NHS Lincolnshire ICB is delighted to have signed up to the Age-friendly Employer Pledge, a new nationwide programme run by the Centre for Ageing Better to make workplaces age-friendly.
Not only is it among the first businesses and organisations in the country to sign the pledge to show its commitment to older workers, NHS Lincolnshire ICB is the first Integrated Care Board in the country and the first Lincolnshire employer to sign up, and will be working with the Centre for Ageing Better to improve its recruitment, retention and development of workers aged 50 and over.
Being a part of the pledge means NHS Lincolnshire ICB draws on a wider pool of applicants for each job. It means older workers can continue to thrive and contribute in the organisation and having a multigenerational workforce can help boost innovation and productivity.
The ICB has committed to taking one action a year to improve the recruitment, retention and development of older workers. Under the initiative, it will also identify a senior sponsor for age-inclusion and ensure that age is specifically named within its Equality, Diversity and Inclusion policies.
The Centre for Ageing Better will support NHS Lincolnshire ICB as part of a network of Age-friendly Pledge Employers by providing an action framework of suggested actions and offering opportunities to learn effective age-friendly practices.
The ICB will also report back to Ageing Better on an annual basis detailing how its age-friendly actions are progressing.
“We are delighted to have signed up to the Age-friendly Employer Pledge and thrilled to be one of the first organisations or companies to do so. We’ve decided to do this because we believe that our employees in their 50s and 60s are crucial to our work on behalf of patients across Lincolnshire, but also because we believe we can do more to attract people over the age of 50 to come and work for us and we are looking forward to working with the Centre for Ageing Better,” comments Martin Fahy, Director of Nursing, NHS Lincolnshire ICB.
Dr Carole Easton, Chief Executive at the Centre for Ageing Better, said: “The current labour shortage has been called the most urgent problem facing the UK economy with its impact driving up prices, wages and inflation. Workers in their 50s and 60s are a key, but currently overlooked, solution to resolving the UK’s employment crisis.
“Older workers can bring much-needed skills and experience to an organisation. Businesses with a 10% higher share of workers over 50 than the average are 1.1% more productive – and multigenerational teams are the most innovative.
“We are delighted that NHS Lincolnshire ICBhas joined the growing number of organisations committing to helping their older workers to prosper by signing our Age-friendly Employer Pledge.
“The pledge has been designed to support businesses to go on a journey at a pace that works best for each organisation. By taking manageable and measurable steps, each employer will learn over time what steps are needed to make the biggest difference in their own organisation.”
Published 01/12/2022