How to attract older workers

Last week's Federal Budget offered incentives for businesses when it comes to hiring new staff, with older and younger workers both becoming the focus of new schemes. 

However, it can be tricky to attract older workers to a business, and with the rise of the digital revolution and emphasis on workplace culture, how can you make sure they fit in?

Find out what they can offer you

In the light of the Federal Budget, employers who recruit older jobseekers are likely to find significant benefits in the form of subsidised wages. The government's Restart program will offer Australian businesses the chance to access a wage pool worth $1.2 billion. 

For jobseekers, the program is open to those aged 50 or older who have been on income support for six months or over.

Companies that are open to hiring people from these programs stand to make up to $10,000 back from wage subsidies over a 12 month period, provided they retain the employee in question. Previously, this could take up to 24 months, highlighting a commitment from the government to speed this process up. 

The subsidies are staged, with companies receiving a payment on each employment milestone – once every three months. 

Ensure your recruitment practices don't turn them away

Recruitment drives are not a one-size-fits-all deal. Employers need to ensure their strategies target the people they are looking to hire, otherwise jobseekers and companies both miss out. 

Hays believes that if these considerations are taken into account, employers stand to benefit from the resulting hires. 

"Mature age employees have a lot to offer employers, but as a group they are not being fully utilised," said Nick Deligiannis, Managing Director of Hays in Australia & New Zealand.

Hays says to craft a job advertisement that appeals to all ages, employers need to make sure any language that alludes to age requirements is removed. Businesses looking to target a broad range of candidates in their search should not be using language that could come across as exclusive. 

Focus on skills

There are many things recruiters can focus on when trying to sell their company to jobseekers, but Hays advises employers to focus on skills if they wish to attract a broad range of applicants. 

According to the firm, this is to remove the influences and attitudes of hiring managers in the recruitment process, creating an inclusive advertisement that is more likely to appeal to older generations.