By Karen Roberts
The value of mature workers was on display at the recent 2025 Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) annual conference in San Diego. SHRM is the world’s leading Human Resource association with more than 300,000 members worldwide.
SHRM’s President, Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., speaking to over 20,000 attendees, reminded us that workers over 65 are the fastest growing segment of the workforce. He pointed out that “our society cannot afford to exclude any segment of the population and losing any talent is a failure our society cannot afford.”
A popular breakout session at this year’s conference was entitled “Unlocking the untapped power of older workers amid the talent crisis.” SHRM’s 2025 Summer Edition of its HR Quarterly Magazine stated that “older workers are not a niche — they are a rising force.”
Changing demographics are driving the shift
For those of us who have been doing this work for some time, these are not new messages from SHRM. They published a comprehensive report back in 2014 called “Leveraging the Talent of Mature Employees” along with a toolkit called “Unlocking the Benefits of Employing Older Workers.” Over a decade later, these reports are viewed as groundbreaking for the information and best practices they highlight.
The realities of the labor force are taking center stage more frequently at this and similar HR conferences nationwide. Even with the impact of AI, discussions around civility of conversations in the workplace, and other factors shaping the workforce of the future, the need for skilled workers – mature, experienced workers – is something that gives us hope for change on the part of employers.
Promoting wisdom and experience
I am also hopeful for another reason. As a member of the board of EncorePBC, founded a decade ago by visionary Rosemary Nixon in Palm Beach County, Florida, I had the privilege of being involved with a committee that in 2021 created an employer recognition program called the Wisdom and Experience Works for Business Award. It was based on SHRM’s research on best practices.
The inaugural event in 2021 featured guest speaker Chris Farrell, author of “Purpose and a Paycheck: Finding Meaning, Money and Happiness in the Second Half of Life.” Chris is also a Marketplace senior economics contributor with American Public Media Group. Each annual event included a panel of judges composed of experienced professionals well versed in HR policies and practices.
Celebrating employer wins
Since 2021, Encore PBC has held four Wisdom and Experience events, during which time we have recognized over 70 employer nominees and named 10 award winners. As part of the nomination process, employers from the public, private and nonprofit sectors demonstrate the ways in which they value and nurture mature workers through a rating system comprising five categories. Some examples of the judging criteria in each category include:
- Recruitment: hiring messages include age diverse materials, interviewers are trained to avoid ageist assumptions, etc.
- General Commitment and Workforce Policies: covers age diversity and inclusion, mentoring, intergenerational work teams, etc.
- Re-skilling/Training: employs knowledge management systems, uses mature workers to train/instruct others, provides lifelong learning opportunities, etc.
- Compensation and Benefit Programs: provides reasonable sick leave and short- or long-term disability insurance, offers EAP and/or caregiver supports, etc.
- Transition to Retirement Support: offers phased retirement or provides financial or wellness planning, etc.
The 4th Annual Awards event was held on March 20, 2025 and featured 14 nominees, several of whom were previous nominees/winners, which certainly speaks to these organizations’ ongoing commitment to mature workers.
The value of an intergenerational workforce
One of the award-winners at this year’s event was also a winner at the 3rd annual event. Boca Helping Hands started as a modest soup kitchen in 1998 and today are one of the largest nonprofit service providers in South Florida, assisting nearly 35,000 clients annually. In their nomination form, they stated that “one key to their success has been fostering an inclusive and collaborative environment where each generations’ strengths are valued.”
Their Financial Controller shared that “mature workers have played a pivotal role in the organization’s success by providing a wealth of experience, stability and dedication, and that their leadership skills have been instrumental in mentoring younger staff members and fostering a strong sense of community within the organization. Mature workers bring continuity in leadership and operations and have been critical to maintaining stability and upholding organizational values.”
Retirement planning support and a “retired pool”
Our 2023 winner in the Nonprofit Medium-to-Large Employer category was a hospital system based in Broward County. Their nomination form shared the following: they utilize a knowledge management system to capture institutional and historical knowledge and they provide retirement planning support – financial or otherwise – to assist in the transition out of the workforce. They offer an employment status called “retired pool” that allows individuals to return to work in modified/flexible arrangements, as needed, to give them time to train newer/younger emerging professionals.
Each annual awards event has been an exhilarating celebration of the value that mature workers bring to their organizations. And a reminder of the progress that many employers are making in supporting the hiring and retention of older workers. Although many of the contributions of mature workers may sometimes appear anecdotal, we are showing that the ROI can be quantified and calculated.
As the 2014 SHRM report stated, “younger workers are more likely than mature workers to leave an organization, taking their new skills with them. Therefore, the return on investment for skills training may actually be higher for mature workers than for younger ones.”
That statement made a decade ago still resonates and is just one reason why employers who demonstrate their commitment to lifelong skills training for mature workers and understand the value this brings to their organizations, should continue to be celebrated.
Karen Roberts is the HR Manager/Volunteer Coordinator for Els for Autism in Jupiter, Florida. She is a board member and longtime ambassador and supporter of Encore PBC, which is transitioning to become part of The Encore Network.