An interview with Vistage Chair Ivan Goldberg focuses on why retiring is not an option for many business leaders out there.

1. 52 businesslife.co July/August 2014
Recruitment
A
t a recent Women in
Leadership conference, Shelley
Kendrick, Founder and Director
of HR and recruitment firm
Kendrick Rose, noticed that the organisers
had adorned the walls with pictures of
inspiring and successful women, including
Joan Collins (81), Judi Dench (79), and Helen
Mirren (68). Mirren, you may remember,
played a former CIA operative alongside
fellow ‘seniors’ Bruce Willis (59), John
Malkovitz (60), and Morgan Freeman (77),
in the 2010 and 2013 movies RED (Retired,
Extremely Dangerous) and RED 2.
In one scene in the first movie, Mirren’s
character Victoria is asked about her
transition to retirement, with its routine
of baking and flower arranging, to which
she replies: “Well, I do get a bit restless
sometimes. I take the odd contract on the
side. I just can’t stop.“
The same is true for many over-50s who
either delay retirement or, after a short break,
go back to work. For some it’s for personal
reasons, for others it’s economic need.
“Many people have found that their
pensions are not sufficient to see them
through retirement. They may still have
mortgages, elderly relatives and children
that they feel responsible for and so still have
to work to meet those commitments,” says
Kendrick. “Others want to maintain a sense
of purpose and belonging that comes from
working, but need more flexible
arrangements such as zero hours contracts
– working week to week on an ad hoc basis
– consultancy projects, or non-executive
directorships (NEDs) that better fit an older
person’s lifestyle.”
Rather than stealing jobs from the young,
these older workers are helping to stem
a skills shortage. As HR magazine’s article
‘Older Workers Key to Managing Skills
Shortage’ reports: “During the next decade
there will be 13.5 million job vacancies in the
UK, but only seven million school and college
leavers – leaving a gap that immigration
cannot plug.”
While debating the issue of managing
an ageing workforce on a podcast for
the Chartered Institute of Professional
Development (CIPD), the professional body
for HR and people development, Andrew
Harrop, Head of Policy at Age UK, said:
“If we carry on with just having a fixed
number of people retiring at the age of 60
or 65, as was the case in the past, there won’t
be enough workers.”
Valuable assets
Shelley Kendrick found this to be true when
her firm elected to use social media to try
and fill two positions for a high-profile equity
firm that was offering attractive salaries and
benefits to candidates in their mid-twenties.
Despite 350 clicks and ‘likes’, only two people
matching the criteria applied. The positions
remain unfilled.
Some experts question whether business
and government take this skills shortfall
seriously enough. Countries like Norway and
Finland have well-established programmes to
address the specific needs of older workers,
reports Professor Richard Ennals of Kingston
University. He is currently involved with the
WORKAGE project, investigating the health
of older workers and ways to keep them from
retiring unnecessarily.
“The key difference is between regarding
older workers as a medical problem or as a
vital resource with invaluable experience,
skill and tacit knowledge that are lost to
employers when they leave the workplace,”
Ennals explains.
B&Q and Tesco are well known for hiring
older workers. Nationwide says it was the
first major UK company to change the rules
in 2005, so employees could work to age 75
There’s a growing
recognition of the
important role that
‘senior’ staff can play in
the workplace – but are
they fully equipped, or
even inclined, to rise to
the challenge? Dr Liz
Alexander investigates
Wiser?andOlder
➔
July/August 2014 businesslife.co 53

2. 54 businesslife.co July/August 2014
Recruitment
– and they removed the retirement age
completely in 2011, in line with the UK
government’s decision to scrap the default
retirement age.
Brave new world
But many senior people, even with their
decades of experience, aren’t performing
as well at competency interviews as they
should, says Rosy Dessain, Managing
Director of executive recruitment firm
Thomas & Dessain. “The mistake senior
people make is to talk all the time and not
listen. I’ve seen a number of very capable
people get turned down because a panel
found them to be cocky and act as if they
knew everything. Employers couldn’t see
them fitting in with their culture.
“Companies are very risk-averse when it
comes to hiring these days. Having a track
record of strong technical skills is important,
but so is the ability to use technology
appropriately, be up-to-date with industry
legislation, and demonstrate that you can
hit the ground running in a high-pressured,
stressful work environment with both energy
and flexibility.”
While the Equality Act 2010 outlawed age
discrimination in the workplace, nevertheless
some stereotypical notions about older
workers persist. Nationwide’s Older Worker
Poll, taken in January 2014, shows many of
these are myths, such as resistance to learning
new technologies, taking more sick days, and
not working well alongside younger workers.
This is in line with the experience of Steve
Gilroy, Chief Executive of Vistage UK (see box),
who says: “Mature staff can bring real value
to an organisation. If they remain active,
energetic and curious, and combine this with
the wisdom of experience, their contribution
often adds more value and impact than that of
their younger colleagues. They bring a different
perspective and a ‘whole-world’ view.”
However, older individuals will continue to
miss out on opportunities to continue working
for as long as they want to if they fail to honour
certain obligations, says Chairman and NED
of RJD Technology, David Thomsett, another
contributor to the CIPD podcast ‘Managing
the Ageing Workforce’. These include personal
communication skills, the ability to work in
a multi-aged team, and being a lifetime learner
who actually likes gaining knowledge.
Gina Le Provost, Chief Executive of global
finance recruiters AP Executive, believes
that within the next decade today’s ‘mature
workers’ will be known as ‘mid-career
workers’ as the ages when people start
working and retire continue to shift upwards.
In the meantime, she says, companies should
seize the chance to employ them: “Because
they are the ones with solid, proven, hands-
on work experience, common sense, and
have most likely reached their own career
goals so they pose no threat to younger
workers still trying to achieve theirs.” n
Dr Liz Alexander is an author, educator,
business strategist, and Founder of business
consultancy Leading Thought
Going strong
Each week, Ivan Goldberg (below)
chairs two group meetings and
mentors individuals on behalf
of Vistage, the global networking
organisation for CEOs, founders,
and executives of small and
medium-sized businesses. He also
runs a consultancy he founded
at age 49, after being ousted
in a boardroom coup at the
engineering company where
was Managing Director.
Then there’s his side business
on eBay, and the fact that until
recently he was curator of the
Manchester Masonic Museum.
None of which prevents Goldberg
from posting a blog every Sunday
(which he has never missed in
four years), or reading downloaded
books on his iPad.
Goldberg, who specialises in
strategic planning and change
management, is 83, and Vistage
UK’s oldest and longest-serving
Chairman. Despite working for
66 years, any questions about
retirement are met with an
emphatic “God forbid”.
Steve Gilroy, the organisation’s
Chief Executive says: “Ivan is
a strong performer and a valued
member of our community, who
gives constructive comments and
suggestions and is proactive at
encouraging and motivating others.
Long may he continue!”
Which is precisely what
Goldberg, who believes it’s up to
each individual to constantly learn
new skills and remain marketable,
intends to do: “I had a colleague in
the US who used to say that they
were going to have to carry him
out on a flip chart. He worked until
he was 95. Age isn’t a number, it’s
an attitude. I still have a lot to offer
the world and intend to continue
doing so for as long as I can.”
“If mature staff
remain active,
energetic and curious
and combine this
with the wisdom
of experience, their
contribution often
adds more value
and impact than
that of their younger
colleagues”