This ebook provides a new perspective on managing senior workers in the Asia-Pacific Region.

1. The rise of
the wise
A NEW PERSPECTIVE FROM KELLYOCG ON MANAGING
SENIOR WORKERS IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION
ANTHONY RAJA DEVADOSS

2. CHINA
Population aged
over 60 by 2025
Increase from 2009
The rise and rise of the
over-60 population
The global population is projected to
increase 3.7 times from 1950 to 2050.
The number of people over the age of
60 will increase by a factor of nearly
10 and those over the age of 80 by a
factor of 26. The skills and knowledge
that older people have acquired
through their careers are going to waste
as they leave the workplace.
WORLD POPULATION AGED 60+
250m
World’s fastest-ageing country
30%
Population aged
over 60 by 2025
35%
2013 working age
population fell by
2.44m
to 919.54m
JAPAN
MOST RAPIDLY
AGEING COUNTRIES
IN ASIA-PACIFIC
8%
11%
22%
1950 2011 2050
200 million
1950
2 billion
2050
760 million
2011
1 Rajeshni Naidu-Ghelani, ‘Eight ways to invest in ageing Asia’, CNBC Asia, October 2012, www.cnbc.com/id/49472169.
2 Ansuya Harjani, ‘This is how fast China’s workforce is shrinking’, CNBC Asia, January 2014, www.cnbc.com/id/101349829.
3 Bloomberg, ‘Most Rapidly Aging: countries’, www.bloomberg.com/visual-data/best-and-worst//most-rapidly-aging-countries.

3. /03
In with the old

4. IN WITH THE OLD /04
The global population is ageing fast. In fact, the number of older
people on earth has tripled over the last 50 years.
This change is being driven by a convergence of trends – lower births rates and people
living longer lives – that is testing governments, businesses and people. It’s one of the
greatest challenges of our times, but one that’s happening in slow motion.
The ‘slow burning’ nature of the ageing crisis means that important decisions are
being delayed. Many companies and institutions have yet to make the practical
adjustments in their business strategies to meet the demands of an ageing workforce
– either through recruitment behaviours, improved working environments or flexible
working hours.
SEE FIGURE 1
“The expected
growth of the
population of older
persons should not
be an excuse not to
act but rather seen as
a call to action. A well
supported old age is
in the interest of all
generations.”1
4 UNFPA and HelpAge International, ‘Ageing in the Twenty-First Century – A Celebration and A Challenge’, 2012, unfpa.org/ageingreport/.

5. Total of world population aged 60 and over
(DEVELOPING AND INDUSTRIAL COUNTRIES)
/05
FIGURE 1
POPULATION 60 AND OVER, PERCENT
35
20
25
20
15
10
5
0
1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050
Source: World Economic Forum, ‘Global Population Aging: Peril or Promise?’
Industrial countries
Developing countries

6. /06
The workforce
challenge

7. THE WORKFORCE CHALLENGE /07
The implications of this shift in the makeup of the global population
are particularly severe for the Asia-Pacific region, which has some
of the fastest-ageing populations in the world.
By 2040, Japan is projected to have the highest median age in the world, with half
of its population aged 54 and over.5 China and Japan face chronic shortfalls in their
working age numbers.6 In South Korea too, it is predicted that the number of working
age people will start to fall from 2015, while Malaysia’s elderly are expected to
comprise 15 percent of the population by 2030.7
The ratio of retirees to workers in Taiwan has shot up and the median age of people
in the country is expected to reach 56 in 2050, up from 37 in 2012. United Nations
research also projects the number of people aged over 60 in Indonesia will increase
from 12.8 percent in 2025 to 22.3 percent in 2050, compared with 7.6 percent in 2000.8
The proportion of the population aged 65 or over in Australia will rise to about 23
percent by 2050, compared to 14 percent today.9 Between 2001 and 2011, the
percentage of Australians over 55 in paid work grew by 10 per cent.
Most young people
expect to retire
around the age of 57.
5 Diversity & Inclusion in Asia Network, ‘Ageing: Impact on Companies in Asia’, March 2010, www.communitybusiness.org/images/cb/publications/2010/Ageing.pdf.
6 See infographic on page [x].
7 Suhaimi Abd Samad, Halimah Awang, Norma Mansor, Population Ageing and Social Protection in Malaysia, 2013, ssrc.um.edu.my/images/ssrc/Books/Journal%20
papers/Population%20ageing%20and%20social%20protection%20in%20Malaysia_suhaimi_norma.pdf.
8 United Nations, World Population Ageing 1950–2050, www.un.org/esa/population/publications/worldageing19502050/pdf/112indon.pdf.
9 Australian Government, Intergenerational Report 2010 – Australia to 2050: future challenges, 2010, archive.treasury.gov.au/igr/igr2010/report/pdf/IGR_2010.pdf.

