Fyock Speaks for Wyoming Governor's Conference on Aging

As America's work force ages, employers must think differently about their employees and should work to retain older employees past retirement age and eliminate age discrimination, stated Cathy Fyock in her address to the Governor's Conference on Aging and reported in the Casper, Wyoming Star-Tribune and the ABC-news affiliate on Friday, May 4.

Wyoming employers need to be especially aware of the dramatic shift in demographics since a study conducted by AARP reports that the state will have the highest proportion of people between the ages of 65 and 74. The possibility exists that one of every four people in Wyoming will be over the age of 60.

Fyock urged businesses to compute the average age of their workforce and calculate how many employees will be nearing retirement age, and then develop strategies to keep their older workers.  She discussed the options of redesigning jobs, offering sabbaticals, finding ways to reignite performances of long-term employees, and offering flexible scheduling.  She also said that businesses should focus on recruiting older workers, as opposed to a more traditional recruitment focus of targeting young graduates.

Fyock said that employers often overlook the value older people bring to the workplace, listing reliability, loyalty, and work ethic as just a few of the qualities that are embodied by older adults.

She discussed the insidious nature of age discrimination and shared that most hiring managers don't intend to discriminate, yet are working on deeply held, unconscious biases that skew their thinking.  "I am sad to report that age discrimination is alive and well in corporate America," reported Fyock.

Often, employers use the word "overqualified" to deny jobs to older people.  Yet, the EEOC has stated that "overqualified" is really code for "too old," and so should be avoided by employers.  "Instead, employers should try to talk with older, and all, job candidates about their motivations for seeking work in order to determine if there is a good job fit."

"We used to say that retirement was the American Dream," stated Fyock.  "But now it's a little dangerous.  It is a waste of brainpower and a waste of talent."

New Book Coming September 2007

The Truth About Hiring The Best

Unemployment rates are at record lows, making it even more challenging to find the best employees.  Hiring managers want new, creative ways to recruit and select top employees.  Savvy managers also know they're not just hiring for one open position-they're creating the future for their department and their organization.

The Truth About Hiring The Best, written by Employment Strategist Cathy Fyock, is the first easy-to-digest, practical book that dispels the myths about how to identify, recruit, and then select the best people.   Cathy draws upon her experience as a recruiter, hiring manager, and employment consultant in providing "break-through a-ha's" to help you find the best people for your organization.

Anyone who needs to make a hiring decision can benefit from this book-from department managers, to business owners, to HR professionals.  Whether you need to hire one person every five years or 500 people now, this book will help you meet your goals.

Available September 2007

Watch for order information in Cathy's newsletter or on her web site.

¨      June 7, Issues in Employee Engagement, HR Book Club, Louisville, KY

¨      June 13 - 14, Exchange Bank, "Recruiting and Selecting Great Employees," Santa Rosa, CA

¨      June 23 - 27, SHRM Annual Conference, "Business Responses to an Aging Workforce: Are You Ready?" and for the Student Chapters, "Networking," Las Vegas, NV

¨      July 9 - 12, National Speakers Association Convention, San Diego, CA

¨      July 24, Unified Foodservice Purchasing Co-op, "Thoughts on Leadership" and "Cultural Intelligence", Louisville, KY

¨      August 4, Kentucky Association of Electric Cooperatives, "Leadership Development", Louisville, KY

¨      September 28, Society for American Florists, "The Truth About Hiring the Best", Palm Springs, CA

¨      October 17, Tri-Cities HR Expo, "America's Workforce is Coming of Age," "Recruiting Older Workers," "You CAN Teach an Old Dog," Tennessee

Are you looking for a high-content speaker for your next conference or meeting?  Call or email Cathy to find out how she can work with you to meet your specific goals and objectives.

Cathy Fyock, CSP, SPHR, is an employment strategist-helping organizations develop strategies to recruit and retain top talent in an aging and changing marketplace.  For nearly 20 years she has combined her knowledge of work-force issues and her talents as a speaker to provide innovative and inspirational learning events. She has helped organizations attract top talent, reduce turnover, and improve productivity in a volatile labor market.

"Cathy Fyock offers a rare combination of mastery of HR knowledge, superior speaking skills, a passion for the HR profession, and warmth and humor that permit her to lead, inspire, and educate hundreds of HR professionals annually. I highly recommend her."

--Gary B. Kushner, SPHR, CBP
President, Kushner & Company

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