Identification of Success Factors for Training and Integration of Best Agers in Work Life Marianne Öhman
Identification of Success Factors for Training and Integration of Best Agers in Work Life Marianne Öhman/Utreda.nu Publication Date: 06.12.2012 This report has been produced within Work Package 6 of the EU-funded project Best Agers. Further logo or reference (optional) Further logo or reference 2 (optional) Further logo or reference 3 (optional) The project is part-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Baltic Sea Region Programme 2007-2013
Title of the Report Contents 1. Introduction... 1 1.1 Work Package 6:2 1 1.2 Aim of WP 6:2 2 1.3 Evaluation method 2 2. Project partners and their activities... 3 2.1 Latvia: Stockholm School of Economics (SSE Riga) 3 2.2 Poland: Gdansk University of Technology (GUT) 4 2.3 Germany: Wirtschaftsakademie Schleswig-Holstein (WAK-SH) 5 2.4 Sweden: County Council of Norrbotten (NLL) 6 2.5 Summary of activities and evaluation reports 7 3. Interviews... 9 3.1 Participant interviews 9 3.2 Advisor/mentor interviews 10 4. Conclusions... 12 Appendix 1... 14
Title of the ReportTitle of the Report 1. Introduction The Best Agers project involves 19 partners from different sectors in 8 countries around the Baltic Sea. With demographic change - recently defined as one of the four key challenges for European regions by the EC - and the current economic crisis looming, the cities and regions of the Baltic Sea Region have to find creative ways of disclosing and utilizing unused opportunities. One of these hidden potentials is people in the prime of their lives the socalled Best Agers (generally defined in the project as people aged 55 and older). As previous projects have shown, the population of the Baltic Sea Region will rapidly become older and the 55+ age groups will experience large growth rates in the near future. The result will be a pool of older professionals who are healthier than ever, well-educated and motivated and who can be mobilised to counteract the negative effects of demographic change shrinking regional workforces and the so-called "brain drain". The Best Agers project aims to survey successful approaches and good-practice examples, to develop them further and transfer them to the partner regions with low-key Best Ager involvement. 1.1 Work Package 6:2 According to the Best Agers project, many 55+ also want to keep on working, either as employed or self-employed, but attitudes among employers are a problem. Also the 55+ group wants a more flexible work life and often continues to work full time, but the labour market is simply not prepared to deal with this situation, so many of them stop working at the expected age. As the project presents, it would simply be a waste no to make better use of the Best Agers in the economy. One way to remain active is to become entrepreneur or pass on the gained experience by becoming a mentor/coach to younger colleges and entrepreneurs. The Best Agers project is divided into several subprojects, so-called Work Packages, WP. The Work Package 6:2 in the Best Agers project addresses the possibility of 55 + entrepreneurship and mentorship as a way of including their skills in society and on the labour market. In the WP 6:2, four partners have performed pilot programmes in entrepreneurship and mentorship. 1
Title of the Report 1.2 Aim of WP 6:2 The overall aim of the Best Agers project in WP 6 is partly to create mechanisms for encouraging entrepreneurship and partly to promote activities for developing curricula that could be used in different contexts. In order to achieve this, the four project partners have performed pilot programmes on 55+ entrepreneurship and mentorship respectively. The evaluator of this summary report has interviewed four participants and two advisors/mentors, in addition to assess how well the four pilot programmes have reached the aim of WP 6:2 and also identified success factors for training and integration of Best Agers in work life. 1.3 Evaluation method This summary report is based on the evaluation reports from four partners: The County Council of Norrbotten (NLL) Sweden, Wirtschaftsakademie Schleswig-Holstein (WAK-SH) in Germany, Gdansk University of Technology (GUT) in Poland, and Stockholm School of Economics (SSE Riga) in Latvia. In addition, a number of interviews were accomplished: 4 with participants (one from each partner s activity), 1 advisor (Sweden) and 1 mentor (Latvia). The interview questions were framed by the evaluator in co-operation with the Best Agers project leader at the County Council of Norrbotten, Sweden. 2
