Despite some increase in the overall employment rate of mature workers, recruitment still seems to focus .... the products can be considered custom-designed. ... neutral application forms; recognize age bias in traditional recruitment strategies ...
mature@eu Project Learning Needs for Staff Recruiters Maria Schwarz-Woelzl Zentrum fuer Soziale Innovation Linke Wienzeile 246 A-1150 Vienna Austria
Summary In times of a demography-induced shrinking labour market in Europe, corporate sustainability will depend on redefining and transforming human resource practices to retain workers of all ages and backgrounds. The involvement of mature workers will be decisive for the economic success of tomorrow. By now, a great number of R&D projects are investigating the theoretical and practical impact of the ageing workforce on human resources management; the aspect of (re-) integration of mature workers into the labour market has until now remained a side issue. As the issue of age discrimination in staff recruitment exists on a European level and many standard recruitment criteria show a strong age bias, the EU project mature@eu aims at promoting age-neutral recruitment processes. The idea behind this concept is to consider only the qualifications, skills and competencies of job applicants, and to deliberately exclude age as a criterion. The project’s objective has been to develop an open e-learning platform for recruiters, thus supporting them to become effective in age-neutral recruitment policies and practices. mature@eu’s e-learning platform is available online, each of its 16 language versions containing country-specific information. In June 2009, mature@eu received the ”Keeping on Track Best Practice Project” award. This article first discusses central learning needs for recruiters in relation to an ageing labour market. Then it addresses the rationale of mature@eu, and illustrates some of the promising project results.
The problem: age bias in recruitment policies… In the past few years, the employment rate among older workers has increased. According to EUROSTAT, 43.5% of all people aged 55-64 in the EU-27 countries were pursuing employment in 2007, whereas seven years earlier this rate was only at 36.9%. A more detailed look at different age groups, however, reveals the following: in 2007, the employment rate of people aged 55-59 stood at 57.5 % while it was 29.3 % among those aged 60-64. Beyond the age of 65, the employment rate decreases sharply. In the EU-27, less than 5 % of those aged 65 and over were in employment (EC, 2009). Even in times of economic upswing, older workers are rather counted among the long-term unemployed and experience difficulties in re-entering the labour market once they are laid off. Despite some increase in the overall employment rate of mature workers, recruitment still seems to focus on young applicants only, the age of job seekers remaining the central in- or exclusion criterion in the recruitment process. When skilled workers are urgently needed, the response of employers is simply to consider young applicants. According to a survey conducted for Manpower Inc. (2007) only 14% of employers worldwide have strategies for the recruitment of older workers and only 21% have implemented retention programmes to keep them participating in the workforce. Recruitment strategies specifically targeting older workers are being employed more frequently in Singapore (48%), Hong Kong (24%), and Austria (21%). Older worker retention strategies are most prevalent in Japan (83%), Singapore (53%), South Africa (34%), and New Zealand (33%). Older job applicants for skilled vacancies meet invisible age barriers. An OECD survey revealed that 70% of employers have never or only rarely hired older workers (Keese, 2006, 63). Similar trends were also identified in a recently published Capgemini survey of 440 big German companies where 44% of the respondents indicated a reluctance to hire older workers (Dawidowicz & Süßmuth, 2007, 11). Regarding Germany, data shows that with each additional year past the age of 50, less people are being appointed: while this number was still at nearly 100,000 among the 50-year-olds in 2006, it came down to only two
thirds of that number among the 55-year-olds. Among 59-year-olds, only 25,000 were recruited. Past the age of 60, the number of new appointments is cut in half (Brussig, 2009, 4). The Special Eurobarometer Wave indicates that 49% of EU citizens believe that a candidate’s age can be a disadvantage when seeking employment. Furthermore, 8 out of 10 EU citizens consider that, given equivalent qualifications, people aged 50 or over have less of a chance of obtaining a job, being accepted for advanced training or being promoted compared to younger applicants (EC, 2007, 16). Preferences governing the recruitment of mature workers are always personal perceptions which depend on the age, gender and job title of the individual recruiter. In an US survey of 400 employers evaluating employers’ attitudes towards older workers, the following interesting aspects were found: a) If mature age is of any advantage at all, this tends to be true for white-collar workers: here a majority of respondents see older managers and professionals as “more productive” (56%) than blue-collar workers (41%). b) The perception about the productivity of mature workers correlates with familiarity and with the personal age of the respondents: employers with a relatively old workforce (more than 15% aged 55 or over) have more positive views of older workers, whereas respondents from “young” organisations, or who themselves are younger than 55, are more likely to view older workers less positively (Munnell, Sass et al. 2006).
