As a manager, it’s key to support your staff throughout the later stages of their career and enable them to retire well. The best thing you can do is start conversations about support and late-stage career options as early as possible, to ensure that your staff have time to plan.
It can also help the rest of your team to adjust if a member of your team is retiring or moving to reduced hours.
What to consider?
Think about the different ways you can support your staff, and start to discuss with them in their 121s about what they would like to do. Some people may want to retire as soon as they can claim their pension, while others might want to keep working. Or you might have a member of staff who wants to progress in their career but feel they’re ‘too old’ to learn something new.
There is no right or wrong process and it’s all about working with the member of staff to ensure they know their options and feel supported.
Flexible working
If your member of staff seems to be struggling with their workload, or is in a physical job where they are on their feet all day, could you have a conversation with them about how you can help them? Could you offer flexible working, where they could work shorter shifts, or have more breaks? Could you suggest a move into a role which is less strenuous, such as an administration or office-based role?
Check out your staff intranet for more information about flexible working on the HR pages.
Secondment
Sometimes working flexibly isn’t an option in a particular service. For example, it may be a risk to patient and staff safety for an older staff member to work in a mental health unit where physical restraint may be required in emergent situations. Or there may be issues with a reduction of hours in supporting staffing levels. As a manager, it can be really difficult to manage expectations while trying to create a working environment which works for your team.
Secondment to another role is an option for supporting an older staff member to remain working but find somewhere that suits them in the later career stages. Work with your staff to identify a suitable role which they could second to. They may be able to stay in the same service in a less strenuous role, such as administration. Or, there may be a corporate role within the Trust which they could second to, where they would be able to work from home more often.
Creating a suitable working environment
Risk Assess, allow extra time, raise things like pensions, occy health and resources in meetings. (CONTENT TO BE ADDED)