EP58: Age-Friendly Employers with Tim Driver

"The Age-Friendly Employers Program is the antidote to ageism. It gets people back into life, re-engaging, socializing, getting off the couch, not depressed, and contributing to society."
-Tim Driver, Founder & CEO of Age-Friendly Ventures

"The wisdom and experience of older people is a resource of inestimable worth. Recognizing and treasuring the contributions of older people is essential to the long-term flourishing of any society." 

These words from Daisaku Ikeda, a peacebuilder and Buddhist philosopher, validate the role of older adults as part of a nation's workforce. 

Employing and retaining older adults isn't "doing a good deed thing"; instead, it's more of "do what's expedient." Businesses, agencies, and companies struggle to recruit workers and keep those they have due to the 3.6% national unemployment rate.

As this is combined with an increasingly aging population and changing demographics of young adults, "there would be no recourse but to consider the importance of older workers," 

This week on This Is Getting Old: Moving Towards an Age-Friendly World, we will be talking about Age-Friendly Employers with Tim Driver, Founder & CEO of Age-Friendly Ventures. Tim will shed some light on not only what an Age-Friendly Employer is, but also how to become one. Tune in to the episode, and together let's make the change towards a more age-friendly world. 

Part One of 'Age-Friendly Employers' 

What is an Age-Friendly Employer?

The Certified Age Friendly Employer (CAFE) program of the Age-Friendly Foundation aims to recognize organizations dedicated to being the safest places to work for workers aged 50 and up and assist 50+ career seekers. 

The typical retirement is unlikely to occur in the future due to demographic changes arising from increased life expectancy. Extended employment, progressively staggered unemployment, part-time or shortened hours, and other changed employment opportunities would be the norm, allowing workers to stay in the workforce longer. Age-friendly employers cater to the needs of aging employees and profit not only themselves but the whole economy. 

Why Would A Business Want To Complete The Certified Age Friendly Employer (Café) Certification Program?

The Age-Friendly Employer Certification program's purpose is to encourage work seekers in their 50s and 60s by recognizing employers who are dedicated to fairly evaluating them for suitable jobs, free of age stigma of ageism, which is one of older adult's primary concerns. Businesses should complete the Certified Age Friendly Employers Certification program to recognize that the organization realizes and understands that older adult's experience, maturity, dependability, and competitiveness are respected.

"Age is, or can be, an impediment for older adults when they're seeking jobs." -Tim Driver, Founder & CEO of Age-Friendly Ventures.

What Does An Age-Friendly Employer Certification Entail?

The Foundation grants the recognition of Certified Age Friendly Employer following the satisfactory completion of the Certification assessment by the Age-Friendly Foundation personnel. Employers certified are recognized on the RetirementJobs.com website, related authorized sites, and promotional materials. Certified employers are often encouraged to use the recognition stamp on their business websites, on job listings on other online platforms, and in relevant branding content.

Part Two of 'Age-Friendly Employers.'

The Standards For Certification

The Age-Friendly Foundation's analysis and review of recognized Age-Friendly employers' recruitment, employment, and human resources initiatives, processes, and services have resulted in a blueprint of validated best practice guidelines. The Certification assessment program is based on the twelve types of best practices standards.

Twelve Categories for Best Practice Standards:

General Commitment and Workforce Policies Organization Culture and Employee Relations Workforce Planning and Composition Employee Retention Candidate Recruiting Management Style and Practices Training and Development Job Content and Process Accommodations Work Schedules, Arrangements, and Time Off Compensation Programs Healthcare Benefits Savings and Retirement Benefits

To find the Certification Evaluation Process/ Steps, visit https://www.agefriendlyfoundation.org/employers to learn more.

 "Everybody who's in this Age-Friendly Employer Program is committed; because it's part of their diversity, equity, and inclusion plan." -Tim Driver, Founder & CEO of Age-Friendly Ventures

Additional Resources:

 

The Age-Friendly Foundation is an organization working to fuel innovation that supports healthy, active, and productive aging for all through advocacy, education, and promoting collaboration among thought leaders in aging services.

 

On October 14, 2021, The Age-Friendly Foundation will celebrate 15 years of the Certified Age Friendly Employer (CAFÉ) Program with a unique convening of national policymakers, researchers, and senior representatives from certified employers.

 

In May 2022, a second global conference called "Revolutionize" will be held at the Boston Seaport Hotel to explore ways to revolutionize aging by fueling innovations that make aging easier.
  Learn more about the inaugural conference here:

View the photos from our inaugural Revolutionize Conference here.

View presentations from Bright Horizons' Marc Bernicia, Lasell Village's Anne Doyle, 4Gen Ventures' Dominic Endicott, The Age-Friendly Foundation's Amanda Henson, Aging2.0 Co-founder Stephen Johnston, Global Alliance of International Longevity Centres' Dr. Alexandre Kalache, and 2Life Communities' Amy Schectman.

 

View a full write-up of Dr. Kalache's visit and the conference here.

 

 About Tim Driver:

Tim Driver has a successful track record starting and building digital businesses that make a social contribution. He's the founder and CEO of Age-Friendly Ventures, the parent organization of RetirementJobs.com, Mature Caregivers, and Age-Friendly Advisor. Tim was a Board Member and SVP at Salary.com held senior positions at AOL and Accenture, and co-chaired the Employment Committee for Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker's Council to Address Aging. More notably, he was named an Influencer in Aging by PBS NextAvenue.

About Melissa Batchelor, PhD, RN, FNP-BC, FGSA, FAAN:

I earned my Bachelor of Science in Nursing ('96) and Master of Science in Nursing ('00) as a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) from the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) School of Nursing (SON). I genuinely enjoy working with the complex medical needs of older adults. I worked full-time for five years as FNP in geriatric primary care across many long-term care settings (skilled nursing homes, assisted living, home, and office visits), then transitioned into academic nursing in 2005, joining the faculty at UNCW SON as a lecturer. I obtained my Ph.D. in Nursing and a post-master's Certificate in Nursing Education from the Medical University of South Carolina College of Nursing ('11). I then joined the faculty at Duke University School of Nursing as an Assistant Professor. My family moved to northern Virginia in 2015 and led to me joining the George Washington University (GW) School of Nursing faculty in 2018 as a (tenured) Associate Professor. I am also the Director of the GW Center for Aging, Health, and Humanities. Please find out more about her work at https://melissabphd.com/.