| By :
Martin Hofschroer
Businesses must update their workplace policies for older employees in order to cope with the effects of an ageing workforce. Joint research by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) discovered that the majority of British businesses are underprepared for the impact of older employees. The issue of older employees is becoming more prevalent due to the impending abolition of the Default Retirement Age (DRA) and the fact that a third of workers in the United Kingdom will be aged over 50 in ten years time. Just 14 per cent of British managers said that their organisation would be able to deal with older employees and 34 per cent stated that there was no board-level recognition of ageing workforce issues. Such businesses may benefit from performance improvement consulting services so that they can receive advice about how to train, support and manage older employees in order to get the best out of them. This is especially true of for those organisations in the public sector as they appeared to be less prepared compared to businesses in the private sector. Petra Wilton, CMI's director of policy and research, said: "If action isn't taken, employees who are in the 50+ age bracket will feel undervalued and will have no incentive to carry on working beyond normal retirement age. "The loss of their talents and considerable experience by businesses not prepared to adapt is reckless in the extreme." Dianah Worman, CIPD's diversity adviser, said employers need to be appropriately prepared for the phasing out of the DRA next year as this will give them an edge over their competitiors. "In difficult economic times businesses are not galvanising the talent and skills available to help them perform more competitively," she added. The CIPD and CMI are recommending that managers are educated about how an ageing workforce can impact on recruitment and the changing legal landscape. Businesses must ensure that senior staff are kept up-to-date with changes to retirement policies and are provided with training to help them manage age-related issues in an appropriate manner. Executive editor of Pensions Management Charlie Thomas said that older workers could be offered a "consultative or advisory" role as one solution for an ageing workforce. "Most experts believe we will enter a period where people continue to work into their 60s, but on a part-time basis, or move into less physically demanding industries," he said. A BBC Newsnight poll revealed that 70 per cent of people said it would not be possible to stop work then live for up to 30 years on their pension.
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