Out with the old?

A couple of months ago I went through one of life's periodic traumas. I turned 50-years-old. All of sudden, I changed from a bright young thing to a bed blocker.

It seemed that people started looking at me in a slightly different way. The light was now visible at the end of the tunnel, career wise. The long countdown to 65 and potential retirement had started and with it, the jokes began.

But are we to quick to dismiss the more mature members of staff where we work? Are we disregarding the experience and knowledge of older people a little too early?

History is littered with examples of more mature folk becoming very successful. The neurones may not be firing in the brain quite as quickly as they once did, however knowledge, networks and interpersonal skills
can still outweigh this. What's more,
the desire to make a useful contribution
is still very much alive.

Old is gold

If you doubt this, let me tell you about Ray Kroc. He was the man who made MacDonald's a global success. He was 53 when he became president of the MacDonald's Corporation and as he said: "I was an overnight success all right, but 30 years is a long, long night." Harland Sanders, better known as Colonel Sanders, did not issue the first franchise on Kentucky Fried Chicken until he was 62. In the world of politics, Ted Heath did not retire as an MP until he was 84. Ken Clarke will be standing again as an MP at the general election in May and will be 75 this July. Ronald Reagan was almost 70 at the start of his first term as US president in 1981.

Western culture has a habit of venerating the young at the expense of the old and we see it everywhere, not just in the professions but also in the media, IT, the arts and so on. In most eastern cultures, old age is respected and revered. People seek the counsel of the old because of their experience and accumulated wisdom. Unfortunately this doesn't happen much in western countries and the UK is no exception.

Don't discard knowledge

Professional firms are often guilty of being too quick to retire their senior staff. Some firms even ease people out by the age of 55. This is precisely the time that their networks and knowledge banks are at their greatest.

For a start, older workers are likely to be more reliable than younger ones. They are less likely to resign, phone in sick, or turn up to work with a hangover. Their social skills will be more polished, the quality of their work is likely to be higher and they will need less training. They can even provide mentoring and training for younger staff members.

Promotion and career development may not be as important to them so they will not leave because they think they can get a better deal elsewhere. They have deep and long standing relationships with many clients and intermediaries. This is the time when they can potentially add most value to the firm. So why throw all that ability away?

To refer back to Ken Clarke, when David Cameron formed his first cabinet, he included Clarke specifically because of his experience and knowledge. His age was seen as a bonus.

When you take all of the above into account, surely the question should be, why don't we hang on to our older staff for as long as possible? Why not encourage them to stay? This could be affected by part time working, or working remotely, flexible hours or enhanced pension arrangements. There is a great resource waiting to be used.

The older generation should be embraced and encouraged to stay on, not rejected. The value that they provide should not be underestimated. I certainly hope that I will be around for many years to come. I would also like to think that my effectiveness has not yet peaked. So don't give up on the 50-plus yet. We have a lot more to offer than many people realise.

Geraint Jones is a tax partner at BKL Tax

He writes the regular in-practice article on doing business for Private Client Adviser