Title of the ReportTitle of the Report 2. Project partners and their activities Below, the pilot programmes of the participating project partners are presented regarding activities performed, target group, participants, method of evaluation, marketing, results, quotations, and suggestions for improvement. 2.1 Latvia: Stockholm School of Economics (SSE Riga) In this evaluation, the result of the SSE Riga s pilot course Entrepreneurship for Best Agers is in focus. The pilot programme was about providing the participants with basic knowledge on entrepreneurship for 55+. The course included necessary theoretical base, practical examples, group discussions, and individual practical tasks. The course was held in 2-day modules on a monthly basis, for six months. The programme was marketed through senior organisations and the State Employment Service. Individuals interested in participating had to fill out an application describing their business idea and motivation to join the course. The programme received 26 applications from individuals from various backgrounds and with varying business ideas, whereof 18 participants were accepted; 12 women and 6 men. The average age of participants was 57. After each 2-day module, participants were asked to evaluate the course using an evaluation form with questions on the lecturer s performance, the materials presented, and suggestions on course improvements. The pilot programme was not completely finished at the time of SSE Riga s evaluation. With that in mind, the modules evaluated were successful and appropriate for the participant group. On a 7-grade scale (7.0 being the highest), the course modules were rated between 6.5 and 7.0. The lecturers performances were rated between 6.35 and 6.93. I liked that the lecturer was holding on to the topic and did not let the audience to float away in lengthy discussion of their lives. I am surprised about the information I received, it was very qualitative On course improvements, participants suggested shortened breaks, more real life examples and practical tasks. The pilot course was evaluated as very valuable and requested also in the future. One insight was that to find potential ways of sponsoring, as the target group 3
Title of the Report was would not be able to pay the market price for such a course like this. Activities such as mentoring and funding would also be required as addition to the course. 2.2 Poland: Gdansk University of Technology (GUT) The polish report starts with an interesting summary on, so far, the less successful promotion and implementation on knowledge transfer between generations. In the Pomeranian district, many projects, strategic documents and programmes carried out concerning the work stimulation and social inclusion of the older people, but there seems to be no exchange of experience and knowledge between them. There is also a low level of implementing existing coaching and mentoring programmes among the Polish companies. The report also tells that most projects focuses on elderly as a discriminated group on the labour market and in social life, rather than focusing on the potential of the elderly and their experience. The activity evaluated in the Polish report is a training course on Communication in mentoring carried out in Gdansk. The training included topics as the role and tasks of the mentor, interpersonal communication, verbal and non-verbal communication, feedback, and techniques of active listening. The training included practical exercises. The focus group for participation was individuals 55+ interested in taking the role as mentor, mentors wanting to gain new knowledge, representatives of organisations/institutions tendering mentoring services or interested in implementing mentoring processes. 25 participants (20 women and 6 men according to the report = 26!) from 13 different institutions/organisations took part in the training. At the end of each training event, evaluation surveys have been carried through among the participants. The result of the four (4) evaluation questions on organisation and the performance of the training are presented in the report. The result was that the participants consider the training to be well prepared and it has met the needs and expectations of the participants. The evaluation also confirmed findings from previous studies on insufficiently use of mentoring for knowledge transfer in Polish companies. The report states the need for education on methods, tools, rules in order to help companies in implementing mentoring. Further trainings like the Communication in mentoring -programme with practical exercises are desired. 4
Title of the ReportTitle of the Report No further suggestions on improvement, marketing or quotations were given in the evaluation report. 2.3 Germany: Wirtschaftsakademie Schleswig-Holstein (WAK-SH) The German pilot was about raising awareness and developing curricula for training entrepreneurs and executives about Best Agers, age structure among employees and demographic trends, and to introduce sustainable age-adjusted and health-supporting measures as a leadership task. The seminars carried through were divided into three modules on Employees as the major resource, How to implement Corporate Health Management, to preserve, promote and motivate Raise awareness of the context of ageing, functional capacity and capacity for work, and Change Management. The aim of the seminar was to develop different solutions for the education and training of entrepreneurs and executives respectively. The report stresses the focus on practical applicability and the adaptation of the seminar s content according to the different participating groups. The number of participants was 20 individuals in total, with one seminar group consisting of public administrators from the City Council of Kiel, and one group of owners and HRmanagers in private enterprises. There was no record on how many women and men participated. A questionnaire was handed out after each seminar module, with the aim to evaluate the practical relevance of the