The business case for hiring older workers, a case study from Australia Bev Excell Director of Customer Service at BP’s European Business Service Centre

BP Business Service Centre BP −Leading international oil and gas company, brands include BP, Castrol, Aral −80,000 employees across 29 countries, operating in approx. 80 countries Business Service Centre −Provides services to BP’s European Refining &Marketing businesses −Finance −Customer Services −Operational Procurement Opened in 2009 Already over 760 staff −Goal is over 1000

BP’s Commitment to Diversity Committed to a culture of diversity and actively promotes it Believe −valuing differences improves creativity, innovation & problem solving −through the strengths & talents of different people we'll meet our future aspirations Attract, develop & retain outstanding talent regardless of −background, age, religion, ethnic origin, nationality, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or marital status Aim to ensure −Selection & assessment processes are free from bias −Everyone has access to opportunity

Case Study – Attracting Mature Workers

Provides Financial, Sales & Customer Services, Logistics, Operational Procurement and related services to BP Australia

The starting position High Turnover Continued growth Unbalanced demographics Aimed to attract mature workers – broader life skills – assist in mentoring younger employees – more stable workforce

Contributing Factors to Age Imbalance? Recruitment agencies perception Unintended impact of selection criteria Conditions less desirable to mature age candidates Employee referrals more likely to fall into own demographic Predominant use of online recruitment Recruitment structure, process & tools less suited to older applicants Many roles attract younger demographic

Strategies trialled Ran education sessions for leaders Set targets in annual business plan Extended recruitment sourcing to include specialised channels Organised internal promotion to increase referral rate Added extra step in recruitment process −the inclusion of two suitable “mature age” candidates in every short-list Redesigned wording of recruitment advertisement External recruitment providers advised of expectation

The General Situation in Australia

Labour Force Business Work and Aging –Swinburne Institute of Technology The working age population currently grows by around 180,000 people every year. But trends already in place will see the working age population grow by just 175,000 for the entire decade of the 2020s – less than a tenth of the current pace.” Access Economics Labour force participation Labour force growth New entrants to the labour market

Step out action Recognised need to really target over 45s Breach of Equal Opportunity Legislation  exemption required Successful application −Decision given as older job seekers were at a significant disadvantage −“Beacon for other companies” −“Opportunity for industry-led response to age discrimination” The best candidate would still get the job −Aim to widen the talent pool −More aggressive in recruitment strategy

The advertisement Terrific roles for mature people At Elite Customer Solutions our goal is always to provide excellent service. Our customers are from a variety of ages and backgrounds and it makes sense that we look for people who are like that too. Of course we are after the best candidates of all ages but if you are an OVER 45 JOB SEEKER we are particularly interested in you! So, whether you’re returning t work, looking for a sea-change, a new challenge or already in a similar role, we might just have an amazing opportunity that’s perfect for you. Age is no barrier when it comes to providing service and reliability.

Demographics 2009 Success - moved from 15% to 22% in 3 years Required a change in behaviour and culture

Lessons – look for: Potential candidates de-selecting themselves Recruitment processes not well designed for older workers Often unrecognised and unintentional biases in recruiters No such thing as the perfect candidate. What’s most important? −Current skills −Ability to learn new skills −How well they will fit in −Whether or not they have the same or similar job before −How long they are likely to stay NOTE: This same list applies for attributes other than age

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