Ageism Accountability

How companies can get age inclusivity right

The following is adapted from I’m Not Done: It’s Time to Talk About Ageism in The Workplace.

Last year, the clothing company Chico's came out with a very cool, consumer-facing marketing program with the hashtag #howboldareyou. Women can buy a T-shirt made with their age and the words “years bold.” The goal was to empower women not to hide from the number, their age.

 

It’s a cool program, and I ordered three shirts for myself; one for 58, and one for when I turned 59 in September and I’m saving one for my #ImNotDone 60^th celebration.
 
Chico’s, which is based in Florida, actually has a commitment to hiring older employees. It’s part of their business model because it’s their target demographic. Most of their executive team are women who are over 50, and many of them over 60. It’s good for their business to have older people that manage their store and in higher positions within the corporation.
 
They actually have challenges sometimes in hiring young people. They would like to, because they believe in the value of a more diverse workplace from an age standpoint, but it can be difficult for them to attract this demographic.
 
What Chico’s is doing is great, and here are a few more examples of how various workplaces get age inclusivity right. They take responsibility and accept accountability for ageism. They respect older employees, offer programs allow for retirees to transition slowly out of the company, and create apprenticeships across the age groups.

Herman Miller is a global company based in Zeeland, Michigan that makes high-end office furniture, melding form and function into great concepts for workspaces. They’ve been around—and thus an employer—for a long time, since 1905, in fact.
 
I spoke with Tony Cortese, Senior Vice President of People Services (great title, isn’t it?), about the company’s employee demographic. He said they see it as an important element of strategic planning—not in terms of furniture, but rather their own workforce.
 
“Like many companies, it became apparent to us that we were pretty rich with boomer-aged employees and that we would come to a time in the next decade when these employees would begin retiring—possibly en masse. And the question we asked ourselves was: how do we want to prepare for that?”
 
They looked at this issue from every level, not just from their perspective as an employer. It wasn’t necessarily a concern because it hadn’t yet happened, but it was definitely something they wanted to address in a positive manner.
 
“If an employee walks in and gives you a few weeks’ notice on their retirement (which is all we expected them to do) it doesn’t give you an awful lot of time to do any strategic planning. It doesn’t give you time to figure out what you want to do with the position, like how you want to back-fill it. It doesn’t give you time to retain the knowledge of the employee that’s leaving, or to find new talent, bring them in, and onboard them.”
 
From the employer's standpoint, it was smart business for them to address this issue upfront. It allowed them to manage the exit strategy of any employee, and it also reduced any anxiety and negative impact the employee might feel knowing this event was on the horizon.
 
“It was apparent to us that it was equally abrupt for the employees themselves. When someone gives you two weeks’ notice and then commences retirement, for some that can be a rather jarring adjustment and a significant, often startling change.”
 
Tony and his team, along with the full support of Herman Miller management, asked themselves an important question: What we can do that is beneficial both to the company and to the employee, that would allow for a more planned, deliberate, and people-centered process?

Not many companies do this, with an equal eye to both the employee and the employer. In fact, most don’t think about it or do much at all. They would rather hire in a new workforce with new ideas and cheaper pay.
 
Herman Miller approached it differently. They developed FlexRetirement, a completely voluntary phased retirement program. It’s not something they push on their employees; rather the employee is the one who has to initiate the process with their people services consultant and work team leader. The employee has to raise her hand and say she wants it, but very importantly, the company ensures there is no stigma or judgment upon those that choose to opt in.
 
FlexRetirement basically allows for flexibility for the employees at the end of their career. They can have reduced hours with adjusted pay, which is different than a paid retirement. They can also adjust their time in the office, for instance asking to work 32 hours a week for six months, then scale down to 20 hours a week for the next six. Employees may request to scale back time gradually, or abruptly, however, they feel works best for them. The company may not agree, but they do agree to have a conversation that is open to flexibility and finding solutions that benefit both the company and the employee.
 
As people enter this phase of their career, Herman Miller is also open to exploring project-based work if it fits the employee’s needs. The project-based work offers a discreet pass with a concrete beginning, middle, and end. Some companies have found these project positions more suitable and important for an employee at the end of his or her career.
 
Herman Miller is flexible in general as an employer, but they do have specific requirements for an employee to qualify for the phased retirement program. The employee has to be at least 60 years old with at least five years of employment with the company. Those that qualify can take between six months to two years phasing out of their current role and into retirement.

There are several other companies who are handling ageism in a positive and uplifting way.
Barclays, a global bank, expanded its apprenticeship program—basically an internship program—and began actively looking at candidates over the age of 50. They value employees with this life experience and feel that these apprentices will better relate to customers who are seeking loans or looking to invest their wealth with the bank.
 
They have also employed a team of tech-savvy older employees to help their mature customers with some of their online banking elements. Again, they believe these employees will better relate to their customers and see a bottom-line benefit in investing and seeking out older employees. They document on their website, “Why wouldn’t we want to capitalize on the life skills of experienced employees?”
 
Michelin has a returning retiree employee program that allows employees to return after a period of time to work with reduced hours. It’s a way of recognizing that some people may have retired before they’re emotionally or financially ready. They still have important and significant knowledge of the company, so Michelin makes it easy for these retirees to come back to work.
 
Scripps Health offers generation specific and targeted educational programs. As an example, they have a program that manages the “sandwich generation.” This is the generation of people in their late 30s and 40s who have to juggle both the needs of their own children and their aging parents.
 
GlaxoSmithKline has a formal networking and mentoring program designed to connect older and younger workers while DTE Energy created a network for baby boomers in the workplace.
 
CVS Caremark offers a snowbird program in which several hundred pharmacists and employees from northern states are transferred each winter to pharmacies in Florida and other warmer states. This works twofold for CVS. It appeals to those older employees who want to head south for the winter, and it also allows CVS to manage the surge in business they need in those areas where their customers flock to the sunshine. The program also establishes an informal mentorship and training for any newly hired employees.
 
Companies that implement strategies to help older employees—or employees of any age who can benefit of these role models and seasoned professionals—can absolutely see results in employee morale, mentorship programs, and overall success.
 
For more advice on age inclusivity, you can find I’m Not Done on Amazon.