As the broking population ages, it may be concerning to know that productivity declines as workers age, but that doesn’t mean you should give up on your mature brokers.
As the broking population ages, it may be concerning to know that productivity declines as workers age, but that doesn’t mean you should give up on your mature brokers.
Studies have shown that individual productivity peaks at age 30-40, but these studies do not take into account roles which aim to improve the productivity of others, such as managers, found researchers at Monash University and the Australian Institute of Management.
In the report The Impact of Age on Managerial Style, researchers employed a number of tests and surveys on managers and their direct reports across Australia to determine whether the productivity decline extended to managers.
Researchers discovered that “retaining older managers does not necessarily lead to a diminution of their skills as managers, nor does it compromise organizational outcomes”.
It did however discover that older managers are more proficient in tasks that require crystalized intelligence, whereas younger managers have more skill in tasks requriing fluid intelligence.
“That is, tasks requiring dynamic and creative skills unencumbered by learned skills which are acquired through past experience may best be tackled by younger managers. In comparison, tasks that require the use of standard operating procedures may best be assigned to older managers. Both sets of managers make valuable contributions to the company, but in different ways.”
However, the researchers suggest that there may be cause for concern in the fact that older managers are performing to the same levels as their younger counterparts.
“It may mean that we are just not developing our talent to the extent required for international competitiveness.
“The alternative view may be that organizations are applying relentless demands on all managers at all levels of seniority, to the extent that older managers need to continually improve just to remain competitive with their peers.”
The researchers suggest that Australian companies may not be challenging managers sufficiently to push their self-improvement, or may not be providing adequate training and development.
“These are fundamental questions of performance, morale, leadership development, and organizational strategic intent that must be answered if Australian management is to mature sufficiently to meet the challenges of the 21st century.”
