Companies Not Listening to Their Elders

Old and Unloved: Companies that have implemented recruiting and retention strategies for older workers are a significant minority, according to a comprehensive study by Manpower Inc. More than 28,000 people in 25 countries participated in the study. Only 14 percent of companies around the world are aggressively recruiting older workers, defined as those age 50 and above. A mere 21 percent have strategies to retain workers past retirement age. The data reveal that companies in 19 of the 25 nations are placing more emphasis on retention, rather than recruitment of older workers. Companies in Singapore (48 percent), Hong Kong (42 percent) and Austria (21 percent) lead the way in recruiting older employees, compared with 4 percent of Swedish firms and 6 percent of companies in Spain, Norway, France and Taiwan. Employers in Japan (83 percent) and Singapore (53 percent) are well ahead of their counterparts in taking aggressive steps to retain workers, while only 1 percent of companies in Peru and the Netherlands do so. In the U.S., 18 percent of companies say they are recruiting older workers and 28 percent are pushing hard to retain those nearing retirement age.