“ CONSIDER EXPERIENCE AS A SUPERPOWER. BE AWARE THAT OPPORTUNITIES LIKE FLEXIBLE WORKING ARE POPULAR & BENEFIT ALL GENERATIONS.”


CHRISTEL GALBRUN NOEL, VICE PRESIDENT & FUTURE READY PROGRAM LEAD


EXPERIENCE AS AN ORGANISATIONAL ASSET For multinational employers such as Schneider Electric, the demographic shift is no longer theoretical. With 160,000 employees across more than 100 countries, the company operates with four to five generations working side by side. According to Christel Galbrun Noel, Vice President and Future Ready Program Lead, internal data had started to reveal declining engagement among employees aged 51 and above, which in turn lead to a rethink on how older workers were treated. Rather than focusing exclusively on early-career


talent, the company introduced a global inclusion initiative targeting long-term career development for experienced professionals. The programme began with interviews designed to understand employees’ changing aspirations, especially as they reached their 50s, and came to identify four broad pathways:


Accelerate: “I want to continue grow. I want to become the CFO. I have talents. I want to get more responsibilities.” Continue: “I’m confident with my current level of responsibility, I want to continue having the same kind of roles, maybe shifting approach.” Pivot: “I want to pivot to a new role, transition my knowledge or support the younger members of staff to grow.” Transition: “I want to prepare my retirement. I want to slowly transfer from my active role and look at the financial implications of a retirement plan.”


“Based on those four provides, we have developed offers that would suit either career growth or an environment of financing, caring, preparing for retirement or for knowledge transfer,” she explained. “We have pushed a lot for developing career conversations, particularly with the over 50s.” This structured approach has enabled Schneider Electric


to design flexible-working and mentoring programmes while encouraging more honest career conversations


28


between employees and managers. The results have been measurable, with engagement scores rising and participation in development programmes increasing. “Consider experience as a superpower,” she said.


“Be aware that opportunities like flexible working are popular and benefit all generations.”


HOW CAN WE MAKE RECRUITMENT FAIRER & LESS AGEIST? While many large organisations are designing internal talent programmes to focus on early career development, older workers are often neglected. According to David Fleming, Managing Director at Stanton House, a recruitment agency, structural issues persist across hiring systems and these can unintentionally disadvantage experienced applicants. Since the advent of AI and algorithms being used


to screen out candidates at the first stage, older workers may be disadvantaged and never make it to interview, he said. Screening tools, keyword-driven CV filtering, and even being unable to include older qualifications in a drop-down menu often help replicate existing biases. Fleming noted that this unfairness stems from


recruitment teams are looking for ways to streamline the hiring process, and responding individually to thousands of applications would require significant resources. Yet he acknowledged that the absence of communication and feedback during the hiring process creates widespread frustration among candidates, especially older ones, who vent their anger in LinkedIn discussion online. For employers, he emphasised the importance


of thinking carefully about the hiring criteria in an organisation. Employers frequently seek younger “future leaders” for permanent roles while hiring experienced professionals for interim assignments to stabilise operations or fill capability gaps, he said. This contrast highlights an inconsistency in talent strategy and means older workers are often overlooked for longer term and permanent roles. Instead, he argued for a skills-based recruitment process which would make hiring fairer and more equitable.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40