results of survey on the retention strategy of older …results of survey on the retention strategy...

Results of Survey on the Retention Strategy

of Older Talents

Prof. Randy Chiu and Dr. Felix Yip & Dr. Sally Cheung

Centre for Human Resources Strategy & Development

Hong Kong Baptist University

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挽留資深才俊策略調查結果發佈

Executive Summary

Problems we face today include recruitment difficulty, high turnover, shortage of certain skill & competence, and unreadiness of younger managers to take on senior jobs. There are a number of possible reasons, such as ageing workforce, retirement wave of baby boomers, and lack of succession planning. Based on 268 usable responses, this survey finds that majority of the companies are unaware of this critical situation if appropriate preventive measures are not taken immediately. Most older talents are considered to be active in the workforce and contribute to the organizational well-being, especially serving as consultants and coaches to the younger managers. For recommendations, besides redefining their retirement age policy, corporate leaders are advised to employ a number of management practices that deemed to improve the situation, such as Age-smart Management, Time & Place Management, and Succession Management.

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Problems we face today include recruitment difficulty, high turnover, shortage of certain skill & competence, and unreadiness of younger managers to take on senior jobs. There are a number of possible reasons, such as ageing workforce, retirement wave of baby boomers, and lack of succession planning. Based on 268 usable responses, this survey finds that majority of the companies are unaware of this critical situation if appropriate preventive measures are not taken immediately. Most older talents are considered to be active in the workforce and contribute to the organizational well-being, especially serving as consultants and coaches to the younger managers. For recommendations, besides redefining their retirement age policy, corporate leaders are advised to employ a number of management practices that deemed to improve the situation, such as Age-smart Management, Time & Place Management, and Succession Management.

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On-line Full Report

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The Survey Background

Major Current Issues We Face

1. Recruitment difficulty and high talent turnover

2. Shortage of workers in certain skills & competencies

3. Working attitude of Gen Y employees

4. Ageing workforce and retirement of baby boomers

5. Unreadiness of younger managers

6. Untapped resources from the retired group

7. Misconception of the ability of older talents

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The Survey Objectives

To Understand:

1. the severity of manpower shortage situation in Hong Kong

and given industries

2. the usefulness of these solutions on Ageing Workforce

issue : importing foreign workers, engaging Gen Y, and

retaining old employees

3. how companies deal with retirement age

4. the effectiveness of talent retention strategy and succession

plan

5 5

3.3%

41.6%

25.9%

1.6%

Retirement Age Policy (N = 243)

No stipulated policy

At 55 years of age

At 60 years of age

At 65 years of age

Others

27.6%

Retirement Age Policy

• 27.6% reported no

stipulated policy

• Almost 42% reported

retirement age at 60

• 25.9% reported at 65

• Others: decide on a case-by-

case basis; at 60 but

renewable to 65 year by

year; follow MPF scheme

6 Refer to Appendix: Tables 5 6

2.5% 7.4%

0.8% 2.9%

Prospective/New Retirement Age Policy (N = 243)

Remainingunchanged

To 60 years ofage

To 65 years ofage

To 70 years ofage

Others

86.4%

Revision on Retirement Age Policy

• 86.4% reported no change

• 2.5% would change to 60

• 7.4% reported to set at 65

• 0.8% would change to 70

• A big majority indicated

little change probably not

viewing ageing workforce

as a pressing issue

• But, 10% attempt to take

proactive action in advance


Retirement Age Policy by Industry

Finance: 66% retire over 60; people are knowledge workers

Logistics: 80% plans no change because they are already at 60 or above.

Education: 57% has the retirement policy at 60; however 13/14 plan no

change in the future. Perhaps due to government policy and/or short-

sighted.

Construction is found in a similar pattern. But, reasons can be different.

Manufacturing: 21% does not have a policy now but 5 of them plan to

set at 60 years old while most of them (76%) set at 60.

Trading: 57% has policy over 60 years of age; but almost all of them

(20) plan no change.

Tourism & Hospitality: 91% sets their policy at 60 or above and they

have no plan.

All in all: 69/75 companies (92%) which has no retirement policy does

not plan to move up their retirement age policy to 65 years old.

