The Executive Newsletter of TheOfficialBoard

By Marie-Charlotte Diriart

Extending seniors’ employability is currently a hot topic for most European countries. European countries are recognizing the value that older workers bring to an organization: experience, institutional memory, wisdom, maturity. In 2010, each member of the European Union must achieve the target of increasing its employment rate of seniors (aged between 55 and 64 years old) to 50%.

In 2008, the average rate of senior employment in Europe was 46%, which is the rate recorded for Spain. Above this average are The Netherlands (53%), Germany (54%) and The United Kingdom (58%). They are finding it difficult to keep up with the lead taken by the top of the class: Sweden, with 70 % of seniors in employment. Amongst the worst performing are France (38%), Italy (34%) and Poland (32%) who are now striving to reach the 50% target.

The way to avoid encourage seniors to delay entry into retirement differs from country to country. Some governments try to increase the age of retirement (Finland, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Germany), while others create incentive measures to hire or maintain senior employment by exempting social security contributions (Italy, Spain). Sweden pays subsidies to companies hiring senior employees, and Finland and the UK promote the positive impact of employing seniors via public campaigns.

Whereas the current economic and financial climate obliges most companies to implement constraints or voluntary departure plans for a large number of employees, French companies have to commit to maintaining or hiring senior employees.

The approach taken by France to reduce this gap is worth focusing on since the French model is distinctly punitive, as opposed to offering incentives. Companies having more than 50 employees are required to take certain number of quantifiable measures which favor senior employment. These companies will be sanctioned with a penalty of 1% of the global gross salaries if they do not comply with these regulations as of January 1st 2010.

In Sweden, all the economic players are fully aware of the challenge. To respond to their ageing workforce, companies are encouraged to take creative measures. Like Vatenfall this publicly owned energy company, which in order to avoid terminating more than 8 000 of its senior employees in 10 years time, has established the “80-90-100″ program: 80% work time provides 90% salary and 100% pension funding.  Other companies such as SwedBank, a leading bank in Sweden, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, have taken similar initiatives.

Different countries have vastly different approaches to attracting and retaining seniors, but it is clear that the initiative is taking hold, and one way or another it will be here for some time.

Marie-Charlotte Diriart is Counsel on Employment at Lovells. Lovells is one of the largest international legal practices with offices in Europe, Asia and the United States.

By Catherine Blondel

We know the song:“I’ve got it” . It is exactly what any newly appointed executive wants to say. Finally, after years of hard work: I am, I exist, I made it!

But reality soon dispels the fiction. Nothing seems really new. Since the times of Plato, we know that power corrupts, and we are just beginning to understand what that means for large corporations.

The current crisis has shed light on the legal transgressions of a few corporate leaders. Every leader is beginning to understand that everyone has been tarred by the same brush. Power may corrupt but also corrode those who try to exercise it.

To the loneliness of today’s executive, we can also add the loss of the authority. Leaders can no more claim the legacy of experience and legitimacy based on skills. Their authority is continually questioned by the shareholders, customers, employees and suppliers.

Becoming a leader and remaining one, while the magnitude and duration of the economic crisis are still being debated, will require exectuives to endure the loss of different aspects.

• The first aspect, less prominent in the United States than it is in Europe or Asia, is the loss of statutory elements such as the attended business schools or the number of secretaries.

• The second aspect is the loss of competence (Yes, you read correctly). The crisis, beyond displaying the golden parachutes and the bonuses, has also highlighted the lack of common sense, the silliness, the incompetence and the powerlessness of a few executives.

• The combination of the two clearly has deleterious effects on everyone including the competent leaders. The third aspect, finally, is the loss of self-confidence, which is certainly the most corrosive.

Of course, those loss of orientation or loss of competence would deserve more developments about understanding whether they are simply the expansion of the democratic principles to the corporate world. Companies have for a long time escaped to the democracy focusing almost only on their shareholders.

The current global crisis has acted as a particle accelerator, revealing that “the Emperor is naked” and eroding confidence in executives. Each executive might first acknowledge those losses as he would acknowledge a loss on his company financial statement. He can also “sing the blues” and manage what makes every transaction possible: trust.

Its loss is not forever. Executives can patiently rebuild reputations and stakeholder confidence. You may have lost it temporarily but you can find it again in all ages!

Catherine Blondel is an Executive Coach, a psychoanalyst, and essayist. She has published several books including Quand le travail fait symptôme in January 2009.

By Maryanne Perrin

A cultural change we cannot ignore. Unless you’ve been completely unplugged, you’ve probably heard some rumblings about the benefits of workplace flexibility.  If not, here’s the scoop: study after study shows that it’s a top priority for employees and it’s good for employers, too.

Need further proof? US-based Best Buy and UK-based BT Group both have programs that allow employees’ maximum control over when and where they work  (called Results Only Work Environment and Freedom to Work respectively) and results of these programs have been impressive:  productivity improvements ranging from 15-35%; reductions in turnover and absenteeism; and significant savings in real estate costs.

While the concept of a truly flexible workplace - people working when and where they like as long as they get the job done - isn’t rocket science, it isn’t going to happen without proactive planning and leadership thanks to ingrained notions of work that have their roots in the Industrial Age.

Want to ensure you’re creating a flexibility culture that meets the realities of an Information Age workplace and workforce? 51% of Gen X workers say they’d leave their current employer for a chance to telecommute; 60% of working mothers view part-time as the ideal work arrangement; two-thirds of workers between age 45-74 desire flexible schedules.

Here are some tips:

1. Approach workplace flexibility as a broad business strategy that requires the support of the entire management team.  By relegating it to the ranks of an “HR program” instead of a strategic, company-wide initiative, you’ll guarantee that it doesn’t go far.

2. Examine your own ingrained notions of work and the messages you might be sending employees.  Do you make assumptions about someone’s work ethic and contributions based on when they arrive and depart the office?  What do you assume about the dedication of employees who work alternative schedules (e.g. part-time, job-share)?  Are employees rewarded for putting in long hours (“face time”) or for results?

3. Find out what your employees want. Workplace flexibility isn’t necessarily about working LESS; it’s about working differently so people can effectively manage the complex demands of work and life.  Take the time to understand your employees’ perspectives on flexibility so that you create a strategy that supports your business and your people.

4. Make the necessary operational changes to support a flexible workplace. Essential items include: strong performance management systems; technology that enables remote systems access; communications protocol; formal HR policies and management training (the “management” concept changes dramatically from managing bodies at desks to managing results!).

5. Lead by example. Many companies have written flexibility policies that go unused because the underlying corporate culture values face time over results.  What’s the best way to show your support of a flexible workplace?  Let your employees see you changing your work hours and location to meet the demands of business and life!

Maryanne Perrin is a founding Partner at Balancing Professionals, which provides new strategies for a new workforce.  They are located in North Carolina, USA.