8. THE WORKFORCE CHALLENGE /08
No country is exempt from ageing, although in the Asia-Pacific region there are
good examples of governments and businesses developing strategies to meet the
challenge. The more proactive organizations have recognized that the only way to
deal with changing demographics is to adapt. But this is the very minimum that needs
to be done.
Fewer female workers
Asia-Pacific nations face additional challenges, including low workforce participation
rates among women and that many of today’s younger workers don’t expect to delay
their retirements.
India’s female work participation rate is one of the worst in the world at 29 percent.
Malaysia fares better with 52.4 percent10, which reflects efforts by the government
to encourage companies to make it easier for women to work by allowing flexible
work arrangements.
A recent HSBC study gauged the views of more than 16,000 people in 15 countries
including Australia, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, India, Malaysia and Taiwan, and
found that most young people expected to retire around the age of 57.11
India’s female
work participation
rate is one of the
worst in the world
at 29 percent.
10 Liau Y-Sing, ‘Mothers Wanted Back in Workforce as Malaysia Seeks Growth’, Bloomberg, 20 August 2014,
www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-19/malaysia-seeks-to-draw-women-back-to-work-southeast-asia.html.
11 HSBC, ‘Future of Retirement: Life After Work’, 2013, www.professionalplanner.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/HSBC-Aust-Report.pdf.

9. THE WORKFORCE CHALLENGE /09
Pressure on organizations
These demographic changes will place additional pressures on governments through
increased health and welfare costs.
In a recent address to the UN, the Malaysian government acknowledged the
importance of comprehensive policies, programmes and services in countering the
health and socio-economic effects of its ageing population.12
In Australia, health and welfare cost increases are projected to require an additional
6 percent of GDP over the next 50 years, mainly as a result of the country’s ageing
population and changes to its workforce.
In Japan, diminishing workforce participation will knock 1 percent off GDP growth
every year for the next four years.13 China could see a surplus of 55.2 million to
75.3 million workers by 2020, reduced to a shortage of 24.5 million people by 2030.14
Governments
around the world
have started to raise
the retirement age.
12 ‘National statement by Dato’ Sri Dr. Noorul Ainur Mohd Nur, Secretary-General of The Ministry of Women, Family and Community Dvelopment of
Malaysia at the 47th session of the commission on population and development, 8 April 2014’, www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/pdf/
commission/2014/country/Agenda%20item%204/Malaysia_Item4.pdf
13 ‘Age invaders’, The Economist, 26 April 2014, www.economist.com/news/briefing/21601248-generation-old-people-about-change-global-economy-they-
will-not-all-do-so.
14 Rainer Strack et al, ‘Global Workforce Crisis 2014: $10 Trillion at Risk’, Boston Consulting Group, July 2014, www.bcgperspectives.com/content/
articles/management_two_speed_economy_public_sector_global_workforce_crisis/?chapter=2.

10. THE WORKFORCE CHALLENGE /10
As a response to this looming crisis, governments around the world have started to
raise the retirement age. Australia, for example, recently announced that by 2035
its retirement age would be increased to 70.15
Many industries will also be forced to adjust their labor supply strategies, either
by bringing more young people into their ranks or finding ways to retain or attract
older workers.
To maintain high productivity – and secure the workforces needed to sustain it –
businesses will need to make their workplaces ‘age friendly’. That will involve placing
health and wellbeing front and center, and focusing on motivating staff to want to work
beyond the traditional retirement age.
To maintain high
productivity,
businesses will
need to make
their workplaces
‘age friendly’.
15 James Massola, ‘Retirement age to rise to 75 by 2035, Joe Hockey announces’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 2 May 2014, www.smh.com.
au/federal-politics/political-news/retirement-age-rise-to-70-by-2035-joe-hockey-announces-20140502-zr318.html.

