You don’t need to be working in human resources to be aware of the huge recruitment challenges businesses are facing today. This, in part, has been put down to ‘The Great Resignation’ triggered by the covid-19 pandemic, a phenomenon where employees are resigning from their jobs in pursuit of more rewarding opportunities.
This is bad news for business. A recent study by Employee Benefits News found that the average cost of losing an employee is a staggering 33% of their annual salary. As well as cost implications, loss of staff can lead remaining employees to feel overburdened and under-managed, prompting further resignations and inefficiency.
Older workers, in particular, have been leaving the workforce in unprecedented numbers. Yet these employees are a vital segment of the workforce, many with precisely the skills that employers are desperately searching for, and which can play a key role in the development of younger employees, just setting out on their career journey.
Dr Dawn H Nicholson in the School of Psychology has been researching whether intergenerational job-sharing – the deliberate pairing of younger and older employees in a job-sharing arrangement – can be introduced as a means of retaining older employees for longer, as they transition towards retirement, whilst at the same time enabling them to coach, mentor and develop junior employees at the early stages of their career.
At the upcoming Kent HR Conference, Dawn will be sharing findings from her research, identifying the opportunities this arrangement could offer and potential barriers to success. She will also discuss intergenerational job-sharing as a means of increasing work commitment amongst older employees.
“Workplaces are experiencing acute talent shortages, so retaining older workers, and enabling them to pass on their valuable insight and experience, is a key objective,” Dawn explains. “Balancing this against the lifestyle objectives of those older workers isn’t simple – but job sharing – particularly pairing an older with a younger worker – may just be one way of achieving that”.
This session will be part of a whole day of insightful workshops and talks taking place at the Kent HR Conference on Wednesday 23 November at Darwin Conference Suite on the University of Kent’s Canterbury campus. Now in it’s 8th year, the conference will provide an opportunity for HR professionals and those in HR-related roles to come together with University of Kent academics and guest speakers to learn, network and spark ideas. Tickets are on sale now for £99 – book yours here.