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6.6%

Reduction of Salary on Retirement Extension (N = 243)

No

Yes93.4%

Salary Reduction on Extension

• 93.4% reported no salary

reduction

• Majority of the remaining 6.6%

indicated a 10-20% pay cut

• Education has the largest %

• Some indicated the need to reduce

salary when job scope change

• FG reported some hotels,

educational & health care

institutes implement salary

reduction even when no change in

job scope


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Top 10 Most Agreed Items in Rank Order (N = 268)

20 Communication helps to retain talents

3 Undergraduates like to work for large or multinationals

39 Employee on job as long as perform

22 Because of good health

23 For personal satisfaction

9 OldEes serve as mentors to junior staff

24 Performance determines retirement age can be extended

41 Go or stay based on performance

45 Clear career path helps to retain young talents

51 Training and development programs helps to attract young talents

0 50 100-100 -50 0

2 3 4 5 6

• Most agreed that communication is likely the most preferred method on staff retention

• Other popular tools include clear career path and T&D

• Performance is important, but not an overwhelming key concern

• Most agreed older employees would like to continue to work and can be mentors to junior ones

10 Refer to Appendix: Tables 13

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Top 10 Most Disagreed Items in Rank Order (N = 268)

5 Gen Y likes shiftwork or long hours

6 Gen Y likes to work in manufacturing

4 Gen Y does not job-hop

27 Easy to recruit suitable people

28 Easy to retain talents in our organization

2 Easy to retain talents in HK

1 Easy to recruit suitable people in HK

34 Sufficient candidates for senior positions in my organization

11 OldEes like to face new challenges

36 Need not to set a retirement age policy in my profession/industry 0 50 100-100 -50 0

2 3 4 5 6

• These are reversed items.

• Respondents thought that Gen Y dislike shiftwork, long hours, and

manufacturing environment

• Fairly high consensus in difficulty of recruiting & retaining talents

• Over 50% saw the need to set a retirement age policy


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Difficulty in Recruitment

• These are reversed items. • Over 74% of respondents indicate difficulty to recruit talents

• Over 76% face the same difficulty on talent hunting

• Neutral view on importation of labour

• Over 50% doubt labour importation can help

• 63% commented that the procedure relating to labour importation seems troublesome



12 Importation of foreign workers helps

13 Employment of foreigners is troublesome

27 Easy to recruit suitable people


0 50 100-100 -50 0

2 3 4 5 6


13

Performance is Not Always the King

• By and large, performance determines whether the

employees stay or go (69.4%)

• Performance also determines retirement extension (73.3%)

• Weeding out substandard performers is not an entirely

common practice (31%).


39 Employee on job as long as perform

41 Go or stay based on performance

42 Weed out substandard performers before 60

0 50 100-100 -50 0

2 3 4 5 6


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Additional Information

• Respondents appeared to be indifferent or of different views over the above issues

• Partial answer to these observations perhaps lies in industry specific and needs, especially on labour importation

• In particular, how a well designed retirement policy and/or medical insurance scheme enhance the talent engagement and retention as unknown to majority of the respondents

16 Retirement policy adds no burden to financial well-being

17 Retirement policy disrupts no career advancement of youngsters

18 Retirement policy enhances the morale of my employees

19 Ageing workforce is not a concern

26 Importation of foreigners helps in my organization

48 Flexible medical insurance plans helps to retain OlderEes

0 50 100-100 -50 0

2 3 4 5 6


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Findings from Factor Analysis (因子分析)

A. Retention Strategy

B. Attitude Toward Gen Y

C. Perception on Aging Issue

D. Motivation to Continue Employment

Factor Mean Reliability

Retention Strategy 4.75 0.856

Attitude Toward Gen Y 2.74 0.734

Perception on Aging Issue 4.16 0.640

Motivation to Continue Employment 5.28 0.662

15 Refer to Appendix: Tables 17-20

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A: Retention Strategy

• Each effective retention strategy mentioned is not commonly used

• This factor includes Succession Planning which is important, Clear Career Path availability, Desirable Organizational Culture, Relevant Reward Scheme, T & D

• Succession Planning and Corporate Culture appear to be less popular and used, maybe due to technical expertise involved

