Employing Older Workers - Essay Example

Workforce planning constitutes an important part for every business and organization look towards a mix of traditional and theme running structure in the organization like decentralization in case of decision making and centralization in case of human accountability process. The relevance of workforce planning has increased as organizations especially in Australia has to look towards older employees due to ageing workforce. The paper presents a thesis on the manner the increasing age of workforce has made organizations to look towards increasing the retirement age of people and also looks towards hiring people with disabilities to perform very jobs in the organization. The manner in which the workforce of Australia has undergone changes has increased the dependance on older workers and organizations as a result are looking towards lengthening the retirement age. Organizations thereby are able to have a continuous supply of workforce to fulfil various positions in the organization. National demographics have an influence on the workforce planning as it helps to find the current constituent of the population in regard to age, educations, skills and other factors based on which the organization can plan their workforce requirements. The case from Australia where government agencies provide the organization information regarding the ageing population and the change in the educational level the system is witnessing. The organization has to prepare in advance their workforce requirements in the future and ensure that they have the necessary manpower to conduct their business activities (Jerry, 1997). The national demographics provide organization information relating to the educational skills which is helping organization tap the correct sources and get the best manpower. Organization as a result are able to understand the changes their business needs to undergo which helps to determine the training required and ensure workforce according to the changing scenario. Organizations are looking towards hiring people who are older but have the required experience to fulfil the responsibilities entrusted to them. Organizations have ensured that the retirement age but have increased the concern towards the role of job separation and labour force discouragement for older worker labour force outcomes (Jerry, 1997). It is important that the workforce is planned in a manner where the organizations look towards hiring the most efficient workforce so that the society and the stakeholders can be looked after. It is also important that while looking to have the best workforce the employees should be compensated fairly so that they remain with the organization and look towards providing quality services to the stakeholders. This will ensure efficient workforce planning and guide the management in the future dealings. Workforce planning is more than mere number games because organizations while looking to hire employees have to ensure that the workforce matches the job requirements. It means choosing the correct employee for the job and only hiring employees without matching the job requirements will not provide the required return the business is looking at. In this competitive world specialized services have become imperative which makes it important that organizations hire employees based on the job requirements and not merely look to hire employees (Davila, Caban-Martinez, Muening & Lee, 2009). Organizations while hiring employees look at the long term perspective and look towards building employees for higher position in the organization. People with the required knowledge and skills in the respective field which thereby increases the role of workforce planning in ensuring that employees hired are as per the requirements and will help the business in the long run. The Australian economy looks towards having a workforce which different age groups (Wolcott, 1999). It is also identified that the shortage in the workforce has made the companies look towards hiring people with disabilities. This is true in case of call centres because the nature of job allows people to be hired with disabilities. This has helped the organization to atleast ensure the required workforce based on which the daily affairs of the business can be carried out (Water, Jackson & Felmingham, 2008). The bank on this front has to ensure that the work force requirement matches the growth in the business. Since, they work in the service sector it is imperative to provide high quality service to retain customers. It is important that the banks start to look for prospective employees both within and outside the organization. The work force should be such that they are capable of handling the different task entrusted upon them and understands the objectives of the organization (Davila, Caban-Martinez, Muening & Lee, 2009). Since, it is a specialized service the bank should impart training both on and off the job. Care should also be taken to have employees as per the requirements and special efforts should be made while designing the job so that employees who are selected match the job criteria. This will help to ensure correct employees for the correct job and using the in house employees will ensure that the employees are motivated and work towards a common goal. Organizations look towards older employees and retain them for longer period of time primarily due to the fact that banks are finding it difficult to find the correct talent and look towards the same base of employees so that their requirements of the workforce can be met (Lahey, 2005). Most economies with ageing population are facing as they have no other option but to look towards the already bunch of people to ensure that their services are carried out easily. Businesses have to ensure that a policy is developed which looks towards workforce diversity so that every section of the society has representation in the workforce which leads towards the creation of an environment where the decisions taken by the organization provides the required return. Apart from the work habits there are various other factors like “skills, knowledge and learned behavior” (Lahey, 2005) which has an influence on the workforce and brings a change in behavior. The culture prevalent at the work place and the strategies has changed with time resulting in a change in culture. It is an area which has increased the concern in ageing societies and has made people look towards having a workforce where they have older people so that the work can be carried out easily. The workforce has undergone wide changes as people with disabilities have seen a shift in jobs (Mcshane, 2008, p.11). The jobs for people with disabilities and older age have also increased and today the world witnesses some very important positions being filled by women (Martin, 2007). This was not the case during the 1990’s where the work force was mainly of people who were educated and ageing population had little or no role in the business. Today it becomes more necessary for organizations in the service sector that renders services in the different part of the world. Organizations have to ensure that while designing the workforce diversity looks towards different factors which help to develop the training, career progression and reward for the employees. It will thereby help to ensure that the employees are able to understand the different requirements of the workforce development that will help the business to grow. Economies where the population is ageing is growing it is important that the management understand the constituent of their workforce and based on it look towards changing the retirement age of people so that they are able to lead the organization for a longer period of time. The importance and relevance for people with disabilities as organizations have to look forward towards a group of people for jobs which can be filled with people with such disabilities (Perspective, 1991). Organizations have to ensure that they have a continuous supply of workforce and will help them to develop and ensure growth for their business over a longer period of time. It is important for organizations to realize the importance of training and developing the training program after looking into the cultural dimensions so that the trainees benefit and ensures their long term association with the organization. Organizations have to deal with the requirements of workforce diversity and develop a training mechanism which helps the employees to move ahead in their carrier and ensures that the business is able to grow and achieve the required returns from different regions of the world. Organizations have to ensure that the ageing employees are able to keep with the changing requirements and fulfil most of the responsibilities entrusted on them. People with disabilities are given a chance to perform at positions where the job requirements matches with knowledge of the person and the people will thereby be able to ensure better delivery of results. Thus, the manner in which the workforce has been altered has made organization understand the relevance of ageing population and organizations need to understand the fact that a framework needs to be developed where different sections of the society are provided jobs so that the shortage in the workforce can be easily dealt. References Davila, E, P. Caban-Martinez, A, J. Muening, P. Lee, D, J. (2009). Sensory Impairment Among Older US Workers. American Journal of Public Health. Vol. 99, Iss. 8; pg. 1378 Jerry, H. (1997) "Age and Employment: Why Employers Should Think Again about Older Workers." Personnel Review 26 (4), 319. Lahey, J. N. (2005). Do Older Workers Face Discrimination. Center For Retirement.N33. Levin, G. ( 2002). The Untapped Workforce: Older Workers and Individuals with Disabilities. ICMI Knowledge center. Martin, J. O'Brien. (2007). Older male workers and mobility in Australia. International Journal of employment studies. Vol.15, N(2) Perspective, L. (1991). Washington targets benefits in fight against age discrimination." Management Review 80.n8 (August 1991): 31(3). Water, M & Jackson, N & Felmingham, B. (2008).keeping Australia's older workers in the labour force. A policy perspective. Australian journal of social issue.p291(19). Wolcott, L. (1999). Older workers, families and public policies. 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