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Mature Workers and Workplace Technology
I've often heard my recruiter colleagues questioning whether mature workers can keep up with using the technology required in the typical workplace. To this I say, if you are hiring people who simply need to know how to use standard office technology, I suggest that you think about how easy it is use these tools. Office-based technology is so simple that if folks can't learn to work with today's tools, maybe they should not be driving on any highway, much less the technology highway.
The question is, can they learn? Ask the right questions about how they have managed change and conquered new tasks and you'll have the answer as to whether they will step up and learn to master the relatively minor challenges of workplace technology.
Also, consider what guru Peter Weddles says about mature workers and their ability to hunt for jobs and apply online:
"There are more people over the age of 56 (10%) visiting job boards and corporate career sites than there are people under the age of 25 (8.8%) who do so. There are almost as many people over the age of 50 (22.4%) using employment sites as there are people under the age of 30 (26.8%) who use them. The usage pattern across the entire population is almost evenly split between those under the age of 40 (53.7%) and those over it (46.3%)."
This is the bottom line according to Weddle's Research. "The alleged deficiencies of 'older' workers-they don't learn quickly, they are Luddites with new technology, they can't relate to younger workers-have all now been decisively disproven."
Finally, if you want to hire a technology expert, may I introduce you to my neighbor's 14 year-old son?
Posted by Carleen MacKay on February 22, 2007 at 1:26 PM
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