29 Have succession plan for middle level positions

30 Have succession plan senior level positions

33 Corporate culture

45 Clear career path

46 Development support practices

47 Family-friendly employment practices

48 Flexible medical insurance plans

49 Overseas training

50 Reward schemes

51 Training and development programs

Overall Mean: 4.75

2 3 4 5 6

0 50 100-100 -50 0

16 Refer to Appendix: Tables 12 & 17

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B: Attitude Toward Gen Y

• These are reversed items generating two separate areas

1. Overwhelming agreement on the difficulty to recruit and retain talent

in their companies in HK

2. Same about on how Gen Y dislikes shiftwork, long hours, and

undesirable work condition, and Gen Y tends to job-hopping

• Results confirm the above two issues must be dealt with seriously

• Employers should review and improve their manpower and succession plans



4 Gen Y does not job-hop

5 Gen Y likes shiftwork or long hours

6 Gen Y likes to work in manufacturing


Overall Mean: 2.74

2 3 4 5 6

0 50 100-100 -50 0


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C: Perception on Ageing Issue

10 OldEes have the physical well-being required

11 OldEes like to face new challenges

16 Retirement policy adds no burden to financial well-being

17 Retirement policy disrupts no career advancement of youngsters

40 Gen Y in my company supports retirement extension

Overall Mean: 4.16

2 3 4 5 6

• Majority of respondents are not sure about this problem, given a mean falling on the mid-point of the scale

• A thorough understanding about the work attitude and competency of local older workers are yet to be uncovered, or promoted

• Perhaps many companies await further information and best practices to adopt

• Employers should be proactive to learn about how this issue affecting their manpower and business

0 50 100-100 -50 0


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D: Motivation to Continue Employment

• This factor includes: for financial reasons (70.9%), in good health (88.1%), & for personal satisfaction (82.5%)

• Same reasons but higher than those in recent American survey findings

• Local economy and Chinese work ethics

• Possible maintenance of social status if being employed

• Employers should try to find out more the needs of their baby boomers employees

• Learn to identify and make good use of their experience and competency

21 For better financial Situation

22 Because of good health

23 For personal satisfaction


Overall Mean: 5.28

2 3 4 5 6

0 50 100-100 -50 0


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Managerial Implications

Rethink~Retain~Reform

創時勢~匯人才~倡發展

Age Smart Management (睿智精英管理)

• Time and Place Management (切合時宜僱佣模式管理)

• Knowledge Management (知識管理)

• Succession Management (繼承管理)

• Mentoring Project (師徒計劃)

• Executive coaching (商管教練計劃)

• Family-friendly Policy (家庭友善計劃)

• Age-friendly Policy (年齡友善計劃)

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Age Smart Management (睿智精英管理)

• Baby boomers intent to remain working beyond normal retirement age

• Knowledge-based jobs associated with minimal physical demands

seems to be more attractive to many older adults

• Compared to younger employees, older ones offer experience and

expertise, are highly motivated and responsible, and are generally

perceived as more reliable, loyal, and superior in interpersonal and

communication skills.

• They mirror the aging population and can relate well to today’s

growing “silver hair” customer base.

• Health and salary costs may increase due to deterioration of physical

condition of the older employees as well as additional premium on

salary relating to length of service of the employees?

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Age Smart Management Guide

Setting policy and expectation to manage older employees as

well as create a friendly work environment and a shared

supportive mindset amongst different age groups. Examples:

• Recruiting older employees

• Age-friendly training and development

• Knowledge transfer, mentoring & executive coaching

• Workplace process and ergonomics

• Family-friendly & caregiving policy

• Workplace wellness programmes

• Financial and retirement planning

• Time and place management policy

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Time and Place Management Policy (切合時宜僱佣模式管理)

• Older/younger employees respond to various employment modes differently, full-time, part-time, sub-contract, home-based, etc.

• Investment in providing workers with the skills, motivations, and opportunities to do their jobs well

• Helping employees to manage work and family responsibilities and to improve employees’ attitude toward their work, workplace and working relationship with different age groups

• Workplace support and supervisor understanding are found very effective

• Desirable health and ageing programmes have positive effects for younger workers in good health and older workers in poor health

• Employees see these policies as evidence that their employers care about their well-being

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Time and Place Management Guide

• Flexible administration of company policy

• Nurture a tacit workplace culture

• Advanced job process design with technological support,

particularly for employee at the senior age groups.

• Comprehensive knowledge management system capturing

operational statistics and practices

• Discrimination-free performance appraisal and work

assignment

• Education for managers and supervisors

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The End

Thank you very much!

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results of survey on the retention strategy of older …results of survey on the retention strategy...

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