11. /11
Senior solutions

12. SENIOR SOLUTIONS /12
The ageing crisis is forcing organizations to address their talent
supply chains to retain retiring workers and prevent a potentially
huge loss of knowledge from the workplace. This has led to a whole
range of government policies and innovative retention strategies.
Re-employing retirees
As a small island nation, the impact of an ageing workforce is acutely felt in Singapore
where those aged 65 and above now make up around 12 percent of the population,
up from 7 percent in 2002.16
The Singapore Government has favored re-employment as a way of keeping older
workers in the workplace,17 raising the age at which companies can re-employ an
employee from 65 to 67. Since it brought in re-employment legislation in 2012, a
staggering number of older employees have been retained – 99 percent of private
sector local employees who turned 62 in June 2013 were offered re-employment,
while 67 percent of retirees were offered re-employment on existing contracts, with
no change to their employment terms.
Businesses in Asia
lead the world when
it comes to factoring
senior employees into
their workforces.
16 essa Wong, ‘Fast-ageing Singapore, fewer support aged; Trend worries experts’, The Straits Times, 27 September 2013, www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/
singapore/story/fast-ageing-singapore-fewer-support-aged-trend-worries-experts-2013092.
17 Shalini Shukla, ‘Mature workers matter too’, HRM Asia, 21 May 2014, www.hrmasia.com/resources/mature-workers/mature-workers-matter-too/187721/.

13. SENIOR SOLUTIONS /13
Among those re-employed in the same job, 96 percent did not experience a basic
wage cut.
A similar plan has been adopted in Japan. In 2012, the Japanese Government shelved
its plan to extend the compulsory retirement age for national government employees
from 60 to 65. Instead, it increased the number of employees working until the age of
65 by rehiring workers who retired at 60 on lower wages.
These steps have had a significant impact, with the labor force participation rate
for men aged 60 to 64 increasing from 71 percent in 2006 to 77 percent in 2009.18
Meanwhile, the Japanese Government will begin to raise the eligibility age for mutual
pension payments to 65 in stages.
Promoting diversity
Businesses across the Asia-Pacific region have responded to the ageing of the
workforce by adjusting workplaces to better suit older people. In fact, businesses in the
region have moved faster than anywhere else in the world to factor senior employees
into their workforces as part of inclusion and diversity programs.
The Japanese
Government will begin
to raise the eligibility
age for mutual
pension payments to
65 in stages.
18 John R. Beard et al., World Economic Forum, ‘Global Population Ageing: Peril or Promise?’, 2012, www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GAC_
GlobalPopulationAgeing_Report_2012.pdf.

14. SENIOR SOLUTIONS /14
According to a 2011 Forbes global survey of executives of 321 large corporations,
82 percent of companies in the Asia-Pacific region report ageing as a component of
their diversity programs, compared to 67 percent in the Americas, and 68 percent in
Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). All respondents worked for large global
enterprises with annual revenues of more than US$500 million.
SEE FIGURE 2
Creating a diverse workplace has noticeable benefits for businesses. Among
companies with more than US$10 billion in annual revenue surveyed by Forbes,
56 percent strongly agreed that diversity helped drive innovation. Respondents in
Asia were also more likely to see a link between diversity and innovation. In the
Asia-Pacific region, 56 percent strongly agreed with this notion, compared to
48 percent in the Americas and 41 percent in EMEA.19
However, promoting diversity and inclusion plans that will entice older workers to stay
or return to work can be a steep challenge in a competitive business environment.
This means that getting programs in place needs sign-off at the highest level.
82 percent of
companies in the
Asia-Pacific region
report ageing as a
component of their
diversity programs.
19 Forbes Insights, ‘Global Diversity and Inclusion – Fostering Innovation Through a Diverse Workforce’, 2011, images.forbes.com/
forbesinsights/StudyPDFs/Innovation_Through_Diversity.pdf.

15. Which of the following is currently part of your
organisation’s diversity and inclusion efforts?
(BY REGION)
/15
FIGURE 2
Source: Forbes Insights, ‘Global Diversity and Inclusion – Fostering Innovation Through a Diverse Workforce’, 2011.
Americas
EMEA
Asia Pacific
GENDER
80
78
75
77
76
67
86
76
66
ETHNICITY/NATIONAL ORIGIN
RACE/COLOUR
AGE
DISABILITY
SEXUAL ORIENTATION
NATIONALITY
67
46
42
38
68
69
45
28
82
42
29
68

16. SENIOR SOLUTIONS /16
Creative deployment
HR managers are finding creative ways to deploy the vast knowledge and skills of
older workers, which requires a rethink of how they are deployed in the workplace.
This includes making the most of older workers’ experience to ensure that
organizations have the leadership skills required to succeed globally.
According to the consultancy CEB, just 25 percent of employees in Asia feel that
their leaders are fully prepared for future challenges.20 About the same proportion
(26 percent) of Asia’s rising leaders believe their successors are ready to move to
executive roles, compared to 43 percent in the rest of the world.
While not all seniors are natural leaders in their own right, most have decades of
experience and knowledge to pass on. With leadership skills in short supply, using that
knowledge effectively is critical to ensuring continuity, future growth and a successful
growth strategy.
Many seniors have
decades of experience
and knowledge to
pass on.
20 CEB, ‘Closing the Leadership Gap in Asia’, 2012, www.executiveboard.com/exbd/en-sg/human-resources/asia-hr-leadership/leadership-gap-asia/index.page.

