Recruiters must help manage employees’ careers if UK firms are going to thrive in an ageing and shrinking workforce, according to the Adecco Institute.

 

Commenting on the findings of its Demographic Fitness Survey, which found more firms planning to hire staff over the age of 50, the institute’s managing director Donna Murphy told Recruiter: “The most significant find for recruiters is to pay more attention to career management.

 

“Helping people manage their careers is critical. The fact that companies are predicting employing more people over the age of 50 goes an enormous way to accepting there is shrinking pool of candidates.”

 

Murphy said the trend of feeling less valued in work as you get older can be changed by recruiters.

 

“They can help make people feel more engaged. It is crucial that people at the front end of the pipeline play an important role in helping people manage their career goals and not lose their aspirations.

 

“There is a tremendous cultural emphasis on retirement. People tend to stay in a career until they retire even if they don’t like their job and then drop out. If people enjoyed their job and valued it, the focus would be less on retirement.”

 

Sharing top place with Germany in the survey results, the UK excelled in four of the five factors that influence a firm’s ability to cope with an ageing workforce — creating career management opportunities for staff, offering more workplace learning and training tools, knowledge management, and leading the way in offering equal opportunities for all age-groups.

 

However, UK firms trail the rest of Europe when it comes to keeping employees healthy, according to the poll of 2,506 companies in Germany, UK, France, Italy and Spain.

 

Rachel Krys, director of the Employers Forum on Age, welcomed the progress on age issues.

 

She told Recruiter: “Businesses are broadening their horizons and waking up to the fact that they are going to have to widen their recruitment pool with older people and other age-groups.”

 

But Krys warned that traditional views about retirement age must change if progress is to be made.

 

“Very few employers have done this, and it sends out the wrong message. Retirement is seen as an easy option, when employers need to be looking at more flexible options.”

 

UK firms are also lacking when it comes to performance management, Krys added. “We need to get away from the traditional view of careers,” said Krys. “We need to create structures for multiple careers. The 20-60 model is outdated, in particular with demographic changes. There needs to be an investment in training and retraining to combat different demographic pressures.

 

Commenting on the report, Rene Schuster, Adecco UK group chief executive, said: “While there is a slight slip in the UK’s overall performance in the survey from last year, it is exciting to see that UK business again leads the way in preparation for the challenge of an ever-changing workforce demographic.”

How the UK performs

How the UK performed in the Demographic Fitness Survey

European leader — the UK topped the Demographic Fitness Index, along with Germany, for the second year running with 186 points.

Career management — 60% of UK firms created new positions to help employees manage their career.

Lifelong learning — UK companies offered more learning tools to their employees. A total of 96% of UK businesses offer workplace-based training initiatives and 86% offer technical skills training.

Failing health — the UK scored lowest of all European companies. Worst at offering pre-employment checks, medical check-ups and "significantly worse" at offering regular health checks.

Diversity leader — 93% of UK firms offer equal opportunities for all age-groups and perform better than their European counterparts.