Sunday, April 29, 2012

The not so seniors can still contribute


A view from a not so senior citizen regarding the job market still open to them needs further discussion among the human resources department of companies and law makers. This group of employees usually comprise those between 40 to 50 years old. They have the work experience but due to circumstances might be the first to be let off if a company is trying to cut down costs or in the process of merging with another company.

They have already reached the higher salary category and letting go of employees in this age group is considered a pragmatic move by employers in order to reduce the operating costs. Some of them opted for early retirement as they realise they will be redundant sooner or later when a company is going through a merger and acquisition exercise. No prudent company would want two employees doing exactly the same job and both receiving high salaries. One of them would definitely has to be laid off.

This group will be caught in a bind if the Employees Provident Fund aligns the final withdrawal from the fund with the new retirement age. As it is, quite a number of people are looking forward to withdraw their EPF funds when they reach 55 so as to embark on different projects during their retirement years. Most probably we will see an ever-increasing retirement age considering the trend of higher life expectancy among the working population. This would be beneficial as all resources are needed in order to reach the aim of being a developed nation by 2020 and maintaining that status beyond that particular year.

The not so senior at the moment are not the most sought after employees once they are out the job market. Their experience and higher last drawn salary is a setback even if they are willing to take a pay cut. Employers take the easy way out in reducing costs by hiring younger inexperienced employees who definitely would not mind a smaller starting pay. This is an advantage in the short term and will show positive results in the accounts but the time spent to train someone and the mistakes they make might be costly and not worth the savings gained in the beginning.

Yes, we do need to think how best to use the experience of the not so seniors as they can still contribute to the company's bottom line.

Image from thinkplaninvest

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