"Experience is a plus" is an expression that people of my generation are very familiar with. The accumulation of experiences facilitates an accurate assessment of what works and how to make it work.
The term "algorithm", so popular today, would be the equivalent of "experience" in technological language. Algorithms identify patterns and propose actions based on the analysis of large amounts of data from different sources.
Both senior know-how and algorithms enrich people's and organizations' decision-making. However, while the use of artificial intelligence is more and more extended, the employment situation of the senior community is increasingly precarious: the number of unemployed people in Spain aged over 50 is close to one million and has increased by 19 % in the last 3 years.
As we age, our work resilience deteriorates as it is driven by decisions and situations out of our control and often not linked to our capacity and performance.
The difficulty of seniors to develop a satisfactory professional career is a social and economic challenge of the first magnitude.
The need for system change
The root of the problem is not in the value given to the experience itself, but rather in the fact that part of the benefits of investing in senior talent are intangible, difficult to measure in the short-term. Therefore, valuing and promoting it requires a new mindset, a system change.
One way to illustrate the magnitude of the change needed is to visualize practices that would be common in a society that supports senior talent and that are currently in the minority. Some examples would be the following:
- Include senior employability in the political and social agendas as a priority topic.
- Consider the retirement age as a reference point, a vital decision milestone and not as the end of a career path.
- Consider a company's labor practices regarding senior employees as an indicator of its sustainability and strategic performance.
- Integrate into development and training plans actions that prepare people to undertake employment alternatives outside the company.
The essential contribution of the senior community
I am positive about the feasibility of this essential transformation. The development of new institutional frameworks, for which there are very valid initiatives underway, is very important. I have no doubt that the trigger will be the commitment and involvement of the seniors themselves. I highlight four fronts in which, in my opinion, we can make a difference:
- Keep acting as "self-entrepreneurs", identifying and monetizing the essence of our experience, without losing sight of the market and continually filling our vital backpack with new knowledge and experiences.
- Seek the support, energy and inspiration of people and organizations that genuinely empathize with the cause.
- Practice constructive activism, using our voices and amplifiers to make the challenge visible and provide solutions and points of view that enrich the debate.
- Share our learning with the coming generations, supporting their professional careers planning and management.
Improving professional resilience and empowering senior talent require enormous collaborative work involving legislative, social, economic, and academic stakeholders. This effort will be useless if we seniors do not actively contribute with initiative, judgment and attitude on a day-to-day basis. We are a fundamental part of the solution.