Case study

ASDA Stores

Age Positive Champion

Birmingham Post/Age Positive Company Winner 2000
Leicester Mercury/Age Positive Company Winner 2002

At ASDA we've found that some of our best colleagues are also some of our oldest - with loads of experience to share with the younger colleagues. They make a massive difference to our stores We have over 20,000 colleagues who are over 50, representing 19 per cent of our workforce.

I quickly got bored of retirement so I applied to ASDA. I feel valued - it's not just the benefits, it's the attitude of the colleagues.

Alan, 78, Wallington store

OUR AGE POSITIVE GOOD PRACTICE:

"At ASDA we work to try to recruit a colleague base that reflects the local population. We actively encourage recruitment of older workers so that we can mirror the local customer base more closely and provide better customer service," says Jacki Connor from ASDA Colleague Relations. "We believe that to make the most effective use of colleagues’ skills, employment decisions should be made simply by asking: who is the best person for the job?"

Asda's spokeswoman, Rachel Fellows, explains why the comapny has now become one of the biggest employers of people aged over 50.

"A little while back we were opening a store in Broadstairs in Kent, which has a high percentage of older residents. We wanted to reflect the customer base, so we targeted that store to have half of its staff aged 50 or over. At the time there were a few nay-sayers who told us the store's productivity would drop, that we'd have more absences, more staff off sick and less motivation. In fact, the reverse happened."

Asda decided to turn its discovery at Broadstairs into a national campaign to recruit older people. "Initially we were aiming for around 16 per cent of our staff to be made up of over-fifties, but that's now risen to 19 per cent," Fellows says.

In part, Asda have been spurred on by the fact that the demographics of the country are changing. Already, 40 per cent of the population is aged 50 or over and that figure is set to increase. The imminent introduction of legislation that will outlaw age discrimination in the workplace in 2006 has also had an impact on its recruitment and working practices. "On the one hand, we are all living longer. On the other, we were going to have to do it sooner or later in any case. Rather than wait until 2006, we wanted to adapt to the new legislation now and get ahead of the game."

Asda has gone to great lengths to seek out older employees - even attending tea dances and bingo nights to find potential recruits. But the real effort has gone into creating a range of flexible working options that reflect the fact that a large proportion of the company's older employees do not want to be holding down a full-time job.

As well as offering unpaid leave for grandparents and carers, Asda also allows employees to take what has been called 'Benidorm leave', where their job is kept open for them while they take a few months off to head for sunnier climes in the winter. Another innovation is the 'seasonal squad', where people can choose to work for the 10 busiest weeks of the year over Christmas, Easter and the summer holidays without having to leave and rejoin the company.

"We recognise that many of our colleagues don't want to be working full hours all year round, so we've done what we can to accommodate them and help them manage their work-life balance." says Fellows, who explains that the process of becoming more age positive has benefitted Asda hugely as well.

"Our labour turnover has dropped and our customer satisfaction has improved."

"It's great for us. We have got continuity, a pool of people who know what to do and don't need retraining, plus a whole load of flexibility," she says. "Our labour turnover has dropped and our customer satisfaction survey results and colleague approval ratings have both improved. We are competing and winning in a very competitive business. In no small part, that is because of our older workers."

Go to top of page

BENEFITS OF OUR GOOD PRACTICE:

We understand that an older workforce offers maturity, commitment and knowledge, which our customers value.

'After 30 years working on the London Underground, I fancied a change. Other companies said I was 'over qualified', in other words, too old! ASDA jumped at the chance of employing me. Their attitude is first class and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone of my age'. Danny, 53, Wembley store

Go to top of page

Go back to Case Studies page

20 KEY FACTS your business needs to know about age legislation and retirement