3 reasons you should be hiring age 50+ employees

If your business employs workers within the 50 and over age group, then you are one of the few who will be benefiting from the many positives older workers bring and setting the tone for the future of UK employment. According to a report by the Centre for Aging Better (CAB), published on the 20th February 2018, society is failing to realise the potential of this age group. Discrimination is still clearly present, as the report shows there is a sharp decline in economic participation rates by those aged 55 and over. Therefore, Bluestream Recruitment want to break the stereotypes and answer the question; what are the benefits of hiring age 50 + employees for your business?

Younger employees, school leavers and graduates tend to be climbing their desired career ladder. This means they’re more inclined to want to get trained up in an organisation and move to a different position elsewhere to diversify their CV. Older workers however, are less likely to be wanting to climb a corporate ladder. They are more likely to stay in one position, especially if they feel valued and are contributing to the team. This saves companies and hiring managers thousands of pounds which would be spent on recruiters and training new staff.

Older workers can bring years of experience and act as mentors for junior employees. They're able to build junior employee’s confidence and give valuable advice backed by their experience of varied working environments and different management styles, which has equipped them with resilience and perspective.

Older workers make up a balanced work environment. It's great to have fresh young employees with new ideas for your business, as well as their knowledge of trends and current topics which gives context to why their ideas could be successful. But when it comes to making these ideas a reality, the older generation know how to bring about results and plan for the future. They're the ones who have experienced mistakes and pitfalls, having seen campaigns and projects through from start to finish, making their input valuable to the success of any new ideas and approaches which a business wants to put in place.

With a current shortage of candidates with the right skills and experience, older workers should be viewed as a vital resource for organisations who want to remain competitive and fill the gap in skilled, loyal workers. This can benefit your business now as well as for the future. If employers can make changes to their businesses now, adapting their work environment to support older employees, the future will be brighter for all.