The ANZ Banking Group is one of Australia’s leading financial institutions, employing
over 33,000 people worldwide, with the majority in Australia. Approximately
27% of ANZ’s Australian workforce is aged 45 or over. These employees’ changing
needs are important to ANZ, as is the commitment to increasing the general diversity
of ANZ’s workforce.
In February 2004 ANZ committed to addressing age diversity in the workplace and
launched its Age Diversity Strategy. The strategy focuses on:
- investigating the business and customer benefits of mixed-age teams;
- emphasising flexible work practices, and marketing these to mature age employees
(the Career Extensions program);
- creating an inclusive culture where experience is valued.
The Age Diversity strategy has included the following major initiatives:
1. Career Extensions Program
In mid 2004, ANZ launched the Making Your Life Choices Work Booklet.
All Australian staff was sent this booklet which outlined the career extensions
program. The program examines ways to re-think traditional work in order to
allow ANZ’s people to achieve greater balance in their life without feeling the
need to permanently leave ANZ. This involves three career extension options:
- Rejuvenate your career with flexible
leave options such as lifestyle leave, flexible long service leave and career breaks;
- Rebalance your work to suit your
life with options such as job sharing, telecommuting and working part-time or full-time,
and/or on a cyclical or seasonal basis; and
- Reshape your career by taking
a gradual approach to retirement and changing pace through exploring roles with
less pressure or with greater emphasis on knowledge and experience sharing.
Career Extensions was introduced to all staff in mid 2004 through the Making
Your Life Choices Work booklet. National seminars commenced in late 2004 to
assist staff to consider their options, and develop a retirement and career plan
that best suits their needs.
2. Age Management Planning
The Australasian Contact Centre (ACC) partnered the IPA, a member of the Federal
Government Job Network, to pilot recruiting mature-age customer service consultants
for the Dorcas Street, South Melbourne site. The ACC aims to have a workforce
that matches the demographic of the community.
3. Financial Fitness
ANZ aims to have Australia’s most financially fit workforce.
ANZ runs seminars to equip employees to budget, invest, and plan for retirement.
More than 1000 employees have attended this ongoing program which will be offered
more broadly in 2005.
4. Change to Tertiary Qualification policy
ANZ recently changed its tertiary qualification policy, in response to feedback
from ageing workforce focus groups and findings of more general research. This showed
that mature-age workers are less likely to have a tertiary qualification than their
younger counterparts. ANZ aspires to improve the educational attainment levels
of staff, but in recognition of this feedback has revised its policy to ensure that
mature-age workers are not indirectly disadvantaged in promotions by their lack
of tertiary qualification. With approval from the Managing Director,
business units can waive the tertiary qualification requirement where experience
compensates, and a basic entry assessment is successfully completed.
5. Changes to advertising on ANZ Careers
Research has shown that mature candidates are more likely to be attracted to advertisements
emphasising attributes like ‘experience’, ‘knowledge’, ‘expertise’, ‘insight’ and
‘confidently grounded’. As part of its commitment to providing a diverse workplace
and becoming an employer of choice, ANZ is paying special attention to the language
used in advertisements. The tag line “Age is no barrier” at the bottom
of all ANZ job advertisements is a particularly visible sign of ANZ’s attempt to
ensure appropriate messages are conveyed..
6. ANZ Alumni
Through ANZ Alumni, communication channels between ANZ and past employees remain
active and can be used to convey job opportunities. Research shows that many
employees who retire or leave the organisation, may later return. ANZ Alumni
ensures the door is open to these former employees.
ANZ is seeking to attract and retain the best talent, which of course includes mature
age people and their often unique skills. ANZ wants to be a workplace where
age is no barrier.