Recently I watched the movie ‘The Intern’ and while I enjoyed it considerably, I was taken aback by how engaging it was. The movie is about a 70 year old senior retiree called Ben, who out of boredom applies for a senior internship program at an online fashion site. Ben is assigned with Jules, the founder of the online shopping site who unwillingly agrees to participate in the program. Ben positions himself as Jules’ advisor, a role model for Gen Z, and a guiding light of business knowledge for the entire organization over time.
This film gives a strong message to HR leaders, stating that “it’s time to get ahead of the recruiting curve” and that senior citizens with prior leadership experience have a lot to offer younger generations. However, most of the HR leaders might disagree in recruiting senior interns due to the conflict between millennials and Baby Boomers, whose perspectives are really not always in sync. But does this indicate that senior interns have no influence on an organization’s development?
Here are five reasons why HR leaders should hire senior interns.
Diverse generations show a wide range of abilities
Mutual Mentors are formed
Decreases the employee turnover rate
Creates an open minded working environment
Drives innovation
Workplace innovation will help you save time, money, and resources while also giving you a competitive advantage. Age-diverse teams encourage each other to adopt methods and thought processes that are not necessarily common to one age group, which improves innovation. Your company will create innovative and forward-thinking ideas by combining the various skills of all of your employees.
Age diversity in the workplace has become increasingly important, owing to the aging workforce, which leaves a void when workers retire. Personally, I think hiring senior interns can be beneficial to your company as it provides you many benefits and an excellent advantage for companies to strengthen their brand image, extend their customer demographics, and, perhaps most importantly, increase employee satisfaction.
