Why Older Workers Could Be Guernsey’s Hidden Talent Pool

By Zoë Cousens, Executive & Leadership Coach, Global Women’s Business Club Top Ten Voice 2024 (aged 62)

It seems clear to me – as a woman of a certain age! – that offering the opportunity for
people to continue working for longer, and utilising all that untapped potential would
help to solve that conundrum, so I believe employers need to consider adapting to
welcome ‘older’ people into their organisations.

I know very few people in their 60’s & 70’s who would classify themselves as traditional ‘Old Age Pensioners’ and even fewer who are ready to settle for a daily routine of newspaper crosswords and coffee mornings for the next 20-30 years of their lives. In many cases, our basic workplace contracts and pension schemes were established after the Second World War when life expectancy was much lower, and many of those old-fashioned workplace standards are virtually unrecognisable in today’s world.

It’s a fact that whilst some people do need to continue to generate an income, working isn’t necessarily about money, it’s about spending time with others, continuing to learn and being part of something important, which all help to prevent the issue of becoming ‘invisible’ in older age and provide a necessary antidote to the well documented danger of loneliness.

Older people have accumulated significant depth of knowledge, wisdom, resilience and experience – both professionally and personally – in their lifetimes, and bring problem-solving skills, a strong work ethic and age diversity to teams.

We know we have the necessary skillset to enrich all areas of an organisation, but businesses can only benefit from these positives if they truly commit to broadening their workforce, offering flexibility, being more open to different working practices, and are willing to reward accordingly for the benefits. I believe the recruitment agencies could also be more proactive about engaging with potentially lucrative candidates!

I know I’m biased but I do struggle to come up with any drawbacks for employers of engaging reliable, committed and loyal seasoned professionals who can also offer mentorship and training to younger staff, sharing their abundance of knowledge and skills to promote a culture of continuous learning.

With the benefit of our long careers, we can often provide a more balanced and considered view, helping a business with strategic decision-making and business operations.

Older people are often used to building strong relationships with clients, and we’ve frequently grown extensive professional networks during our long careers. Strong interpersonal and communication skills as well as emotional intelligence learned over time, allow us to excel not only in customer service roles but also in helping to resolve workplace conflicts more effectively. Further, we typically have a good understanding of regulation and compliance, helping to identify and mitigate potential risks within the business. And believe it or not, many older workers are eager to learn new technologies too.

It’s so encouraging that Chamber has highlighted the island’s talent shortage and I’m convinced that this is one of the potential solutions.

Business leaders now have a key role to play in bringing about change. So let’s continue this debate in the business world and challenge the traditional mindset to ensure Guernsey businesses are making the most of the talent available. The alternative is that we will continue to literally miss out on a lifetime of knowledge and experience.

So my message is by valuing, embracing and integrating the strengths and contributions of older employees, businesses can build a more robust, diverse, and effective workforce. I believe there needs to be a critical re-evaluation of age bias in the business world.

Zoë would love to hear from any business leaders who have ideas on how to encourage organisations to diversify their workforce.