Master Builders of Iowa

I read a poster that said, “The best way to solve a morale problem is to get rid of all of the unhappy people.”  I THINK the author was kidding. There are alternatives. The graying of America’s workforce and especially Iowa’s workforce, gives rise to unique challenges and opportunities for those who want to take on the challenge of changing the way business is done.

The older elements of a workforce have the history of a company, the traditions of the workforce, the experience as to what will come from a given situation, and the insight as to who will be a long term element in the organization. Too many times the company and the aging employee view retirement as a “holy grail.” Too many times the employee is really not ready to retire or does not fully understand the changes retirement brings. Too many times the employer fails to understand the value of experience, training and steadiness that aging employees provide.

The law provides a lot of protection for aging employees. An employer needs to understand these areas in order not to get in trouble by its policies and treatment of the aging workforce.

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) provides Federal protection for employees over 40 where the employer has over 20 employees. Decisions regarding any aspect of employee treatment can not be based on age. Limitations on age references in advertising or hiring documentation are imposed. Protection is not given for poor production, educational degrees, compliance with a union seniority plan, or other reasonable factors that are not age related. The Iowa Civil Rights Act gives similar protection for employees over 18 in companies with 4 employees.

The pension and health plan areas are covered by the Older Workers Benefits Protection Act which gives Federal protection from age based distinctions in such plans unless based on a cost incurred basis. The providers in this area can help with compliance in this morass of legal rules.

There are a few interesting cases in this area. The U.S. Supreme Court in 2004 held that the favoring of an older worker over a younger worker who was over 40 did not give rise to a cause of action. The purpose of ADEA is to protect older employees from preference to younger employees. The same court again made it clear that a company can be easily held liable for the age based discrimination of supervisors no matter how far they are down the food chain. Only quick corrective action or the employee failing to take advantage of a corrective opportunity will save the company from liability.

To prevent this risk an employer needs to train all supervisors to avoid aged humor references, not assume that older employees are less agile, strong or adaptable and to document all performance problems as a basis of any action taken against an employee including age protected employee.

In order to retain older employees consider the following;

1. Establish a retirement counseling facet of an Employee Assistance Program. Many times the employee and their family simply don’t understand the changes that are in front of them. They don’t understand the aging process that can be jet fueled by too much time and too little direction. They don’t have a real handle on the self value change that can be brought on by premature or unplanned retirement.
2. Explore career growth or variations to avoid stagnation. This can include elevating the stature of the emeritus employee to feed their ego and to set them apart for special treatment in the eyes of the workforce. All tribes of North America honored their elders why can’t a company learn from the example?
3. Educate employees on how a few extra years can significantly enhance retirement benefits.
4. Provide flexibility such as consulting arrangements, flexible hours, enhanced vacation arrangements or graduated retirement benefits.
5. Provide professional financial counseling to develop a clear strategy for funding retirement, handling health insurance and personal goals after retirement.

For those of you who want to be unique, consider recruiting retirees from other big business? Many times larger companies can not act flexibly and lose some real skilled gems. Give those older employees a few months to recharge their batteries and then provide them with a new and flexible role, and you might find some real treasures. Remember as you try to recruit such employees, encourage them to stay young by being energized and alive. Hanging around with old people makes you feel old. Take it from a silver haired ex-retiree who has been there and done that.