Employing seniors often looks like it costs
more because experienced employees often demand hire wages. For this
reason, they are often dismissed as potential employees for all jobs except
those that absolutely require large amounts of experience or specialized skills.
In some cases, the upfront financial costs are greater
to hire seniors because you
are generally paying for an employee with more experience. Obtaining that
talent costs more and the assumption is that hiring more talent than what is
required for the position is money tossed out the window.
Younger
employees haven't reached their pinnacle of experience and some employers think
that you are ahead of the game if you can get the minimum amount of talent and
experience that is necessary for the job for the least amount of
money. There are however, other costs that aren't easily measured by the
size of the paycheck.
Senior employees often bring more than work
experience with them to a new job. They bring industry experience that
goes outside the walls of the workplace. Experience with industry
resources, suppliers, managers, different product lines, and customers is very
valuable experience that can be tapped into through the hiring of senior
employees.
Industry resources - Have you had
problems and didn't know where to turn next? Check with your older
employees who have worked for other similar or competitor companies.
They may have run into these problems before. Even if your senior
employee hasn't been in a managerial role, they have often seen where and how
management finally solved the same problem that you are having now.
Suppliers - Every company can run into
a dicey situation where the old suppliers aren't doing the job or
prices/service are no longer competitive. Senior employees can point the
way and even give you an inside track on finding and working with new
suppliers. Imagine having an employee on your staff that knew what your
competitors have been paying and whose products they were using. Maybe
they even know a point or two of negotiation tactics with certain
suppliers.
Product lines - Most businesses
consider new product lines or expand from time to time and often find
themselves looking for new or alternative products or supplies. Needless
to say, product specifications don't always tell the whole story and neither
do hungry salespeople. Yet getting in some bad product can not only cost
you in labor and production but in lost customers. Senior employees can
often point to either bad or good experiences that they have had in the past
and save tons of money and frustration.
Managers - Business is all about
relationships... knowing the right people at the right time. Most senior
employees have had the opportunity and the necessity to work with top people
at other companies and have often built solid and trusted relationships.
This isn't necessarily only true with senior management employees
either. Contacts that are built with dispatchers, plant managers, and
shipping clerks can be just as valuable as a personal relationship with the
CEO.
Customers - Do you hire salespeople
because of the customers that they can add to your client list? Most
employers do. Consider that your customer support staff, shipping, and
warehouse staff also come into contact with customers and may have just as big
an impact on whether a customer stays happy.
Good customer service in these positions is
critical to customer retention, and seniors who have occupied these positions
know a large number of people and have worked with them in the past.
They know, work with, and have earned the respect and the
personal/professional relationships of the people who work the trenches for
your customer and your prospects. If you don't think that your
customer's plant foreman or warehouse supervisor can influence the decisions
of a buyer, guess again.
How much is it worth to you to pick up
additional senior customers? Seniors purchase that vast majority of
products and services and control 77% of the financial resources in the U.S. Do
you want these people as your customers? It only makes sense that if you
want to attract teen clients, hire teenagers. If you want to attract
senior customers, hire seniors. Seniors are more likely to patronize a business where the staff understands their concerns, have the same tastes, and who dress
and look the same as they do.
Senior employees are great company
ambassadors regardless of what position they are in.
