Attracting and retaining mature-age workers in Singapore

Many of the mature-age job seekers Randstad speaks with express concern about the difficulty faced when they try to find a new job. Time and time again we hear them say the chances of recruitment are low and they are often expected to take a pay cut.

This situation was acknowledged recently by Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam who commented that mature-age workers in Singapore still face “an element of age discrimination” and urged businesses to hire fairly based on merits.

The truth is, mature-age workers are an invaluable resource for an organisation. Over their careers, they have accumulated a wealth of knowledge and much tried-and-tested experience, as well as built a wide network of industry connections. At the same time, they tend to be more loyal to their companies if treated respectfully.

This is especially relevant to companies in Singapore as they struggle to find talent to maintain and drive business growth.  In the recent Budget, the Government has launched various initiatives and schemes to encourage businesses to hire more mature-age workers, such as the Special Employment Credit where companies can get up to an eight percent rebate off a mature-age workers’ salary from the Government.

Below are a few tips on how to attract and retain mature-age workers, who play a critical role in companies all around us.

Attracting them through the right channel

To gain attention from mature-age job seekers, it is important to understand their preference in job searching channels and place recruitment advertisements accordingly. For example, they tend to look for jobs via the newspapers rather than on recruitment websites. So when you place a recruitment advertisement, make sure you consider print.

Create a supportive environment

Mature-age workers place great importance on work-life balance, which requires employers to adopt flexible working arrangements. For example, some companies offer mature-age employees a four-day working week or flexible working hours such as from 7am to 4pm or 6am to 3pm. Having policies that cater to their needs and convenience make them feel valued and in return, they are more likely to stay loyal to the company.

There is no better timing to do this than now. The new Flexi-Works! Scheme introduced in the Budget provides employers a rebate of up to 80 percent to support the cost of projects to adopt flexible work arrangements.

Provide training and upskilling opportunities

The majority of mature-age workers Randstad works with said that they welcome and appreciate the opportunity to receive education and training. Meanwhile, keeping their skills up-to-date will increase productivity in the company and potentially reduce the need to hire more staff.

Companies can leverage the Government’s Workfare Training Support Scheme to train their mature-age workers, or send them to other relevant training institutes. At the same time, businesses should also encourage learnings between younger and older workers.

For example, some companies introduce a mentoring system where younger workers are paired with older workers. Younger workers can learn from older workers their experiences and insights. In return, older employees can learn from the younger ones how to better use IT software for example.

With an ageing population and a tight local workforce pool, businesses will increasingly need to cater for and manage mature-age workers. It is important for employers to change their perceptions and adjust their hiring policies to be able to attract and retain this talent pool. After all, the lifetime’s worth of skills and experience they can bring will benefit the business for the years to come.

Author: Michael Smith, Randstad Country Director of Singapore