According to Office for National Statistics, there are almost 400,000 fewer people in employment since before the pandemic. It has been reported recently in national newspapers that the Government has called on those who have retired over the course of the pandemic to return to work as the “British economy needs them”. However, it has also been reported that for some over 50’s it hasn’t been as easy as suggested or their experiences of trying to get back into work have not been positive.

We also have information from Age Scotland which suggests that the aging population not only have a potentially difficult time trying to be re-employed but are also experiencing negative experiences in everyday life. For example:

“1.3m people in the UK over 65 have experienced bad customer service, or been treated badly, purely because of their age”.

“Those people treated badly said the most common experiences were being patronised and not being taken seriously by customer service staff.”

“By 2040, older people will spend 63p in every pound spent in the UK economy. The top three growing sectors were recreation and culture, transport and household goods and services. A significant commercial opportunity!”

Age Scotland have developed a series of workshops specifically for the Hospitality and Tourism industry with a focus on customer service within these sectors. With the growing amount of interest in this field, we are supporting Age Scotland with the promotion of their “Age friendly Customer
Service Workshops” (they are FREE) content of which include:

  • Understanding opportunities older customers can bring to organisations.
  • Understanding barriers facing older people and how these could affect someone’s ability to
    engage with frontline staff.
  • Developing appropriate communication strategies – making interactions with older clients
    more inclusive.
  • Awareness of organisational systems and process and how they can be adapted to be more
    age inclusive.

For more information and to book your place on this workshop please click here.

We are also delighted to be collaborating with Age Scotland in hosting either workshops or webinars (either face to face or virtually) for any of our clients and/or contacts. These workshops are focussed on age inclusion within the workplace and will include:

  • Raising awareness of ageism in the workplace and its potential consequences for organisations and individuals.
  • Identifying ways in which you can help to develop a more age-inclusive workplace.
  • Developing skills in handling challenging workplace conversations around age.

For further information and booking and/or if any of our clients would like to discuss their own organisation’s team / culture in relation to age inclusion please do contact us via 0141 459 7458 or info@gravitatehr.co.uk