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Biggest survey of Norwegian companies on demographic change shows little concern over ageing population; Norwegian companies know little about the age of their workforce, but more willing to hire older employees than European average
Oslo, Norway – December 10, 2008:
In a survey of 5000 companies in 11 European countries on the consequences of demographic change, Norwegian companies are among the least worried about the ageing of the workforce: only 27% (surpassed only by Danish companies) consider demographic change to be one of the most important challenges of the future, compared to an average 47% of companies in Europe1. Also, fewer Norwegian companies have analyzed the age structure of their employees, a prerequisite to prepare for an ageing workforce: only 29% know the age of their staff, compared to an average 40% in Europe. Yet, of all countries surveyed, Norwegian companies are among the most open-minded towards older employees: 16% hired more people 50 and older than in the previous year (European average: 10%) and 14% plan to hire more people of that age group in 2009 (European average: 9%). Those are results of the Demographic Fitness Survey conducted by the Adecco Institute and presented today by Adecco Denmark.
Following interviews of HR managers, the results of the survey are used to calculate a Demographic Fitness Index (DFX). This index measures the preparedness of companies to cope with demographic change. On a scale of 400 points, Norwegian companies reached 194 points, the second best result of all 11 countries surveyed. The other countries’ scores were: Sweden 196, Germany 186, UK 186, Denmark 183, the Netherlands 183, Belgium 182, Italy 182, Spain 180, France 174, Switzerland 172.
“Although Norway reaches a very good second place in a European comparison, getting 194 points out of a possible 400 shows that a lot remains to be done if Norwegian companies want to stay ahead and prepare for the future in which the ageing of the workforce will continue and will affect HR management much stronger than today. Skill shortages are one of the consequences of the ageing workforce with more old people leaving than young people joining. Norwegian companies were successful in bridging that gap by attracting qualified immigrants, leading to an overly relaxed attitude towards demographic change”, commented Anders Owre-Johnsen, country manager of Adecco Norway.
The ageing of the Norwegian population and workforce is an irreversible fact. In 2000, 19.3% (EU: 20.3%) of the Norwegian population were 60 and older. By 2010 that figure will be 21.5% (EU: 21.9%) and will by 2025 have risen to 25.9% (EU: 27.6%). Despite this growth of the older population, Norway fares better than other European countries. The share of young people between 15 and 24 will between 2000 and 2025 only decrease slightly from 12.1% to 11.7%, whereas in Western Europe that age group will shrink from 11.9% of the population to 10.7%. (Source: UN World Population Prospects)
This might be an explanation why Norwegian companies are the least worried – or most optimistic – of all 11 countries when asked about future challenges: whereas European companies on aggregate say that globalization poses a major challenge (56%) followed by technological progress (53%) and demographic change (47%), the HR managers of Norwegian companies rate those issues as smaller challenges: globalization is considered a challenge by 28% of companies, less challenging than technological progress (33%), with the importance of demographic change ranked third (27%).
The DFX measures five key areas of HR management that influence a firm’s ability to successfully cope with an ageing workforce: career management, lifelong learning, knowledge management, health management, and diversity management. The indices are calculated based on the answers given by 350 Norwegian firms of all sizes and sectors. The aggregate of the company results is the country index.
In the pan-European comparison, Norwegian companies reach above average results in all of the five key areas. In career management and knowledge management Norwegian companies have the highest scores of all 11 countries. With 7 days being the average number of days per employee spent on continued education and advanced training Norway is also in the lead (6.2 days is the European average).
Clearly below average is the knowledge about the age structure of the workforce. Only 29% of Norwegian companies know the age of their staff, compared to an average 40% in Europe. Probably because Norwegian companies see less of a danger in demographic change than most of their European counterparts, less importance is attributed to a comprehensive analysis of the age composition of their employees.
Norwegian companies suffer from skill shortages, but on a considerably lower level than companies in most of the rest of Europe. The biggest skills gap Norwegian companies complain about is that in technical and engineering skills. (29% of Norwegian companies are having difficulties here compared to 35% of European companies). This illustrates that Norway cannot escape the consequences of an ageing workforce, but with their markedly different attitude towards older employees, Norwegian companies seem to have found a way to ease those shortages and are ahead of all other countries in hiring people 50 and older.
The awareness for the necessity of keeping older workers longer in jobs to counter skill shortages is the highest in all of Europe: 84%, almost twice the European average of 44%. On the other hand Norwegian companies view the productivity of older staff more critically than the rest of Europe: 21% of Norwegian companies say older employees are less productive than younger staff (vs. 24% in Europe). But 47% (vs. 35% in Europe) of Norwegian companies say older staff is more motivated and more committed than younger employees.
The relatively optimistic outlook of Norwegian companies into the future has also led to a longer-term staff planning. In Norway the advance planning of staffing needs is 1.3 years (vs. 1.1 years on European average).
“The goal of establishing the DFX is to raise companies’ awareness of the demographic challenges lying ahead of us. A lesson from the financial crisis is to rediscover future planning and to pay more attention to early warnings. To prepare for an ageing workforce is nothing that can done from one day to another, at some point it is simply too late. It takes strategic measures and a long-term HR planning horizon. For this, the survey’s results offer valuable insights that help companies understand the issue and take specific action”, said Anders Owre-Johnsen.
1) The survey was conducted in 11 European countries and is repeated annually. The European average – unless stated otherwise – refers to the average results of the five biggest economies in Europe: Germany, France, the UK, Italy and Spain.
About the Adecco Institute
The Adecco Institute, founded in 2006 and based in London, is a think tank on the future of work; it is committed to facilitating discussions on the topic of work. Through primary and secondary research as well as white papers and forums for discussion, the Adecco Institute provides forward-looking approaches to help companies and economies raise employability, productivity and employee satisfaction at work. The Institute is chaired by Wolfgang Clement, former German Minister of Economics and Labor.
For more information please visit:
www.adeccoinstitute.com
Media Contact:
Shepard Fox Communications
Axel.Schafmeister@shepard-fox.com, Telephone: +41 78 714 8010
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