- CAFE Program participants now surpass 230; Five hundred more organizations are applying, expressing interest in qualifying and getting recognized as age-friendly
- Employers want to “mirror the market”, learn best practices for attracting and retaining people who are staying in workforce later in life
- Industry experts: Employers are recognizing that earning the ‘age-friendly’ designation “confers advantages in the marketplace”
WALTHAM, MA, USA – May 7, 2024 – Twenty-five more employers from around the world have been certified and have subscribed to the Certified Age-Friendly Employer (CAFE) network, helping them learn about ways to attract, retain and develop age 50+ employees. The list of new and re-certified employers in recent months includes such names as Accenture (Brazil), American Heart Association, Benchmark Senior Living, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, Boston Red Sox, Cities of Boulder, CO and Cincinnati, OH, Citizens Financial, Humana, Los Angeles County, Merck, Minneapolis and Hennepin County, Pittsburgh Regional Transit, Publicis Groupe, RAPP (US and UK), Sanofi (Brazil), SE Health (Canada), TIANS (Canada) and Schneider Electric. The organizations run across industries and include both the public and private sectors [See full list and program background].
CAFE Members on Five Continents
Employers are facing historic labor shortages. In addition, many are wrestling with the legal and workforce planning complexities presented by an aging workforce, such as how and whether to implement phased retirement programs. “Successfully hiring and retaining older workers will be a competitive advantage in a tight labor market. Equally vital is managing employer brand reputations in a fast-changing and complex employment landscape driven by people’s longevity,” said Tim Driver, President of the Age-Friendly Institute. Older adults are increasingly willing to defer retirement. “There’s no better business case in my business than being age friendly”, said Jeff McCue, former CHRO for the State of Massachusetts. Age 50+ workers stay in jobs three times longer than their younger counterparts. “We have the opportunity – if not the responsibility – to the mirror the markets that we operate in and the diverse consumer bases we serve, and attracting and retaining employees of all ages ensures that we’re able to authentically connect with an aging population and people over 50,” says Geraldine White, Chief Diversity Officer, Publicis Groupe U.S.
Disconnect Between Employers and their Employees
Almost nine in 10 employers (87%) consider their companies to be ‘age-friendly’, according to a new report from the Transamerica Institute titled “Workplace Transformations: Employer Business Practices and Benefit Offerings” [see report]. However, only 69% of workers consider their employers to meet these criteria. “This disconnect runs across organizations of all sizes,” says Catherine Collinson, President of the Transamerica Institute. According to the Age-Friendly Institute, two thirds (66%) of older adults say they believe ‘age bias is a fact of life in the workplace’.
CAFE Origins
The Certified Age Friendly Employer (CAFE) program, operated by the Age-Friendly Institute, is the world’s leading branding and assessment initiative that recognizes organizations committed to being the best places to work for employees 50+. It was established in 2006, and assesses employers according to a rubric and set of standards developed and managed by experts in HR, compensation and benefits. CAFE members and officers meet in-person and/or virtually five or more times per year, with participating organizations sharing data and other learnings about aging workforce topics from a 360-degree point of view. 2024 worldwide workshop sessions include topics such as ‘Best Practices: Recruiting & Staffing Age 50+ Employees’, ‘Core Values & Diversity, Employee Relationships’, ‘Employee Training & Professional Development’, ‘Workforce Planning & Compliance’, and ‘Job Design, Phased Retirement and Benefits for Later Career Workers’.
Industry Recognition Accruing to Age-Friendly Employers
In their article in the March-April 2024 edition of Harvard Business Review, AgeWave Founder and CEO Dr. Ken Dychtwald, Ph.D. and his aging industry expert colleagues hailed a secular trend of employers being more inclined to proactively recruit and retain older talent: “We first explored these challenges and opportunities in HBR exactly 20 years ago, in our article ‘It’s Time to Retire Retirement.’ When we compare the situation we described back then to where we are now, we see encouraging trends. Employers are more aware of the demographic challenges that confront them, and many have recognized that they can tap into the pool of older workers to prevent and mitigate shortages of talent. They’re recognizing that earning the ‘age-friendly’ designation confers advantages in the marketplace.” [see HBR article]. Older adults can view and apply to jobs with age-friendly employers displayed on RetirementJobs.com.
About The Age-Friendly Institute
The Age-Friendly Institute (institute.agefriendly.com) is home to the worldwide Certified Age-Friendly Employer (CAFE) program, which began in 2006. It is a division of Age Friendly Ventures, a public benefit corporation. The Institute provides workforce analytics for employers and elevates all things age-friendly. Its consumer website AgeFriendly.com was created to simplify the confusing landscape for older adults and families as they navigate aging and to give voice to their experiences. AgeFriendly.com brings together expert-developed systems for establishing what is age-friendly with reviews, ratings and insights from older adults and family caregivers. Through its worldwide research and events, the Institute encourages cross-sector collaboration among aging services organizations in pursuit of a comprehensive Age-Friendly Ecosystem.
Media Contact for Age-Friendly Institute:
Emily Johnson Beach
support@agefriendly.com