17. Why retain
older workers?
/17
FIGURE 3
Accumulated
knowledge
Judgment
and problem-solving
abilities
Flexibility in
terms of work
hours and pay
Ability to
empathise
with older
customers
Strong
commitment
to work
Interpersonal
skills
Tendency to
stay in the
same job for
longer
Source: Silver Group consultancy

18. SENIOR SOLUTIONS /18
Age-friendly workplaces
Consultants are now advising businesses on the design, comfort and appeal of their
work spaces to older workers.
In Singapore, for instance, the Silver Group consultancy conducts Age Friendly (AF)21
workplace audits for companies. This audit examines more than 200 touch-points,
including workers’ commute in to the office, the workplace itself, workers’ knowledge
and compliance. The result of such audits points to the advantages of creating ‘age
neutral’ or multi-generational workplaces, promoting privacy as well as collaboration,
easy access and use of facilities, and user-friendly technology as a way of drawing
senior workers back to the office.
Changes employers are making to become more ‘age friendly’ include paying closer
attention to the accessibility of toilets, step-free access to buildings, easy-to-read
signage, large-print materials and, of course, user-friendly technology. There are no
silver bullets when it comes to managing workforce demographic change on the scale
that is being seen due to ageing – but good planning can help.
The result of such
audits points to
the advantages of
creating ‘age neutral’
or multi-generational
workplaces.
21 Kim Walker, Silver Group, ‘What is an Age Friendly workplace?’, September 2014, silvergroup.asia/blog/what-is-an-age-friendly-workplace.

19. SENIOR SOLUTIONS /19
Silver surfers
Bear in mind it might be a mistake to presume that retirees need special attention
when it comes to technology. In fact, older individuals are some of the fastest
technology adopters.
The 55–64 year age bracket is the fastest growing demographic on Twitter22 with
79 percent growth rate since 2012. The fastest growing demographic on Facebook’s
and Google+’s networks are the 45 to 54 year age bracket at 46 percent and
56 percent, respectively.
Seniors in Asia (Japan, China and India) are in fact more technologically savvy than
their counterparts in the West.23 In these countries, 70.7 percent of those aged over
55 use a mobile device as their primary way of communicating, compared with
32 percent in Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Seniors in Asia are
more tech savvy than
their counterparts
in the West.
22 Global Web Index, ‘Stream Social Q1 2013 report’, May 2013, blog.globalwebindex.net/Stream-Social.
23 McCann, ‘The Truth about Connected You’, 2013, mccann.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Truth_About_Connected_You.pdf.

20. /20
Recommendations
for Human Resource
and Business Leaders

21. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR HUMAN RESOURCE AND BUSINESS LEADERS /21
With workers ageing fast right across the Asia-Pacific—and the world—governments
and business leaders need to ‘future proof’ their organizations by putting the building
blocks in place to support a truly ‘multi-generational’ workforce.
Here are some steps that can be taken to help with this transition:
• Devise an overarching strategy for retaining older workers and make it your number
one priority as part of your planning for the next five to 10 years.
• Encourage and promote the strategy internally: secure the necessary buy-in from
the executive leadership so your strategy carries significant weight at highest level.
• Look at ways in which older workers can be used as leaders through mentorship
programs, to pass on their valuable insights, skills and knowledge.
• Consult employees about desired training and draw up new training modules that
include both young and older employees.
• Provide training in all new technologies for older workers as part of learning and
development strategies.
• Evaluate your company’s processes, culture and working environment to gauge
its age-friendliness.
• Investigate government policies and resources for businesses seeking to support
older workers in continuing work or returning to the workforce.

22. EXIT
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ANTHONY RAJA DEVADOSS is Vice President, Asia-Pacific for Kelly Outsourcing and
Consulting Group. In this role, Devadoss is responsible for KellyOCG’s entire operations in
Asia-Pacific and leads the growth of the company’s main business practices in the region,
which include Executive Search, HR Consulting, Career Transition & Global Managed Services.
Devadoss is also the current Deputy Chairman of Outsourcing Malaysia (a chapter of PIKOM,
the National ICT Association of Malaysia) and the Co-Chairman of the HR Committee of
American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM). He holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration, majoring
in marketing and management information systems and is a certified SHRM Human Resource Management
Professional (HRMP™), facilitator for Manager as Coach Learning Series™, career transition consultant and life
options retirement coach. http://my.linkedin.com/in/anthonyraja http://twitter.com/anthonyraja
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