3 Reasons to Encourage Your Employees to Retire

3 Reasons to Encourage Your Employees to Retire Most organisations love to boast about having long-serving staff and employees who prefer to grow and stay with the company. But is this always a good thing? There are more over 65s in work than  there were 10 years ago and this trend isnt likely to drop any time soon. New research by Portus Consulting  found that just 29% of employees in the UK have ruled out working past 65, with younger workers most likely to stay in work beyond 65. Portus Consulting Commercial Director Steve Watson says: Working past 65 is becoming increasingly normal with more than 1.1 million over-65s in employment. But if people are staying in work simply because they cannot afford to retire then it becomes a possible flash point for employers and a potential issue in managing their business for the benefit of all employees. And its not just in the UK that senior employees are choosing to stay in work. The same trend is also happening in America, according to this survey. So why should you encourage the over-65s to retire? Attract new fresh talent  While most companies cherish and take great pride in keeping their long-serving employees, theyre doing the company an injustice by not seeking out fresh new talent. Yes, your senior employees may be more mature and wiser but the next generation have a fresh new outlook on life and the way they do things that could completely transform the company for the better. They are also more likely to be tech-savvy, so moving with the fast-paced technology-driven world will be something they are willing to embrace instead of fear. Promotion blockage  Theres nothing worse than not being able to reward your best employees for their hard work and dedication by not being able to promote them to a job which they have more than earned. With finances at a squeeze, most companies can only promote another employee if the person doing that job leaves because inevitably a promotion comes with a salary increase and possibly more benefits. Having an employee who loses morale because they dont see the opportunity for them to progress could end up costing you in the long run. Talent movement  This is closely related to point no.2. If an employee sees no chance of progression within the company they are more likely to leave and get it somewhere else. Employee turnover isnt always good for the business, especially if its the top talent that are leaving and not the employees you really want to leave. You can tame employee turnover  before its too late by having the right conversations with the right people. Legally a company cant force an employee to retire but if they are under-performing, taking time off due to ill-health or request reduced working hours, then if it doesnt fit with the needs of the business then there are certain paths that can be taken. People over 65 should be treated in exactly the same way as people under 65. There shouldnt be any  special treatment and it is up to  employers to decide what is best for their business, as long as it is not the result of discrimination or prejudice. That means employers should be able to make redundancies, dismiss people on grounds of capability or launch disciplinary proceedings â€" as long as their decision is not based on someone’s age. Ideally it would be nice if your senior employee can leave on amicable terms instead of just being pushed out, especially if they have served the company for a long period of time. How can you help senior employees retire when they are supposed to? Offer retirement planning for current employees  There are many types of retirement plans like, profit-sharing and pension plans. Each has its own benefits, features, levels of complexity and administrative costs. Some are designed for large companies; others, for smaller enterprises. There may be tax implications, as well. As company, you would take care of your employees through salary, medical care options and paid vacation time and other benefits. So it makes sense to offer a retirement plan that will help them now and in their retirement years. A retirement plan can also benefit you as it is an excellent tool for attracting and keeping valuable employees, as well as helping them attain a more financially sound future. Encourage young employees to save for their retirement now most young employees  don’t think about saving for retirement now because for them, that event is so far off.  In fact, with decreases in public pensions young people need to invest more in their retirement than their parents or grandparents did.  Reinforce the idea that time is money when it comes to retirement; and employees  who starts saving in their twenties will have more money than the person who starts saving in their thirties. This means they will have a nice pot of money to retire with when they eventually do retire Flexible retirement  It may not be so easy to convince your senior employees to retire, especially if they dont have a retirement plan in place. But what you can do is consider offering them a phased retirement.  About 30 percent of large employers in America  offer workers some flexible retirement option, whether it is allowing older employees to work part-time or in job sharing with colleagues, according to WorldatWork. Its something  The U.S. Department of Defense has been doing already. It  allows civilian employees to partially retire while remaining on the job part-time to help better manage its workforce needs. For young people who are just beginning their careers, retiring 50 years from now is impossible to imagine. It might be difficult to persuade them to start saving for retirement today. But you can provide them with the facts. Show them how age is on their side, how budgets build healthy money habits, and how employer contributions  will make their money add up and will give them the retirement they may have thought about. As for your senior employees, the change may need to come from you to help them feel like a valued long-serving member of staff who can leave with their head held high when they feel the time is right.

