Mature employees bring experience, wisdom and soft skills to the workplace
From the Seasonedpros.ca Insights Lab
In a market hungry for talent, there is a hidden resource that is too often overlooked.
An experienced workforce of professionals is out there now, ready and raring to fill talent gaps. Many have left full-time careers and are looking for work on a fractional contract or part-time basis.
This is an important component to build an organization’s talent pipeline. Critical labour shortages are the number one challenge facing businesses, according to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. This gap is limiting their ability to increase sales, growth and innovation. It is also hampering economic growth.
Labour shortages are structural. As the population ages, professionals are exiting full-time jobs. The trend towards smaller families has left a smaller pool of talent from which to draw.
On the upside, this creates a growing pool of experienced professionals who are available and ready to work. According to a survey by Scotiabank, there are 1.4 million workers available to rejoin the labour force.
Scotiabank believes that this is an underutilized and overlooked talent resource that can benefit organizations and the larger economy.
Seasoned talent is eager to work
Because of their experience, mature professionals can hit the ground running and require less training and oversight. They often get the job done faster and more efficiently than candidates with less experience.
They also come with a well-developed set of skills in leadership and team collaboration. They bring a wider perspective when solving problems. These are skills learned from experience and cannot be taught in schools.
Bankers and economists are encouraging governments to incentivize companies to tap the over-50 segment to tackle the labour problem and keep the economy growing.
Here are 9 reasons to hire a seasoned professional:
1. Experience – Mature workers bring 20-plus years of experience and a wealth of knowledge about the workplace, business world and life. They have already solved problems and adapted to huge changes in workplace technology. This adds value to a company facing changes and challenges.
2. Soft Skills – They have developed the ability to communicate effectively, think critically, manage and lead teams, and manage crisis situations.
3. Flexibility – Many older workers have fewer domestic commitments meaning they have more time and freedom to dedicate to work.
4. Knowledge transfer and mentorship – With full-time careers under their belts, many business professionals want to share experience and skills with younger colleagues.
5. Open to interim and fractional work – Many experienced professionals are open to jobs on a part-time or a contract basis for purposes of flexibility and freedom. This can be a cost-effective hire for companies that aren’t ready to hire full-time.
6. Reduced turnover – Experienced workers are less likely to change jobs quickly. They remain in a position for a longer period of time. This cuts back on the “churn” of talent turnover, and reduces the costs of recruitment, hiring and training.
7. A stable workplace – Older workers help build a multi-generational work environment. This produces stability and brings a wider range of perspectives to problem-solving. It also creates opportunities for innovation as different experiences “collide,” and new ideas are hatched.
8. Mature workers are also customers – This is one of the most overlooked benefits to hiring an experienced professional. They come from the generation with the greatest spending power and are often in the same demographic as customers buying products and services. They bring valuable insights to marketing and communicating with these key audience segments.
9. Increased productivity – Experienced talent can hit the ground running. They require less training and onboarding and can achieve goals and outcomes in a shorter period of time. This also reduces costs.
Changing demographics means the talent shortage will continue. Companies that tap into experienced professionals can yield benefits for their organizations and for the whole economy.
SeasonedPros.ca is an on-demand business talent source. Clients with an immediate need for experienced talent trust us to source professionals for project, interim and part-time roles. Each professional in our national database has 20 + years of business experience. We provide our clients 2-4 four vetted professionals in 10 business days or less. Contact us if you need contract talent. info@seasonedpros.ca