As a hiring manager, when you produce more at the same cost or less, that’s good for business; and, ... [+]
Part one in the series: Busting workplace myths with data.
There are lots of myths about generational workers, and this series will address some of the more common ones, leveraging data to set the record straight. One of the most common misconceptions about older worker is their expectation for higher salaries.
According to recruitment firms Accounting Principals and Ajilon, a survey of 1,000 U.S. full-time workers across the generations provided key insights that recruiters and hiring managers might want to consider.
When it comes to salary, the more experienced an employee is, the more willing they are to work for lower pay–the opposite of what many recruiters and hiring managers believe.
When 1,000 employees were asked if being underpaid would cause them to quit their job or look for a ... [+]
Most applicants are savvy enough to research the company and the average salary for a job posting. Chances are, they already know what to expect. As a hiring manager, you want to recruit the best talent; therefore, assuming otherwise may result in the failure to consider key talent.
In the Harvard Business Review article, The Case for Hiring Older Workers, the authors write that there is good reason why an older person might make less than someone younger.
“Look at pay equity by job and level, not tenure. Tenure is not a useful measure for pay, unless it directly translates into experience and skills that drive value to the company. It’s more than OK for an older person to make less money than a younger person if they’re new to the job. In fact, it’s fair.”
“In the Hunt for Top Talent, Don’t Overlook Older Workers” Jeff Hyman, veteran recruiter and adjunct professor at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern, writes that assuming older workers cost more could be a mistake.
Just because someone has thirty years of experience doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be out of your price range. Maybe their kids have graduated and they’ve downsized to a condo. Maybe they just want to stay active or give back. Plus, many of them are past their peak spending years, which may mean they have more flexibility when it comes to compensation structure.
Total Cost Savings Through Loyalty
Turnover is expensive, which is why data on employee tenure is worthy of consideration in recruiting and selection.
According to a 2016 Pew Research survey, 76 percent of older employees had worked at the same company for at least five years—more than any other age category.
“Turnover costs dwarf healthcare costs. It’s an order of magnitude,” says Hyman.
Moreover, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate that older workers stay twice as long with their companies as younger workers. In 2018, the median tenure of workers ages 55 to 64 (10.1 years) was more than three times that of workers ages 25 to 34 (2.8 years). Also, a larger proportion of older workers than younger workers had 10 years or more of tenure. For example, 57 percent of workers ages 60 to 64 were employed for at least 10 years with their current employer in January 2018.
Business Advantage Through Age Diversity
Teams with a wider age range outperform, according to a study by Eric Larson, founder of Cloverpop, the enterprise platform for communicating, tracking and improving decisions. Multigenerational teams with a “wide” age range of 25 years or more from youngest to oldest team members met or exceeded expectations 73 percent of the time, while those with a “narrow” range of less than ten years did so only 35 percent of the time.
Not only that, there is incredible power in mutual mentoring, which occurs naturally in age-diverse teams in companies with inclusive workplace environments. “The sharing of business knowledge and skills is shifting away from the master-disciple paradigm toward mutual mentorship that transcends position, gender and age,” says Alvin Hope Johnson, in his article “Mutual Mentoring: Everyone Can Teach And Learn.”
As a hiring manager, you want to create an innovative and productive team. When you assemble and lead your team to produce more at the same cost or less, that makes them more efficient. That’s good for business, and it makes you look good, too.