… as well as in recruitment practices Despite anti-discrimination regulations, companies still place advertisements containing age restrictions. An analysis of 302 job postings in the German newspaper FAZ on 28.04.2007 identified 109 ad texts as containing age specifications, albeit using indirect phrasing. Even though the frequency of direct age specifications in job postings has decreased, the number of advertisements containing indirect discrimination has increased drastically. In the FAZ’ 30 job advertisements containing illustrations, a total of 72 people were depicted. 2/3 of these were male, 96% clearly younger than 40 years and with the exception of one person of Black African and one of Asian descent, the features of all the others corresponded to the “Northern European type”. Without explicit
statements, the non-verbal objects in the photographs represent the way that employers conceive ideal applicants (Schweitzer, 2007). An age-profile analysis is a prerequisite and provides the baseline for a refocused recruitment strategy. Usually such an analysis examines the staff’s current and forecast age structure and the distribution of qualifications. According to the Demographic Fitness Survey 2007, however, only 40 % of all European firms have accurate information on the age profile of their workforce. This survey was conducted among 2,506 companies in Germany, the UK, France, Italy, and Spain.. Medium-sized firms have demonstrated the most significant improvement over the past year. Companies in France and the UK have used their better knowledge of their companies’ age structure for enhancing their long-term staff planning. In the survey, no European company planned their overall staff needs more than 18 months ahead (Adecco Institute, 2008). The figures concur with a German survey among 4,000 companies, showing that 44% of them had previously carried out an age structure analysis. This does not have to mean that systematic strategies will be developed as a result: only 54% state having adjusted their human resource planning according to their age structure (Commerzbank, 2009, 37). In summary, the results show that mature workers can hardly overcome the age stigma by their own efforts when seeking employment. Job application training and even the most elaborate self-presentation techniques aiming at reintegration in the labour market remain ineffective as long as recruiters go by stereotypes – stereotypes that are even internalized by older workers, in the sense that they are no longer to be counted on (Krenn & Vogt, 2007). Much rather, structural innovations are required to support the age diversity of workforces. Overcoming explicit and informal age barriers in staff recruitment is thus an imperative in order to cope with the predicted skills shortage.
The solution: learning to overcome age-bias The general objective of any recruitment and selection policy is to find the right person for the right job. In the light of an ageing labour market, human resource managers (HRMs) need to develop a greater appreciation of age diversity and
must reach a larger age segment of applicants up to 50 and over. In particular, they have to deal with a number of concrete problems, and develop effective strategies: a shortage of specialized staff, a new generation of employees in short supply, the high turnover of younger specialized staff, and workforces consisting increasingly of middle-aged and older employees. Maintenance of work ability until 65, and the limitations of early retirement are also an issue (Köchling, 2003, 100). Since many standard recruitment practices and selection criteria have a strong age bias, the required paradigm shift presents a real challenge to HRMs. The most important innovation within the concept of age neutral recruitment is to assess job applicants with regard to their skills and abilities, and not on basis of their age. In other words, the focus is on job needs and not on unnecessary standards of experience, personal qualities or qualifications; these all could be perceived as age discrimination. It involves determining the demographic profile of the actual workforce, matching the result with future trends, and training those in charge of recruitment decisions. Age neutral recruitment requires an analytical examination of all processes, tools and instruments of the recruitment and selection process. For example, recruiters have to ensure that ageist language is not used in adverts, or that vacancies are publicized in ways most likely to attract mixed-age responses. Personal details should be separated when sifting applicants and a mixed-age interview panel should ask only job-related questions. All these measures will help reduce the possibility of an age bias in recruitment processes (Healy & Schwarz-Woelzl, 2007).
The intervention: by mature@eu mature@eu wants to support business leaders, HRMs, staff recruiters, equal opportunities representatives, trade union officers and workers' representatives – in short, all those who have an influence on recruitment decisions - in introducing age-neutral recruitment policies and practices. For this reason, “mature@eu - Supporting Employers Recruiting and Selecting Mature Aged Persons” (funded by the Lifelong Learning Programme of the European
Commission and running from 2006 to 2010) developed an integrated learning environment. As the implications of an ageing workforce and of ageist attitudes towards older people affect all stakeholders alike, the mature@eu consortium consists of 25 organisations, such as social partners, companies, civil society organisations, networks, universities, research institutes, and vocational & educational training institutes. They come from 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Turkey. The main product of mature@eu is a web based e-learning platform1, supporting the learning needs of the target groups during all phases of the implementation of age-diverse recruitment policies. Additionally, a database2 containing over 400 materials, such as self-assessment tools, checklists, guidelines, good practice examples, key figures and reports has been set up. The materials are available in fifteen different languages: Czech, Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Slovakian, Slovenian, Spanish, and Turkish. As the target groups participated in the whole development process - as partners, testers or evaluators, and in the course of dissemination activities - the products can be considered custom-designed.
The mature@eu e-learning platform: scientific basis, self–directed learning The didactic concept and the learning objectives of the mature@eu e-learning platform are based on scientific findings: in a survey, 18 experts in the field of age diversity and HRM were asked to comment on critical issues and give concrete recommendations for facilitating change in recruitment procedures (Healy & Schwarz-Woelzl, 2007). They tested the e-learning platform’s prototype in terms of usability and user satisfaction, which was then adapted accordingly.