developed modular content and their possible implementation into the organisation s/company s daily routine. The seminar modules were overall rated as good concerning content, relevant topics, performance of lecturers etc. But there was differences between the two participating groups, for example, the selected time scale of two-days seminars was rated as good by the public administrator group, while the private entrepreneur group perceived the two days as too long and recommended a general reduction. The major result from the pilot programme was that the temporal and textual scope of the seminar should be even more adjusted in the future according to the participants needs and their prior knowledge. For example, the content and time line for private entrepreneurs was cut by 50%, and there are three (3) optional curricula available. The evaluation report lack real quotations, the quotations given are more summaries of quotations from the participants. Nothing is mentioned about the marketing of the seminars. 5
Title of the Report 2.4 Sweden: County Council of Norrbotten (NLL) The County Council of Norrbotten has in co-operation with EntreprenörCentrum carried through a series of seminars and workshops targeting individuals 50+ entrepreneurs, potential or newly started. The aim of the pilot programme was to increase the number of 50+ entrepreneurs in the county of Norrbotten, but this quantitative measure had not been followed up. Instead, the evaluation concentrated on how well the activities and the programme met the participants expectations, and how the marketing of the programme had worked. No explanation was given to the enhancement of the target group to include everyone from 50+ years instead of 55+ The pilot programme was divided into three steps: Step 1 on more general information directed to the public at large and marketing to raise interest and find potential participants. Step 2 included seminars and workshops about how to start a business. Step 3 concerned more individual counselling and mentorship. The evaluation included five events (seminars and workshops) from step 1 and 2. Not all events had records on the number of participants or their age, but for those who had, the number of participants varied between 6 and 29, and the age between 50 and 66. A majority of the participants were women. The evaluation was based on questionnaires handed out to the participants at the end of seminars and workshops. Six (6) phone interviews were undertaken by the evaluator; 4 participants (2 women and 2 men) and 2 advisors. The major findings in the evaluation report were the importance of putting the 50+ on the entrepreneurship agenda and addressing the target group with marketing and content directed explicit to the 50+. An overwhelming majority of the participants rated the activities as good or very good, and found most of the information to be useful. The participants also expressed appreciation and interest for inspirational activities and networking. The pilot programme also has resulted in a toolbox based on the 3-step programme. The toolbox report, provided to the evaluator, presents important aspects to consider when planning and a structure that can be used when designing programmes. Suggestions for improvement included activities such as study visits to different kinds of companies and including other topics in the lectures. The advisors suggested new channels for marketing, e.g. fairs, information via organisations and enterprises, and more face-toface activities. 6
Title of the ReportTitle of the Report Our participants experience their employers taking for granted that they will retire and leave place for the young. Several things; what possibilities there are for having a business when you re retired, but also finding a network with other 55+. I believe we have other thoughts and ideas about entrepreneurship than 20-25 year olds. 2.5 Summary of activities and evaluation reports The Best Agers WP 6:2 is on entrepreneurship and mentorship. The pilot programmes are about raising awareness about the potential of the 55+ in the community and with employers and organisations. Two of the pilots are focusing on training new 55+ (50+!) entrepreneurs, one pilot is a practical course for mentors, and the last one focuses on the training of employers and executives on different aspects of age management. The pilot programmes of the four project partners have similarities with a common topic, but they are not exactly the same, nor carried out in the same way, which makes it more difficult to make one, fair-minded summarizing evaluation. However, the WP 6:2 is about identification of success factors for training and integration of Best Agers in work life, as the title implies, but although the evaluation reports hints at some successful results, the terminology success factor is only mentioned directly in one of the evaluation reports. The project partners have also been given a list of items to be included in their evaluation on implementation, activities and results. This list has not been followed through in the same way in all four evaluation reports. For example, not everyone have information on the age of the participants, how many men/women, how the marketing was done, or quotations based on the questions in their evaluation form. Nor did all mention the aim of the pilots and WP 6. One report mentioned the aim of increasing the number of new (elderly) entrepreneurs in the region, but the result of this had not been followed up. With the incompleteness in mind, the pilot programmes can with no doubt still be said to have reached the aim of WP 6, as the different pilots have created mechanisms for encouraging entrepreneurship and promoted activities for developing curricula that could be used for training potential 55+ entrepreneurs as well as mentors and employers. In summary, the overall activities have been rated good or even very good by the participants. In the evaluations the respondents have appreciated most of the content as well as the performance and the quality of the seminars, lectures, practical exercises etc. The 7
