Whatever the age of the employee, discussing their future aims and aspirations can help identify training and development needs and give you an opportunity to discuss future work requirements and how these impact on the employee. It is up to you to decide whether to hold workplace discussions or not, but they are a good way of being able to raise the issue of retirement with older workers. 

Employee discussions help to consider the skills your workforce have and how best to deploy them. They also enable you to match company needs with employee aspirations and how this can be of benefit the business. For example, an employee may suggest they would like to move in to an accounts role and, their skill in this area may have been previously unknown to the company. If the business needs additional help in accounts in the future, then you know where to find it – everyone is happy!

Discussions can be simple, informal and confidential. The following checklist might be a starter for ten:-

Areas to talk about

1. Performance to date against targets, activities and outcomes
2. Development or training needs
3. Future plan for the company / department
4. Aims and aspirations from the employee
5. Future performance expectations

There are, of course, still questions that you should not ask, for example:-

1. Whether a female employee is planning to start a family
2. Making a suggestion to an older workers that they retire (the employee should offer this information)
3. Suggesting that an older workers is slowing down
4. Making a suggestion to an older workers that they are blocking opportunities for younger workers

In2HR
1 Jones House
High Street
Bray
Berkshire
SL6 2AH
Tel +44 (0) 1628 622722

We can help you hire and retain the best employees, manage your employees more successfully, and improve employee motivation. Whatever your HR outsourcing needs, In2HR can assist any company within the Thames Valley areas, including Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxon and Surrey. So why not contact us today.