SmartPulse — our weekly nonscientific reader poll in SmartBrief on Leadership — tracks feedback from more than 200,000 business leaders. We run the poll question each week in our newsletter.
How does your organization view older job candidates?
- They’re highly desirable because of their experience and wisdom: 25.45%
- They’re desirable in certain situations requiring specific expertise: 22.17%
- They’re as desirable as any other candidate: 32.49%
- They’re less desirable because of cost or short future work horizons: 10.07%
- They’re undesirable because of cost, future work horizons and culture fit: 9.82%
Does your recruiting execution match your needs? 48% of you said your organizations view older candidates as highly desirable or desirable for specific roles. Another one-third said they’re just as desirable as other candidates. The real question is does your recruiting execution match these answers? Clearly many of you are saying your organizations value older workers. The real question at hand is if those desires show up in your recruiting results. Take a look at your new hire class for the last 12 months.
Is the balance of older workers reflective of the answers you gave in the poll? If not, and they differ significantly, it’s time to explore if you have inherent biases in your recruiting processes. At best, you’re missing out on a great source of talent, which you already said you value. At worst, your organization is susceptible to age discrimination lawsuits. Diverse hiring practices make your organization stronger. Make sure your execution of recruiting matches your beliefs.
Mike Figliuolo is managing director of thoughtLEADERS, which includes TITAN — the firm’s e-learning platform. Previously, he worked at McKinsey & Co., Capital One and Scotts Miracle-Gro. He is a West Point graduate and author of three leadership books: “One Piece of Paper,” “Lead Inside the Box” and “The Elegant Pitch.”