Tap the potential of grey power

The recession is showing little sign of abating but appears to be deteriorating further. It seems that every day we are bombarded by sombre warnings or gloomy projections from erudite institutions.

Fragile consumer confidence is being undermined by a flow of tangible changes such as tax increases, spending cuts, rising unemployment, static or declining housing prices and difficulty in accessing credit.

Profit warnings from some venerable blue chip organisations contribute to the general unease. Unknown hazards lie ahead too, such as the spectre of industrial unrest, with its potential inflationary implications.

For retailers, the imperative remains to know and understand our customers and to optimise the productivity of staff. Perhaps one under-developed group is that of our senior citizens.

Due to a decline in birth rates and an increase in life expectancy, the UK has an ageing population. Over the next 20 years this will escalate as the baby boom population of the 1950s and 1960s enters retirement.

Moreover, continued improvements in nutrition and health care render our senior citizens fitter, healthier, and more disposed to be economically and socially active.

The Government has determined that the UK retirement age is entirely arbitrary and is a legacy of an era of much shorter life expectancy. It wishes to transform a historical assumption of ‘dependency’, which presumed that the ratio of working people to retired people had to be sustained at a 3:1 level or much higher.

Some 20 years ago, in UK retailing, the early pioneers of age diversity policies abolished their own company retirement age. Today, the oldest active employee in one leading retailer is 95 years young, its oldest management trainee is aged 70 and some 28% of its workforce is aged over 50.

Leading practitioners of age diversity policies report that silver surfers are likely to have excellent customer service skills, embrace new technology, deliver high productivity and low absenteeism.

There is scope, therefore, for some retailers to radically revise their assumptions and practices regarding employment of older workers. Systematic application of criteria-based recruitment and selection processes, allied to effective training and a can-do culture, provide a recipe for the effective recruitment of this potentially vibrant resource.

Of course, the UK’s senior citizens are consumers too. As a group, they tend to have more time to shop than their younger counterparts and thus can be more demanding in pursuing value and customer service.

The older consumer also has more time to network with family, friends and associates. Opportunity exists to nurture a customer who can be a powerful advocate of the brand.

So, the prevalent harsh economic conditions can serve as a call to action, whereupon the entrepreneurial nous of retailers should explore and develop new opportunities. Is tapping into the potential of grey power one such avenue?

Leo Mckee Chief Executive, Brighthouse