{"id":1571,"date":"2025-05-15T00:47:29","date_gmt":"2025-05-14T22:47:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/intersearch.us\/?p=1571"},"modified":"2025-05-15T00:47:29","modified_gmt":"2025-05-14T22:47:29","slug":"exclusive-survey-recruiting-and-retaining-senior-employees-summary-note","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/intersearch.us\/es\/exclusive-survey-recruiting-and-retaining-senior-employees-summary-note\/","title":{"rendered":"Exclusive survey recruiting and retaining senior employees summary note"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>METHODOLOGY NOTE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The study &#8220;Recruiting and retaining senior employees&#8221;, carried out for Grant Alexander (<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/intersearch.org\/location\/FRA\/France\"><strong>French member of InterSearch Worldwide<\/strong><\/a><strong>), explores and analyses the issues involved in recruiting and retaining senior employees (aged 55 and over) within companies.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This study was carried out among 589 &#8216;recruiting&#8217; managers (employees who supervise at least one person and are involved in the recruitment process in their company), including an over-sample of 60 HR Directors. All respondents work in private sector companies with 50 or more employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This sample of recruiters is drawn from a sample of 1,389 employees representative of the population of employees in private companies with 50 or more employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The sample was drawn up using the quota method, based on age, socio-professional category, conurbation category, sector of activity and company size.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The executive interviews were conducted by telephone using CATI (Computer Assisted Telephone Interview) between 19 and 24 September 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">All publications, whether in whole or in part, must use the following full title: &#8220;OpinionWay Survey for Grant Alexander&#8221; and no reproduction of the survey may be dissociated from this title.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">OpinionWay would also point out that the results of this survey should be read taking into account the margins of uncertainty: 1.9 to 4.4 points for a sample of 500 respondents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">OpinionWay carried out this survey in accordance with the procedures and rules of the ISO 20252 standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Recruiters recognise some of the skills of older employees<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Hiring managers generally have a good opinion of older employees. They recognise several qualities in them, both technical and managerial, and their experience is an asset for the company (for 89% of those questioned).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Although they are generally the best paid within the company (for 66% of respondents), the salary they receive is justified for a large majority (83%) in view of the work they do. Their willingness to learn and develop (recognised by 85% of recruiters) and their desire to progress professionally (72%) may explain the way they are perceived by most managers. Three out of four recruiters (76% agree) also consider that they have better skills for managing and leading teams.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/intersearch.org\/files\/org\/image-web\/skillsrecogniezbyrecruiters.png\" width=\"70%\" alt=\"\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Companies generally allow them to express these qualities, by giving them the opportunity to manage and lead teams (77% agree), to learn and develop within the company (76%), or by seeking a balance between junior and senior profiles (67%).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>These qualities are less recognised by younger employees (under 50). In particular, they are more critical of the work they do in relation to their salary (80% vs. 93% for employees aged 50 and over) and their ability to supervise employees (73% vs. 87%).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>HR Directors are less convinced that the experience of older employees is a real asset to the company (81% vs. 89% overall). They do, however, recognise their desire to develop professionally (81% vs. 72%), and consider that the company&#8217;s HR policy is tending towards a better balance between seniors and juniors (78% vs. 67% overall).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; However, older employees are often overlooked when recruiting, as some of their shortcomings may appear to be a barrier to recruiters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Despite all these qualities, recruiters tend to favour younger employees over older employees if they have the choice. A third (32%) has already rejected applications from older employees in response to a request from management. Nearly one recruiter in two (45%) admits that management has already instructed them to give preference to younger profiles. Conversely, only a minority of recruiters (42%) has ever specifically sought out a senior profile.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/intersearch.org\/files\/org\/image-web\/Senioremployeesexcluded.png\" width=\"70%\" alt=\"\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>HR Directors were more frequently confronted with situations where older employees were being sidelined: 74% had already been instructed by their management to give preference to younger candidates, and 68% had already rejected applications from older candidates out of hand. But they have also more often found themselves in a position where they were looking for senior profiles (70% vs. 42% overall), and 82% have already been positively surprised by a senior candidate.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In addition to the problem of the emoluments of older employees, who are often paid more than others, managers mention other obstacles, primarily linked to difficulties encountered by these employees, particularly in working with younger employees. Older employees may find it difficult to understand the expectations of younger employees (69%) and to assimilate their work processes (65%), or even to accept that younger employees may bring relevant insights and skills (63%).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The ability of older employees to grasp the new tools at their disposal and adapt to new forms of working is another obstacle to their recruitment. 63% of recruiters consider that employees aged 55 or over have difficulty understanding technological and digital developments, and 58% find it difficult to adapt to changes in working practices. All in all, more than one recruiter in two (58%) recognises that older employees have difficulty finding their place in the company.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/intersearch.org\/files\/org\/image-web\/twotypesofobstacles.png\" width=\"60%\" alt=\"\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>HR Directors are more critical of older employees than other recruiters. 70% (vs. 65%) find it difficult to understand how the young employees who join their team work on a day-to-day basis, and 74% consider that they have difficulty with technological and digital developments (vs. 63%).