Event Details

This event was planned with Fairfax County  as part of the 50+ Plan  and supports the goals of the Economic Success Plan.

Online registration has closed -- please contact charlan.cornwell@bnlinc.com to register.

The Business Case for Recruiting and Retaining Workers Age 50+ 

The purpose of this presentation is to deepen understanding within the Human Resource profession of the expertise associated with older adults and their genuine interest to be active members of the workforce.

Benefits of developing strategies focused on recruiting and retaining 50+ workers:

50+ workers have the soft skills employers say they need.

American business faces a skills crisis with 40% of companies reporting difficulty filling jobs due to lack of available talent.  Overwhelmingly, business leaders point to soft skills – professionalism, written communications skills, analytical skills, and interpersonal skills – as the critical piece that is often missing from their talent pools.   50+ workers have spent decades honing soft skills, which can continue to improve until very late in life.

50+ workers are more motivated than younger workers.

Towers Watson research says older workers are more motivated to exceed expectations on the job than their younger counterparts. Motivation is strongly tied to employee engagement, and better engagement means better bottom-line financial performance.

50+ workers are more loyal and more likely to stay with their company than younger workers.

Not only can replacement costs run between 25% to 150% of an individual's annual compensation,  turnover can also contribute to customer-service disruption, declines in morale among remaining employees, and loss of "corporate memory."  50+ workers aren’t just more loyal – they’re also more reliable, have lower absentee rates, and have strong work ethics.

50+ workers are the new normal.

The older the baby boom generation gets, the more 50+ workers are participating in the labor force.  Employers can’t afford to overlook 20% of their available talent pool.

50+ workers have a “strong capacity and willingness to learn new tasks, processes and technologies.”

U.S. Department of Labor Aging Worker Initiative studies have demonstrated 50+ workers’ capacity to learn new processes and technologies.

Learning Objectives

• Increase HR professionals awareness of quantifiable research and reporting about 50+ workers

• Familiarize HR professionals with the unique skill sets of 50+ workers

• Enhance HR professionals understanding of the industry benefits associated with 50+ workers

• Support informed discussion that will educate HR professionals understanding of 50+ workers aspiraitons

• Best practices in advertising to and recruiting 50+ workers in the 21^st century-

Our Speakers:

 Lori Ann Roth, Ph.D., CPLP,  Director of Training and Organizational Development for the Human Resources & Payroll, George Mason University

DAN L. WARD, Senior Principal & Chief Workforce Economist, MITRE Corporation

Lylie Fisher - Director of Community Engagement, Iona Senior Services, Washington DC

This program has been approved for 1.0 (General) recertification credit hours toward PHR, SPHR and GPHR recertification through the HR Certification Institute. The use of this seal is not an endorsement by the HR Certification Institute of the quality of the activity. It means that this activity has met the HR Certification Institute’s criteria to be pre-approved for recertification credit.

Thank you to our October sponsor!