Checklist for Creating an Age-Inclusive Workforce

​Here are some ways your organization can commit to creating a workforce that is welcoming to older workers.

Review job descriptions and recruiting materials to make sure the language doesn't discourage experienced workers from applying at your organization:

• Incorporate language in recruitment materials that says workers of all ages are encouraged to apply.
• Eliminate requests for date of birth and graduation from the application process.
• Eliminate requests for past salary history, which may contribute to a bias against experienced workers and gender-pay inequality. Instead, post salary ranges for all job postings.
• Train hiring managers not to use words and phrases that could hint at age bias, such as "digital native," "young," "fresh" or "recent graduate."
• Update your organization's brand materials to use images and text that showcase older workers and feature profiles of those employees.

Conduct a review of your organization's benefits to make sure they serve workers of all ages.

Make age an element in your organization's diversity and inclusion strategies.

Add age-inclusive language to your website and to your diversity and inclusion policies and practices.

Include age in all diversity and inclusion training for managers and employees.

Write on the company blog about the work your organization is doing to create an age-inclusive workforce.

Support age inclusivity by:

• Conducting a companywide age-discrimination workshop or lunch-and-learn program.
• Creating intergenerational or experienced-worker employee resource groups.
• Setting up a career re-entry program for people who have taken an extended leave from the workforce.
• Building mixed-age teams and devising ways to evaluate their performance.
• Establishing systems to assess the cumulative contribution of age-diverse and inclusive teams on the organization.
• Inviting your retirees, or experienced professionals from outside the organization, to participate in specific initiatives or on a project-by-project basis.
• Supporting legislative reforms to strengthen legal protections for older workers.
• Making flexible options such as telecommuting, phased retirement and part-time work part of your talent management strategy.
  

Source: The Future of Work for All Generations, AARP.