Title of the Report respondents also expressed a desire for further similar activities. This was unanimous for all four pilots. What draws to attention in the evaluation reports, however, is the fact that about 70% of the participants are women according to the cases when the number of men/women is given. None of the evaluation reports mention a focus on attracting female participants as a strategy. 8
Title of the ReportTitle of the Report 3. Interviews Four (4) interviews were accomplished with participants in the activities of each project partner in this work package. One (1) advisor in Sweden and one (1) mentor in Latvia were also interview. The questions dealt with their occupational status, expectations, rating of most positive and less positive activity, evaluation of the outcome and the usefulness of the activities, and suggestions for improvement. The advisor/mentor were asked similar questions, but from their specific point of view. 3.1 Participant interviews The four participants were between 41 and 67 years old, two men and two women. One was retired since 1 year ago but was working on voluntary basis. The others worked full time and had between 18 months to 20 years until retirement. Two had learned about the Best Agers project and the activities from a colleague, one saw an announcement about it on the website of State Employment Agency, and one found out from the chairman of her/his organisation. The answers on why they found the activities to be interesting differed; from personal and professional interest in demographic issues and the contribution of elderly, to a personal situation of soon loosing the job, and good experience of previous seminars at the SSE Riga. Because of the location at the Riga School of Economics as implementers they usually have really good seminars and lecturers The expectations of the activities also varied, from scepticism to high expectations on business knowledge, interesting topics, and inspiration. To start working with pragmatic solutions and how-to-do-it, instead of just talking about it and producing academic papers. Everything is known, but companies need more practical help Three participants rated the overall activities as good, one said very good. The answers on what they found most positive in the activities varied. Some mentioned the good discussions and the awareness of the demographic challenge in countries around the Baltic 9
Title of the Report Sea, other opinions expressed the appreciation of the topics, the lecturers, and the help and push to write down their own business plan on paper. The participants were vaguer on the question about what they found less positive. One mentioned too much papers being produced (as in opposite to action?), the others thought most of the activities and its context to be good. All participants were convinced they would be able to make use of the gained knowledge/information in some way. Yes, of course, and we already did. In our administration we already tried to apply in our daily routing what we learned The last question was on suggestions/ideas on how to improve further activities: Be lighter on the theoretical parts. Some information is necessary, but too much and not practical enough might not interest the small enterprises I was thinking it could be interesting with all these people in other countries to meet who have been in this project or taken part in the programme. Or visit/meet any retired person who has experience of their own business The approach was too broad, better to have a clear focus and not discuss everything about elderly people 3.2 Advisor/mentor interviews The Best Agers project and the 55+ issue were found interesting and important because of experience of elderly persons. It helps join people with experience with young people. The older persons have the right pre-conditions at the phase of their life with long experience, networks, and no small children that need time and attention. The aim of the activities was to help people start their own business, but also to improve in giving relevant advice and a better function as sounding board to meet this age group. The participants did not only seem to appreciate the knowledge and understanding for business, they were also interested in meeting other people of their age with similar ideas and open for new challenges. 10
