Workers entering the workforce between now and beyond the year 2000 will be much different from the typical new hire of the past. Organizations from the military service to the trucking industry will be forced to look beyond their traditional sources of personnel. Employers will need to look toward more non-traditional workers, particularly the "older worker" to fill jobs.

Between 2000 and 2010, the age group experiencing the greatest growth will be those ages, 55-64. By 2005, people ages 55 and over are projected to be nearly 20% of the working groups. (Barber, 1993)

In a report on "Valuing Older Workers " by AARP, 1995, managers describe the older worker as having had more experience, better judgement, a stronger commitment to quality, more reliable attendance and punctuality, and lower turnover. Given the opportunity, the older worker offers many skills that can reduce your training cost and increase profits.

A study by McNaught (1994) cites examples of three companies that have used older workers successfully. Travelers Insurance Company began by using retirees to staff the company hotline. When that endeavor proved successful, it began a retiree job bank to facilitate placement of retirees on a part-time basis throughout the company. In one year the company realized a cost savings of over a $1 million by operating its own job bank, compared to hiring through temporary agencies.

The Days Inn employs older workers as reservations' agents. When compared to younger workers, older workers fare well: their training takes no longer, they have lower turnover rates, and they are more likely to complete a call with a successful reservation.

B & Q, a chain of English do-it-yourself stores, was encountering problems staffing its stores with entry-level workers so it opened a new store staffed only with older workers. Not only has the store experienced increased work force stability (i.e., compared to comparable stores, six times less employee turnover and 40% less absenteeism) and improved customer relations, it has been 18 times as profitable as other similar stores in the chain.

A 1997 survey by Towson University reinforced reports of employers' "positive attitudes and beliefs about older workers." The employers reported that the most common (61%) barrier to hiring older workers was "finding the older workers...The skill levels of older workers were considered to be a barrier by half the respondents."

Older workers already have the skills to move with your business into the new millennium.

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