know they did a good job, while younger employees rush out of the building at closing time.
• Confidence. Older workers have a sense of confidence from their working years that younger employees have yet to develop. That confidence shows in their ability to make decisions on their own and troubleshoot common business problems.

After taking account of all the top reasons for hiring retirees, the list of challenges seems to shrink smaller and smaller. Older workers have the potential to improve workplace productivity and save their employers money during a time where it is needed the most.