SHATTERING MYTHS ABOUT THE RECRUITMENT OF “SENIORS” IN THE LUXURY INDUSTRY

In recent years, the Luxury and Fashion industry has been talking about meeting the Agenda 2020 objectives focused on saving energy and boosting sustainability, driven by the European Union. Similarly, other projects have been developed, to seek greater gender, race and cultural inclusivity, but what about age? What if age were the biggest challenge to overcome in the workplace?

In the last few months, we have talked about gamers, Instagrammers and even Tik Tokkers, all of whom belong to the Generation Z or Millennial age group, and how labels are looking to attract the next generation and are recruiting representatives of these populations to communicate about and monetize their products. But at no time have these labels sought to recruit or ask the opinion of other generations; instead they assume that they already know and understand their buying habits, cultures and even their way of life. The problem, as Heraclitus observed, is that “there is nothing permanent except change.”

According to a study from the Endesa and Mashumano foundations, 70% of unemployed over-fifties in Spain took advantage of the lockdown to study and retrain. Which means that whereas a study carried out last year by Deloitte showed companies were at a disadvantage recruiting people aged between 45 and 74, since the lockdown the industry would be wise to look at recruiting seniors from a professional background.

Furthermore, if we analyse the demographic curve of the last 20 years, shown in the Deloitte study, we can see that the average lifespan is increasing by three months per year. Coupling

this with the fact that people are having fewer children, soon the Baby Boomer generation will outnumber the Millennials, whose lack of experience means that are not yet prepared to hold senior positions.

The recruitment model used by the luxury sector is becoming obsolete. Labels offer packages based on a career within the company including salary and bonuses but this goes against the search for knowledge and experience, which are the main predictive systems used by Human Resources departments to establish productivity and efficiency rates.

The team at LuxStyle Consulting recognises that beyond 40, some people may experience a reduction in certain skills and mental capacities, such as mathematical agility and memory, but at the same time, there is often an increase in other very useful skills for the workplace such as emotional intelligence, understanding your environment or just the ability to think, learn and react.

If you need help to produce your strategic plan for recruitment, training, promotion and motivation, do not hesitate to contact us! 

Juan Borges