Copy of HRWire Article - April 3, 2007

Age Discrimination: Are You Guilty?

Paula Santonocito

A survey of job seekers conducted by global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas finds the number one obstacle to employment is age discrimination; nearly 40 percent of respondents say their age is keeping them from finding a job. Is your organization turning away older workers?

When older isn't equal

If it's even a possibility, you're not alone. John Henning, director of business development for Granite Solutions Groupe, a San Francisco based recruiting firm, knows of a number of employers that aren't giving older candidates equal consideration.

He tells HRWire the issue is not systemic and sometimes not even conscious on the part of employers. Instead, employers get it in their minds that they're seeking a younger, more glamorous profile, what Henning calls "the individual that presents very well."

Granite Solutions Groupe focuses on the IT and financial services markets. Where the assumption might be that financial services, a field with arguably more customer contact, tends toward more youthful candidates, it is actually IT that has shown this preference.

Older hires, those 45 to 60, are less frequently placed in fast-paced, senior-level corporate IT jobs, positions such as IT managers and directors, business analysts, Web and system designers, and program team leaders.

"Like most sectors in society, the bias is towards the young," says Henning. "The idea of 1990s technical 'wiz kids,' energetic and driven, still dominates the cultural consciousness and perceptions."

Sometimes the issue of age gets masked. Henning tells HRWire that instead of focusing on the real requirements of a position, a company may focus on cultural fit, which can translate to age fit. Indeed, sometimes cultural is a euphemism for age, one that is actually quite transparent.

Henning also points out that stereotyping can be a problem. "Stereotypes of the 'older worker' suggest less enthusiastic, less dynamic and innovative employees," he says. Yet, in Henning's experience, this perception couldn't be further from the truth.

What older workers offer

Some older workers have had one or two careers already, he tells HRWire, during which time they've acquired numerous valuable skills. In fact, according to Henning, the profile of the technologist with business acumen and strong, measured interpersonal skills tends to appear more frequently with age, important for corporate development teams and managers, entrepreneurial companies, and C-level positions.

Employers shy away from older workers for a variety of reasons. Some think older workers will demand higher salaries. Henning, however, finds older workers are often willing to negotiate.

Another common misconception is that youth and flexibility go hand in hand. "Everybody thinks they're young, they're going to be more flexible, but really they're not," Henning says. Younger workers tend to have young families and more responsibilities, he points out, citing how older workers usually don't have as many distractions.

Employers may also believe older workers aren't current. But older workers today are not the older workers of yesteryear. Baby boomers are statistically more educated, more networked, and lead younger lives than previous generations, Henning notes.

When employers pass

From an HR standpoint, showing a preference for one group of candidates over another tends to smack of discrimination. There is some legal liability and risk to preferring younger candidates, Henning acknowledges. However, because people are generally well trained in how to avoid this potential exposure, he finds there are rarely legal implications.

The more common problem Henning sees is that a lot of good talent gets left on the table. In other instances, the employment need goes unsatisfied because what an organization is looking for has a certain profile.

Henning has spoken with individuals at firms that recognize their organizations are limiting themselves by gravitating toward younger candidates, but they're not sure how to address the issue. Yet, others have become proactive. "There are some employers that are recognizing the asset that is there and doing something about it," Henning says.

John Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, doesn't believe employers are entirely responsible for changing the situation. "Age is typically a self-made obstacle," he says. "There is no doubt that age discrimination still exists, but the rate at which people over 45 are finding jobs is not consistent with a widespread problem. The problem we find with many older job seekers is that they enter the process with preconceived, negative notions about their age and employers' reaction to it and it seriously affects the way they perform in an interview."

Accordingly, Challenger, Gray & Christmas offers tips for older workers to help facilitate their job search, and to help them stand out from the crowd. The firm also cites fields that are more welcoming to older workers. These include health care, teaching, consulting, retail, customer service/customer relations, and small business.

From Henning's perspective, however, financial services and IT are among those industries that have high demand for candidates. In this competitive environment, outsourcing, off-shoring, H1B Visa workers, out-of-state applicants, and less experienced workers with high aptitude are all being considered by employers and recruiting firms attempting to fill open positions in financial services and IT. Meanwhile, Granite Solutions Groupe finds a huge opportunity exists in an often overlooked labor category: the older worker. Candidates are readily available, according to the firm, which indicates its network of older workers is steadily growing.

Opportunities elsewhere

The question is whether companies in traditionally youth-oriented business sectors, like IT, will take advantage of what older workers offer, or whether older workers will find jobs elsewhere.

Older workers can have important motivations, Henning points out, such as children in college, adding to their pensions, and paying off mortgages. And apparently some companies are giving them the opportunity to do all these things and more.

Challenger, Gray & Christmas finds that the number of workers 55 and older jumped 45 percent from August 1996 to August 2006. The number of older workers is not only growing, it's growing faster than any other age group. Challenger analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data also finds that employment among workers 55 and older grew 10.5 percent between 2003 and 2005. For those 65 and older, employment also grew at 10.5 percent during the same time period. The firm points out that those increases are more than double the 4.1 percent growth rate experienced by 45- to 54-year-olds. By contrast, 35- to 45-year-olds saw employment fall 0.7 percent during that time period.

Challenger, Gray & Christmas and Granite Solutions Groupe are two firms that recognize what older workers potentially bring to organizations. They also recognize the potential obstacles. Challenger is working on helping candidates present better. Henning, on the other hand, is trying to help educate employers.

"I encourage all of my clients to really examine their own consciences both personally and organizationally to ensure that they aren't missing the boat when it comes to tapping this wealth of knowledge, technical ability, and productive capacity," Henning says.

Contact: John Henning, director of business development, Granite Solutions Groupe, johnhenning@granitesolutionsgroupe.com; James K. Pedderson, director of public relations, Challenger, Gray & Christmas, for John Challenger, chief executive officer, jamespedderson@challengergray.com.

Online: For companies interested in exploring more on employing older workers, Granite Solutions Groupe recommends the following resources: AARP, www.aarp.org; National Older Worker Career Center, www.nowcc.org; and HireDiversity.com, www.hirediversity.com.

About Granite Solutions Groupe

Granite Solutions Groupe (Granite) is a San Francisco based recruiting firm that specializes in recruiting and placing highly-skilled senior-level product and project managers, business analysts, senior managers and specialty contractors at global firms throughout the financial services and IT market. Contact them online at www.granitesolutionsgroupe.com