65 Recruitment peer , but now that everyone ’ s working more remotely the time that employees get face to face with their peers needs to be really concentrated and well used . We have got a whole raft of senior people who still want to be in our industry who ’ ve had the training and lived the experience . They are sat there waiting to be utilised and ready to train the younger generation .
The big question So , my question to agencies is : “ if you are looking for a senior hire , and you are worried about someone being ‘ too old ’, why is that ?” Why do you think someone that ’ s over 50 isn ’ t going to work for you ? Do you think they are going to retire ? Maybe they will one day , but most people are working longer anyway so they could have 10 or 20 years left of their career . Is your 25-year-old project co-ordinator going to stay with you that long ? Are you threatened by their experience ? Or can you step back and appreciate what they will bring to your agency . If you are thinking “ why do I need this demographic ?” my question would be , “ why don ’ t you need them ?”
I realise that it is very hard to be fully inclusive . But the progressive agencies , the ones preparing for the future recognise that we are no longer talking about a workforce we are talking about people . Ignore the age of the candidate and instead look at what they have done and the experience and skillset they would bring to your organisation . How can they make your life easier ? How do they add value to your business ? What could they teach you and your team ?
Personally , I feel we also need to ditch the age-related awards we have in our industry . Why not just have best newcomer awards , or best sales results and ones linked to performance that are inclusive for every age ? You could have a 50 + year old rising star if they were new to the sector .
It was Einstein who said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different outcome . We have a real chance now to change the way we regard age and to make our industry truly inclusive . The thing that hurts is that ageism exists , just like sexism still does , just like racism still does . It is wrong .
The question is , what are we going to do about it ? www . conference-news . co . uk