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Several measures could make it easier to retain or recruit older workers<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The reasons why older employees are not kept on in the company or chosen when recruiting are not always inherent to them. More than half of all managers (54%) cite a lack of support within the company to prepare older employees for new jobs, and 45% for updating their skills. More generally, the company&#8217;s HR policy, and in particular the lack of tools to facilitate the recruitment and retention of older employees, is an obstacle for 50% of recruiters. The practice of a form of youthism is another aspect of the company&#8217;s HR policy that is criticised (by 45% of respondents), as is the way in which younger generations view older employees (44%).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/intersearch.org\/files\/org\/image-web\/inherenttothecompany.png\" width=\"70%\" alt=\"\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>These company-related reasons are less often cited by HR Directors, with only a third (35%) citing the lack of HR policies and tools to facilitate the retention\/recruitment of older employees, and 38% citing the lack of support for updating their skills.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The lack of support for these older employees could be made up for by a number of measures that are well received by recruiters. Training sessions to update their knowledge (80%) or to help them acquire other business skills (77%), and support on health and well-being issues (80%) are well perceived by recruiters.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/intersearch.org\/files\/org\/image-web\/severalmesures.png\" width=\"70%\" alt=\"\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Other changes aimed at easing the transition of older employees towards retirement are also well regarded. 79% of recruiters consider the introduction of part-time work to enable older employees to move gradually towards retirement to be effective, and 77% look favourably on the introduction of HR tools to help employees when they retire.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Some of these measures are particularly well received by HRDs, notably support for health and well-being (94% vs. 80% overall), the introduction of part-time working for senior employees (93% vs. 77% overall) and HR tools to help employees prepare for retirement (91% vs. 77%).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Another measure, which is more difficult to put in place and less consensual, appeals to recruiters: the possibility of increasing the remuneration of employees aged 55 and over when they reach the end of their career (74% consider it to be effective). Expectations in terms of the remuneration of senior employees, seen as an obstacle by almost half of recruiters (48%), and the fact that they are often the best paid within the company (for 66% of recruiters) may explain this desire to see salaries fall from a certain age.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>HR Directors are particularly favorable to this change in compensation for older employees: 82% consider that this measure could be effective in encouraging the retention\/recruitment of older employees, compared to 74% of all recruiters.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In conclusion, several key findings emerge from this study:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Although they are recognized for their technical and managerial qualities, older employees are often overlooked in today&#8217;s recruitment processes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>There are many reasons for this. They may be linked to difficulties encountered by some employees in terms of handling new tools, or even relationships within the company, particularly with more junior employees. The salary they receive, often higher than that of other employees, can also be a problem.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Very often, these reasons are not linked to the older employees themselves, but rather to a company policy that is insufficiently proactive towards them.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Numerous measures to counteract these difficulties are well perceived by recruiters, some of which enable older employees to continue developing their skills, while others help them to prepare for retirement.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><br>About the French member of InterSearch Worldwide, Grant Alexander<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For over 30 years,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.grantalexander.com\/en\/\">Grant Alexander<\/a>&nbsp;has been a partner in the performance of organisations and their leaders, providing them with comprehensive support for all their skills management and development needs, always with a tailor-made response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A multi-specialist HR consulting and services group, with 4 activities (Executive Search, Executive Interim, Leadership Development, HR &amp; Organisation Transformation), it operates in all sectors, on all functions (managers\/experts \/rare profiles), throughout the world. It has several offices in France (Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Nantes, Toulouse), an office in Abidjan for Africa, and is an active member of Intersearch, of which it is the exclusive partner in France.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A socially committed player, Grant Alexander is Lucie 26000 certified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Our mission: \u201cWe are committed, every day, to enable organisations and their leaders to build an enthusiastic future by opening up new perspectives and helping them to develop their full potential.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>METHODOLOGY NOTE The study &#8220;Recruiting and retaining senior employees&#8221;, carried out for Grant Alexander (French member of InterSearch Worldwide), explores [&hellip;]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1572,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1571","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-diversity-inclusion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/intersearch.us\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1571","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/intersearch.us\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/intersearch.us\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intersearch.us\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intersearch.us\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1571"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/intersearch.us\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1571\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1573,"href":"https:\/\/intersearch.us\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1571\/revisions\/1573"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intersearch.us\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1572"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/intersearch.us\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1571"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intersearch.us\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1571"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intersearch.us\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1571"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}