The difficult retention of seniors in employment: between HR biases and lack of support

ALL THE RESULTS OF THE NEW GRANT ALEXANDER / OPINIONWAY STUDY AMONG MANAGERS / RECRUITERS AND HR DIRECTORS ON EMPLOYEES OVER 55
Paris, October 12, 2023 – Partner in organizational and leadership performance, the consulting and HR services group Grant Alexander shares the results of an exclusive study revealing the true considerations of recruiters and HR directors regarding employees over 55 in the workplace.

This study was conducted by OpinionWay on a sample of 589 “recruiter” managers, as well as an oversample of 60 HR directors. All respondents work in private sector companies with 50 employees or more.

Interviews with leaders were conducted by telephone using the CATI system (Computer Assisted Telephone Interview) from September 19 to 24, 2023.

SENIORS EXCLUDED BY RECRUITERS AND HR DIRECTORS DESPITE CERTAIN SKILLS

The OpinionWay study for Grant Alexander introduces an unequivocal observation: people over 55 are not popular with recruiters … and even less so with HR directors.

Indeed, a significant proportion of them (45%) stated that they had already been instructed by their management to favor younger profiles over these seniors, if they had the choice. And one in three (32%) had already immediately excluded applications from senior profiles, always at the request of their management.

HR directors would even be more numerous in turning away senior profiles, with 75% of them claiming to favor younger candidates. Furthermore, 68% of them would directly filter senior candidates.

Yet, the vast majority of them agree that the experience of senior talents constitutes a real asset for the company (89%). 85% of respondents are even convinced that they can still learn and develop within the company!

So, how can this lack of interest from recruiters and HR directors be explained? Among the obstacles encountered, the majority of respondents cite the difficulty for seniors to understand the expectations of younger talents joining their team (72% for HR directors versus 69% overall), and their work processes (70% for HR directors versus 65% overall).

Cliché or reality? In any case, apprehension of technological and digital developments remains a strongly anchored concern for 63% of recruiters. Once again, the trend is even stronger among HR directors, with 74% sharing this fear regarding employees over 55.

OBSTACLES TO SENIOR EMPLOYMENT INHERENT TO THE COMPANY

Beyond the perception of senior employees themselves, the OpinionWay study investigates the presence of obstacles specific to the company and its strategy regarding the retention of these employees. Lack of support is one of the most deplored elements by respondents, whether to help seniors prepare for new roles (54%) or to allow them to update their skills (45%). Another notable point: senior employees’ expectations in terms of compensation, which for nearly half of recruiters (48%) also constitute an obstacle. An interesting discrepancy, the study notes that while 50% of recruiters regret the absence of HR policies or tools to facilitate the recruitment or retention of employees over 55, HR directors do not share this conviction as much (35%).

TRAINING, PART-TIME WORK AND REVISION OF THE PAY SCALE TO SUPPORT SENIOR EMPLOYMENT?

Asked about the effectiveness of measures aimed at retaining and/or recruiting senior profiles, respondents first highlight, at 81%, the implementation of training sessions promoting the transmission of knowledge from seniors to juniors, a considerable asset for employees over 55 in the company.

Beyond training, recruiters and HR directors are largely in favor of rethinking the end of career, whether it involves generalizing part-time work to move toward gradual retirement (79% overall and 93% for HR directors), or implementing occasional assignments allowing the recruitment of seniors for fixed durations (70% overall and 81% for HR directors).

Finally, far from being a consensual measure yet going hand in hand with the previous ones, respondents are equally numerous in supporting the possibility of adjusting the compensation of employees over 55 when they reach the end of their careers (74%).

“On this issue of senior employment, we are all co-responsible: companies, public authorities, and seniors. We must change our mindset, with one key word: agility! In companies, we must first work on biases and support leaders and employees, notably through coaching, training, to evolve mindsets, behaviors, and truly include! It is also necessary to offer more flexible collaboration modes than permanent contracts, in a ‘project’ mode, for example for executives and leaders, through interim management; and adapted formats, by developing part-time work. And to structure and make things possible, public authorities have an important role to play. They must encourage the retention and recruitment of seniors, through more schemes for reduction and exemption of employer contributions. For seniors, in my opinion, it is above all a matter of desire, energy, openness to new possibilities to continue working – always and still – on employability,” comments Henri Vidalinc, President of Grant Alexander.

About Grant Alexander: For more than 30 years, Grant Alexander has been the partner for organizational and leadership performance, supporting them globally in all their competency management and development needs, with always a tailor-made response. A multi-specialist group of HR consulting and services, with 4 activities (Executive Search, Executive Interim, Leadership Development, HR & Organisation Transformation), it operates in all sectors, across all functions (executives / experts / rare profiles), worldwide. It has several offices in France (Paris, Lyon, Aix-Marseille, Nantes, Toulouse), and is also the exclusive partner in France of InterSearch, a global leader network in executive recruitment. Socially responsible and committed, Grant Alexander is labeled Lucie 26000: www.grantalexander.com

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