1
See: http://www.mature-project.eu/e-learning/
2
See: http://www.mature-project.eu/toolbox/
It has been set up on the open source Learning Management System MOODLE, and has been developed for self-directed as well as tutor supported e-learning. The mature@eu e-learning platform consists of 17 units, organized in three modules. - Module 1 (with five units) wants to help learners describe the most important demographic trends in Europe; name the fundamentals of national and EU anti-discrimination legislation; communicate the corporate advantage of an age-diverse staff; point out the advantages of older IT experts; and make a convincing case for age diversity when talking to corporate decision makers. - Module 2 (with four units) wants to help learners identify the business case for age diversity; convince decision makers of the necessity of an age-diverse recruitment policy; analyze their company’s age structure; analyze their organization's current recruitment policy; and develop and communicate corporate guidelines against age discrimination. - Module 3 (with eight units) wants to help learners describe the overall principles of age-diverse recruitment; determine the crucial points for training recruiters; draw up age neutral job advertisements; develop age neutral application forms; recognize age bias in traditional recruitment strategies; design selection procedures avoiding the pitfalls of age discrimination; and build a corporate branding as „age-friendly employer“. Every unit begins with an information section, describing the problem and sketching some problem-solving strategies together with additional support and useful materials, if possible country-specific. It is followed by a learning section, offering specific exercises (more than 25 exercises were developed for the platform), a glossary, a bibliography and various communication tools. The following units were chosen to give an impression of the information section: Example 1: Module 1, Unit 2: Understanding EU-wide Directives This unit starts with a short explanation of the prohibition on age discrimination. Downloadable guidelines, a short video, and a link list on the topic of age discrimination give additional information. The information section is completed
with country-specific information like checklists, guidelines, national legislation, evaluation reports on the implementation of anti-discrimination legislation, etc. Example 2: Module 2, Unit 3: Analysing recruitment policies At the beginning, the unit explains the essential nature of a sober assessment of current recruitment policies, and of the arguments against the recruitment of older applicants. It is followed by guiding questions for reviewing current recruitment policies and a downloadable good practice example. For further reading, a self-assessment tool, a toolkit for a specific audit and two different checklists are offered. Example 3: Module 3, Unit 5: Re-designing application forms Again, the unit first gives reasons why application forms need to be redesigned to omit any reference to age. A set of practical guidelines and some good practice examples for age-neutral application forms complete the unit.
Since October 2009, the mature@eu e-learning platform has been available in sixteen language versions, each containing localized data related to the following countries: Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. The platform is available to third parties such as vocational and educational training institutions, CSOs active in the field of ageing/discrimination, employers‘ or HRM associations, trade unions etc. to be exported to their servers free of charge. After this export, it may be adapted by third parties and used for commercial and non-commercial training purposes.
The institutionalization: sustainability secured The high relevance of mature@eu‘s innovations is clearly evident: six month before the end of the project, we have already signed user agreements on the
use of the mature@eu e-learning platform with 19 relevant organizations (e.g. VET institutes, CSOs concerned with ageing/ discrimination, universities, business schools, employers associations, interest groups, consulting companies, multinational corporations, etc.). We expect further third party agreements to be closed until the end of the project. Additionally, more than 750 users have registered on the mature@eu e-learning platform. A transnational approach was fundamental when developing the mature@eu elearning platform, aiming at European added value: mature@eu’s results and its success in safeguarding sustainability substantially rely on a north-south and west-east transfer of knowledge, tools and materials in Europe. This transfer takes place on various levels: - mature@eu researched and translated the most innovative tools and materials that could be found in Europe (now to be accessed on the e-learning platform). Information is thus transferred from countries with relatively well-developed strategies on the topic of the “ageing workforce” (such as the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, and Austria) to countries where this issue is just beginning to become part of the political agenda. This way, mature@eu has made an essential contribution to overcoming the information gap in countries like Bulgaria, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain, or Turkey. - Some of our partners were able to establish themselves in their countries as sought-after experts on the topic of the “ageing workforce” (for lack of competition, in some cases). This is mostly true for the partner countries mentioned above where mature@eu has been essential in transferring knowledge and information on this topic. - The particular relevance of mature@eu’s e-learning platform in those countries is also illustrated by the project website’s access statistics; a large percentage of the overall number of 340,000 visitors came from Turkey, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, or Lithuania.
Conclusion While there have been significant policy initiatives concerned with age discrimination at the European and national level, evidence indicates that they have not yet influenced the behaviour of most staff recruiters. Recruitment policy continues to be predominantly youth oriented, and older applicants meet invisible barriers. The real challenge is to bring about both cultural and structural changes. Only if recruiters understand what age discrimination is about they will realize when they are being ageist. Therefore, overcoming ageism in recruiting is a challenge that can be responded to by directed learning.
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