Not wanted: Older worker in New India

NEW DELHI: They could be the answer to India Inc’s talent crunch. Unfortunately, in their quest for fresh and young talent, employers don’t think it important to recruit them. And a global survey has just confirmed this.

According to a survey by global HR consultancy firm Manpower Inc, only 14% of employers in India have a strategy for recruiting older workers. Interestingly, India is not alone, for this figure is on a par with the global average.

The study also finds that 21% of global employers have a retention strategy for older people in place. However, India lags behind here because only 16% employers have strategies in place for their old employees . In fact, India is far behind countries like Japan (83%), Singapore (53%), South Africa (34%) and New Zealand (33%), where older worker retention strategies are more prevalent. The global HR firm surveyed more than 28,000 employers across 25 countries to reach these conclusions.

“The study shows Indian employers are not doing enough to tap into the talent pool of older workers and much needs to be done in this regard. If employers want to seriously tackle the talent shortage they must look across the spectrum of workforce and retain quality,’’ says Soumen Basu, executive chairman, Manpower India. Basu feels opening the doors to older workers can be beneficial for organisations that are facing a talent crunch as help in knowledge transfer within the organisation. Moreover, it will help organisations retain knowledge and experience, widen the recruitment base, and could lead to more customers and greater profits. The older employees could chip in as consultants or trainers to meet the talent gap in the labour market. Unfortunately, employers don’t seem to realise this.

The survey is part of a white paper ‘The New Agenda for an Older Workforce’ . It explores the increasing reality of an aging workforce, and the resulting demand and supply gap that it is creating. The white paper also gives recommendations on how employers can help older employees extend their careers should they choose to do so. And what role the government could play in solving the older worker conundrum.

In fact, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), between 2025-2030 , 12 million people will be exiting the global workforce every year. The countries that face the biggest threat are those with the oldest population, particularly Japan, Italy and Germany. Therefore, along with the talent shortage that are already becoming pervasive in many countries, the retirement exodus could have a crippling effect on many national economies, as a disproportionate number of workers are left to support those in retirement.