Title of the ReportTitle of the Report The possibility to test their ideas in an environment where they don t have to worry there is no competition and they could speak easy and free The activities were marketed in several ways, for example in newspapers, at mini-fairs, through the Public Employment Service, e-mails and facebook. Suggestions for marketing similar activities in the future included: organisations with similar ideas could be asked to join the activities, more face-to-face meetings at for example fairs and at staff meetings in companies, institutions and organisations. The use of role models and networks was also suggested. How can we further stimulate the 55+ persons to entrepreneurship? Keep lifting the 55+ and their potentials on the agenda, make the newspapers write more about good examples on 55+ entrepreneurs and mentors, more information and education on the issue, making the competence of this group visible to the public and the employers, necessary to have projects for longer time for more sustainable entrepreneurship. We saw more and more 50+ participants joining in, that did not attend previous events to the same extent, because we did not use the right channels or pictures that attracted this group. You cannot solely have pictures of younger individuals 11
Title of the Report 4. Conclusions The success factors, summarized from interviews and the evaluation reports, can be identified as: - Putting the demographic challenge and the potential of the 55+ on the agenda - The development of curricula and toolboxes on entrepreneurship, mentorship and age management respectively, in training the Best Agers, mentors, executives and employers and others in forthcoming activities - Development of different kinds of platforms for co-operation and exchange of knowledge on those issues - The mix between information, practical tasks and exercises, networking and inspiration in the activities - The focus on the 55+ group as an asset in society, also in ways of marketing - Using a mix of the right channels for marketing the activities - The chance of exchanging ideas and experience with others in a non-competitive environment; people in the same phase of life, elderly entrepreneurs and mentors, as well as people of other generations - The adaptation of the activities and marketing depending on the targeted group and the participants culture and prior knowledge and experience The importance of the last paragraph can be illustrated by the, sometimes contradicting, suggestions given on activity improvements: more practical exercises, more information and facts, less theoretical parts, more time for social activities and networking, more compact programme in both time and content, less time for lunch and coffee breaks. Another example on differences is the time one wants to spend on the activities. Executives in private enterprises are more likely to be have restricted timebudgets than an unemployed or retired person who is about to start a business. Why did the activities attract more women than men? It could be implied that female participants are desired to take part in the pilot programmes, as there is often a lack of female entrepreneurs and mentors. Still, the project partners and advisors in the programme should give a thought to why men were not attracted by the concepts to the same extent? It could not be a coincident as the trend was the same in all activities with about 70% women. Despite the slight incompleteness in recording the pilots implementation, participants, activities, marketing and results, the results do show that the 12
Title of the ReportTitle of the Report participants are satisfied and give good ratings to the activities and their content and arrangement in all four evaluation reports. The different pilots have managed to create mechanisms for encouraging entrepreneurship and promoted activities for developing curricula and toolboxes that could and will be used for training potential 55+ entrepreneurs as well as mentors and employers. 13
Title of the Report Appendix 1 Interview questions to participant: 1. What is your occupational status? full time work, part time, student, unemployed 2. How old are you? 3a. Are you retired? For how many years? 3b.Are you still working? How many years before you retire? 4. What activities have you been taking part in? 5. How did you learn about the Best agers project & activities? ad, newspaper, friend etc. 6. Why did you find the Best Agers project interesting? 7. What were your expectations about the activities? 8. How did find the activities as a total? -Very good/good/less good/bad 9. What did you find most positive? 10. Did you find anything less positive or negative? 11. Do you think you will be able to make use of the information/knowledge from participation in the project? 12. Do you have suggestions/ideas about what can be improved? Questions advisor/mentor: 1. Why do you think the Best Agers project and entrepreneurship is interesting/important? 2. What kind of activities did you (help) arrange? 3. What was the aim of the activities? 4. What was the outcome of the activities? 5. What worked best/was most appreciated by the participants? 6. Did anything work less good? 7. Advisor: How did you market the activities? Did it work well? Do you think there are other ways of marketing in the future that might work better? Mentor: Do you have suggestions on how to market similar activities in the future? Do you have any suggestions on how to further stimulate the 50+ people to entrepreneurship/mentorship? 14