- Alejandra Martínez Boluda, bicg's General Director.
This year I have changed to a new decade, moving closer to what is increasingly known as „senior talent“, although I don’t really feel that the adjective represents me.
I am a senior in my organisation because of my expertise, responsibility and years of association with the firm, but I don’t feel I share the prejudices that surround this age group that I am approaching.
The importance of senior talent in an ageing economy
Spain has less than 20% of the population over the age of 55 in active employment. This is below the OECD average and well below countries such as Japan or New Zealand.
Existing policies do not encourage the Spanish population to remain active after retirement age, nor do they encourage companies to undergo an organisational transformation.
And the reality is that the Spanish (and European) population is ageing, with the mortality age above 79 in the case of men and 85 in the case of women, with the lowest birth rates in history, with no capacity to renew the generation as less than two children are born for every couple, and with a prolongation of the educational period, the reality is that extending working life seems inevitable and even beneficial.
This is in direct contrast to the policies that have been pursued over the last few decades in which organisations have emphasised a gradual rejuvenation of their workforces. However, this is no longer sustainable.
There are many myths about more experienced talent. And probably for some roles such as the presidency of a country (see Biden or Trump) it is even healthy to hand over the position to a younger and more empowered person who is able to tackle such a challenging objective. However, we need that hands-on experience, probably from a different angle. The reality on the contrary is that numerous studies show clear benefits of keeping the most senior talent in our organisations active, for example:
- Productivity improvements: One study (Carta et al., 2021; Jäger and Heining, 2019; OECD, 2020; Sauvagnat and Schivardi, 2020) analyses the positive impact of generational diversity on productivity by creating synergies between younger and more experienced professionals. The effect is bidirectional, with both younger people accelerating their learning and older people showing better productivity outcomes.
- GDP growth: The employment rate of the population aged 65 and over in Spain is 3.3%, compared to 15.5% in the OECD (19.2% in Sweden). Moreover, Spain’s per capita income would increase by between 3.8% and 5.7% if the employment rate of the population aged 65 and over converged to the OECD average (BBVA Research Institute).
- Sustainability of the welfare state: In the absence of major reforms, public spending on pensions could be close to 17% of GDP by mid-century (De la Fuente et al., 2020). The contributory deficit of the pension system in 2021 already amounted to 2.2% of GDP and projections point to an increase of several additional points (Devesa and Doménech, 2022).
- Improved cognitive functioning: scientific studies such as Lupton et al., 2009; Hale et al., 2021, find that extending working life favours cognitive development, thus protects the population against deterioration such as dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. Delaying retirement has also been shown to positively impact mortality for professionals who do not have physical or psycho-emotional burdens.
The future of work and flexibility for senior talent
And culturally, are we ready to overcome age barriers? Do we want a cultural transformation?
According to the graph below from an OECD study on discrimination in the last 5 years, the main reason why respondents felt discriminated against was their age after the age of 50.
In addition, according to the study conducted by the Santa Lucia Institute, professionals do not have corporate policies in place for the development, promotion and selection of senior talent.
What underlies this new reality is that the increase in longevity will mean that careers will no longer be linear (study-work-retirement). As Lynda Gratton and Andrew Scott put it in their book The New Long Life: A Framework for Flourishing in a Changing World, there will be a restructuring of working careers away from linearity to multiple stages of learning, work and breaks. A person’s career may last more than 60 years, requiring constant updating of skills through continuous learning (technological changes will not be relentless).
Strategies to foster collaboration between generations
At bicg, we work on this generational integration, creating dynamic work ecosystems where we look in depth at different areas linked to culture, technology, work processes and spaces.
- First, we develop intergenerational capabilities to facilitate multigenerational work and create organisational cultures that foster cooperation. Each generation will have different perspectives, skills and expectations. And all of them will enrich the work, leading to better business results. Professionals from different hierarchical levels, expertise or any other kind of background are brought closer together. Work is carried out in collaborative teams and knowledge is prioritised, helping the most senior to have a differential value in the teams and the youngest talent to learn more quickly, with the ‘vision’ of the young also being important to favour the open-mindedness of the most experienced.
- While the advance of artificial intelligence and automation will transform the roles of professionals, human skills (creativity, empathy, leadership) will remain valuable.
- Flexibility is favoured in all possible aspects, creating ecosystems in which any self-managed professional, within the rules of the game, can reconcile other aspects of his or her life, including organisational models in which not all professionals work full-time or have a sole employment relationship. The concept of rigid work (9 to 5) will become less common. We will see an increase in flexibility in both location and working hours, allowing people to better manage their personal and professional lives over a longer life.
- Physical spaces have a positive impact on physical well-being, regardless of age, but that becomes more important over time. In a prolonged working life, a sense of purpose and well-being will be essential to avoid burnout. Companies will need to take a more holistic view of the employee, supporting not only their professional development, but also their physical and mental well-being.
- Leadership becomes a flexible role, not always held by the same person. It is led from different spheres, by function, by decision making, by influence, etc. This means that it is familiar to find teams in which a more senior figure is not responsible for the work, being led by a younger profile, and on other occasions it is the other way round.
We believe that, in order to create more diverse environments of any kind, organisations need to move towards more collaborative, flexible and open ways of working. To thrive in this changing world, both individuals and companies must embrace change, continuous learning and greater flexibility.
Are you ready to drive generational integration in your company?
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