Ageism in recruitment

I want to ask what HR professionals really think about a company creating it EVP employee value proposition with the exclusive aim of attracting and retaining younger workers or creating an employer of choice package which works to retain them whilst not retaining the older workforce - do you think that having this as an explicit HRM policy and approach, overtly discussed, written about and planned for, is actually discriminatory? As a trainer of CIPD programmes for 30 years ive often come across research which talks about characteristics of younger and older workers and documents about X Y generations compared to the milleniells etc and I can udnerstand the need to consider succession planning in an ageing company workforce but to find HRM proactively using this to create barriers to our ageing population in tihe workforce, Seems too close to discrimination to me????  Id be grateful for any feedback! :-) 

Parents
  • I have a similar problem - albeit the opposite end of the age spectrum. We have a very young workforce as burn out is very common in our sector but many of our service users (complex and severe mental health and trauma) state that they would prefer to be supported by older workers "with some life experience". We don't get many applications from older workers at all and I haven't got to grips with how to make it a more attractive prospect for those maybe looking for a career change or to return to the sector, particularly as the pay is notoriously low. Will be keeping an eye on this thread for tips on recruiting a wider range of candidates!
Reply
  • I have a similar problem - albeit the opposite end of the age spectrum. We have a very young workforce as burn out is very common in our sector but many of our service users (complex and severe mental health and trauma) state that they would prefer to be supported by older workers "with some life experience". We don't get many applications from older workers at all and I haven't got to grips with how to make it a more attractive prospect for those maybe looking for a career change or to return to the sector, particularly as the pay is notoriously low. Will be keeping an eye on this thread for tips on recruiting a wider range of candidates!
Children
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