From the Archives: Hire Older People!

This week, I am resharing this article on why hiring older people is a good idea. Ageism is real in our nonprofit management profession but who is in a better position to right a wrong than the nonprofit community?

Originally published October 26, 2022

I’ve said it before, and I will say it again: the obsession with hiring “the young” continues to get in the way of building generationally diverse teams in nonprofit organizations. Dear reader, you may think “obsession” is a bit strong for this topic, but I use it because I believe there are misconceptions about the abilities of “older people” when it comes to technology expertise, keeping up with trends, and being able to “relate to” younger people.

When you hire younger people, do you worry about their ability to relate to older people? Probably not, even though many of your board members and other volunteer leaders are likely older people.

Who do I consider an older person? Anyone 35 and up, or as the French say, “people of a certain age” (here, say “certain age” with a French accent: ser-tahn aahhhje). I remember in my very early years of living the saying was “don’t trust anyone over 30” – well, until you become 30 and then it’s a different story.

Life is a cycle for a reason. We must have experiences to learn and to grow and to develop our knowledge. More importantly, with age comes the ability to put our wisdom into context of the world around us, and thus better share it with others.

Having older people in the workplace is beneficial because they can fill the role of mentors, teachers, and guides to the younger team members; the sharing of tacit knowledge happens from mentor to mentee, so it’s important to have older people on your team to share this valuable experience with the next generation of nonprofit professionals.

For the bottom line, while you may think you can pay a younger person less money because they have less experience, have you considered how much it costs you to train a younger person? Or the amount of time needed to show them how to handle different situations, like member interactions, board meetings, or conferences?

I’ve written before about the incorrect belief that it is a good investment to spend a lot of time and money training a younger staff person just so they can leave and work somewhere else in 2 or 3 years. I state strongly this is an incorrect approach because you have just wasted your organization’s valuable resources training someone else’s staff.

Hiring older people is a smart move and good investment, even if you do have to pay them a higher salary, because you won’t need to spend as much time and money training them on how to behave in a professional environment. They will know how to do a good portion of their job when they arrive. While you will need to train them on the specifics of their duties, you won’t have to teach them how to use email, talk on the phone, or run a meeting.

When it comes to technology, it’s a mistake to assume older people aren’t good at it. It’s an additional mistake to assume that younger people know how to use technology effectively in the conduct of their duties. Knowing how to download music or like things on Instagram is not the same thing as using software in a professional environment.

When it comes to hiring, you wouldn’t hire ANYONE of any age if they didn’t have the technology skills required to do the basics of the job. Age should not be a factor in this area.

Some people have said they are afraid an older person will work there for a few years and then retire. I say, how is that different from training a younger person for 2 or 3 years knowing they are going to leave? An older person working does not equal “I’m going to retire in a few years” – just like that younger staff person is not necessarily going to move on in 3 years.

Hire older people to create a diverse team with broad experiences that can mentor each other and share their knowledge and expertise. This mentoring experience flows in both directions, and your organization will thrive because of this approach.

Hire Older People! They aren’t doddering, stupid, or out of touch. They just aren’t as young as they used to be. But they are likely smarter than they used to be.