Age bias is alive and well in Australian workplaces, with more than seven in ten employers admitting an employee’s age can be a factor in talent management decisions. These include development programs, promotional pathways and succession plans.
In a survey by recruiting experts Hays of 1,352 employers, who could choose to remain anonymous, 12 per cent admitted that the age of an employee ‘always’ impacts what works for them in talent management terms. Another 59 per cent said age is ‘sometimes’ a factor.
Just 29 per cent said an employee’s age has no impact on talent management decisions.
“This bias can work against employees of any age,” says Nick Deligiannis, Managing Director of Hays in Australia & New Zealand. “A boss could view an employee as too young, too old or too close to parenting age when making talent management decisions.
“For instance, one manager may unconsciously question an older worker’s energy, innovation and long-term commitment, while another may unconsciously question a younger worker’s stability, capability and maturity.
“If you want to progress your career, our advice is to talk about your career goals and the development opportunities available to you with your manager. If it doesn’t come up in a formal review, request a meeting so you can communicate your ambitions. If your boss is aware of your career plan, they’re less likely to make assumptions based on your age or any other extraneous factor,” he said.
This has positives for a manager as well. “By sitting down with an individual employee and talking about their career goals, ambitions and training & development needs, you remove your assumptions about a person from your talent management decisions. It may also help you identify a bias if you weren’t previously aware of it.”
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About Hays
Hays plc (the "Group") is a leading global professional recruiting group. The Group is the expert at recruiting qualified, professional and skilled people worldwide, being the market leader in the UK and Asia Pacific and one of the market leaders in Continental Europe and Latin America. The Group operates across the private and public sectors, dealing in permanent positions, contract roles and temporary assignments. As at 31 December 2016 the Group employed 9,600 staff operating from 251 offices in 33 countries across 20 specialisms. For the year ended 30 June 2016:
– the Group reported net fees of £810.3 million and operating profit (pre-exceptional items) of £181 million;
– the Group placed around 67,000 candidates into permanent jobs and around 220,000 people into temporary assignments;
– 22% of Group net fees were generated in Asia Pacific, 45% in Continental Europe & RoW (CERoW) and 33% in the United Kingdom & Ireland;
– the temporary placement business represented 58% of net fees and the permanent placement business represented 42% of net fees;
– Hays operates in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Chile, China, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UAE, the UK and the USA