The Truth About Working For A Charity

The Truth About Working For A Charity Many people want to work for a charity. Reasons include giving back to the world, working for a personally relevant cause, or a wish to work with a particular culture or in a particular location. Timing and career stage also contribute.   Anne Murray,  is a freelance communications expert who found herself between assignments. ‘Suddenly I realized that I could ask myself -what do I want to do?’ Having always been a strong feminist and supporter of women’s rights, Anne found herself drawn towards organizations working in what she calls the ‘gender space.’ She now contributes Playful Rebellion, working to break down gender stereotypes using humour and playfulness. Getting involved in charity work Getting involved in charity work starts with finding the right people. Attend events sponsored by groups that interest you. Meet some of the people. Offer to help out at an event. This is a great place to use your networking skills. Start conversations with what you really care about and the change you would like to bring. Ask others what they care about. Learn what causes they work on, then ask for introductions and suggestions. Use your networking skills to find the right place for you Anne herself became involved with The Gender Lab this way. ‘I used my network to find someone in the gender space. An invitation to an organizing meeting led me to the exactly the people I needed to meet.’ New people joining an organization not only bring their time and expertise, they bring a fresh perspective, which many groups welcome. What to expect Whether you are volunteering or taking a paid position, you should know what to expect from work at a non-profit. In many ways, it’s similar to corporate life: you may have to fight for a budget, deal with a hierarchy, and manage your interactions with different type of coworkers.   Anne warns that charity work revolves heavily around the funding cycle, creating its own challenges. ‘Funders are more fickle than the media. Hot issues change from one year to the next, so make sure you know how long your group’s funding will last.’ Be prepared to wear many hats. Lean budgets mean you need a startup mentality. You have to work more collaboratively because of the scarce resources. The work isn’t always exciting, either. While most people working for the non-profit may work directly on the cause for at least part of the time, someone must do the bookkeeping, filing and administrative work. Don’t want to be stuck in front of a computer? Make it clear before you start. Funding is the charitys lifeblood.   Keeping perspective It’s easy to become caught up in the cause. You start devoting all your free time, and some that isn’t free, to your organization. Just like at work, that can be the fast track to burnout and compassion fatigue. The more important the cause is to you, the easier it is to let your boundaries slip. Doctors without Borders, the world-famous medical charity, is also world famous for its burnout rate.   ‘Sometimes people gravitate to what they need’ Anne says. ‘They can lose track of the difference between themselves and the cause.‘ Treat yourself as well when working for a charity as you do when working for a company and you will last longer and do more good. Look after yourself; burnout happens in the non-profit world too Leveraging corporate experience Many people come to non-profit work like Anne did, bringing valuable corporate experience. First and foremost, Anne says, is a level of professionalism. ‘Setting goals, managing projects and budgets and self-discipline are invaluable and often missing in people who have not worked in a corporate environment.’ If you join a smaller organization, your ability to deliver on time and on budget can make a huge difference. Corporate life also teaches you to get along with different types of people and to respect different points of view. Those corporate trainings on project planning, cross-cultural interactions and change management will come in very handy! Take the first step If your path leads you towards a particular cause, take the first step. Meet people working in that space, find out what the options are and decide how you would like to contribute. Then go after the opportunity that feels right for you. Learn, grow, and be proud of making a difference!

Why go to the Big Careers Fair University of Manchester Careers Blog

Why go to the Big Careers Fair University of Manchester Careers Blog Often I’m lying in bed watching YouTube videos of hidden messages inside Disney films, and I ask myself the question ‘why would I ever need to get out of bed?’ Maybe you’re the same (or a little less lazy than me) so I’m here to tell you why you should get up and get down to the Big Careers Fair! By the way, Rapunzel and Flynn Rider from Tangled are the first guests at the coronation of Princess Elsa in Frozen â€" what are the odds? Don’t know what you want to do You’ll hear a lot during your time at university that it’s okay to not know what career you want yet. That’s perfectly true, but it doesn’t give you any particular advice on how to change that. So, research different career paths you may enjoy and have a real think about this. Often this can be googling a load of different organisations to learn about job roles and stuff, which is a bit of a pain. If only all these companies got together and stood around in a room waiting for you, so they can tell you all this information… If only… The Big Careers Fair does just that my friend! With over 70 recruiters on day one, offering opportunities in areas such as management, business, marketing, finance, HR, and more! You might not come out of the fair screaming “I WANT TO WORK IN HR!” â€" But it may help give you an idea of what you definitely don’t want to do, and what options you’re still open to. Giving you answers to questions you didn’t know you had In some weird kind of Doctor Who paradox, recruiters at the Careers Fair give you answers to questions that you didn’t even know you wanted to ask. You walk in and you find lots of people stood at tables with big posters and leaflets ready to tell you all about everything their organisation has to offer. We also have an app that tells you information on who everyone is and where they’ll be. That way you can be selective about who you see. The app can be downloaded on the App Store or Google Play â€" just search for the Big Careers Fair. Ask the silly questions I don’t mean go up to a recruiter and ask them if they want to pull your finger, but this is a great opportunity to ask the silly questions! No one wants to write an email to the head of Apple and ask them what a ‘technical executive’ actually does â€" but at a careers fair, you can waltz up to someone and simply ask them these questions and get some clarity. Let’s be honest too, so many jobs are advertised with strange titles that it almost put you off applying to them. A Communications Executive Assisting Officer of Internal Relationship Guidance and all that nonsense is often thrown around. So, at a fair you can ask them what on earth that job entails. And, to be honest, there’s no such thing as a silly question. Freebies There’s a free bus there and loads of firms give out fancy notepads and fancy pens. And as an added bonus, we have a free bus running from Dover Street to the fair and back. All