Page 99 - increasing-the-value-of-age-guidance-in-employers-age-management-strategies

Increasing the value of age: guidance in employers’ age management strategies

(a) the first step is part of the start-up stage. The usual guidance instruments
applied here are informing and advising; all employees are informed and/or
advised about the possibilities in the age management strategy. These
activities are most non-mandatory;
(b) a more demanding and intensive programme can follow. It is up to the
employee to decide whether they want to receive more intensive forms of
guidance in this second step.

The first step does not necessarily consist of a thorough identification of
needs. Usually, direct supervisors will have made an initial identification of needs
after superficial exploratory conversations with employees. In most cases, skills
assessment and any intensive form of guidance, when available, occur on the
initiative of the employee himself.
A good example is the case of Crédit Industriel, where the employee is
informed about the possibilities, but it is up to individuals to ask for more specific
guidance on skills assessments, training, mentoring (via the human resources
department). In most cases, all older employees have access to the more
intensive and demanding programme.
The direct supervisor is normally the provider of guidance during the start-up
stage, on an individual level. An exception is the case of Enemærke og Petersen
where information and advising sessions are developed at group level, while
coaching and mentoring are developed at individual level. In these collective
information sessions, the employees are informed about the available career
opportunities. They are also advised on how to interpret available information and
choose the best possible solution. After this, the employee has the opportunity to
have a conversation with their manager to discuss their thoughts and plans for
the future.
The organisations analysed in the case studies paid limited attention to
incentives for employees to participate or seek out guidance. Only two introduced
a financial incentive to stimulate participation:
(a) Eesti Energia (Estonia) offers 10% of salary in return for participation in a
mentoring programme and on-site training. Usually paid for the period of
mentoring or training, it is part of the performance pay given at the end of the
year.
(b) Zemat (Poland) introduced a new function for older employees who, when
up-skilled to this function, would be eligible for a task-based financial
incentive. In this incentive, a periodic bonus is calculated using a
combination of different parameters related to performance.
In other cases the incentives to participate are the potential benefits of the
activities. The activities always have something to offer to the employees, as in

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