Culture toolkit - leadership - research questions

How to find out what older employees think?

You may already have an existing staff survey that covers the areas below. It’s important that all survey responses are analysed by age for you to get a clearer picture on the experience of your older employees.

If you do not have an existing staff survey, you may want to consider using the below questions as a guide as to what areas you want to get feedback on.

To what extent do you agree with the following statements?

• I feel my experience and skills are valued by my employer 
• I feel able to contribute to discussions and decision-making
• I feel well-supported by my line manager
• I feel able to contribute to discussions and decision-making
• I have access to learning and development opportunities 
• I feel included at work events
• This is a friendly and welcoming place to work
• I feel supported by my employer when it comes to balancing my work and my life
• I feel supported by my employer when it comes to managing my health

You could also ask specific questions about ageism

• Have you ever witnessed ageism at this organisation?
• Have you ever experienced ageism at this organisation?
• If you are over 50, do you feel valued by your colleagues?

How you are able to approach this work will depend on the size of your organisation and what level of resources and experience you have in this area of work. If possible, leave space for people to share their experiences anonymously. Or set up another channel where they can do so.

Remember, that this is work that needs to be conducted regularly.

Discussion guide for a 50+ network

It may be that you have an existing 50+ employee group (or a multigenerational employee group). If so, ask them to discuss these questions at their next meeting and provide collated, anonymous, feedback.

• As an older employee, do you feel valued and supported by this organisation?
• Do you feel included in social events?
• Do you feel able to speak up and share your views?
• What does ageism look like to you?
• Have you ever experienced or witnessed ageism at this organisation?
• What would make employees of 50+ feel valued and supported here? List as many things as you can think of.
• Of these, which would make the most impact?
• What can we do, as a group and as individuals, to support this project?

If you don’t have an age-related employed group, consider setting one up. Again, this might be resource dependent.

Review questions

Once you have the data, ask yourself:

• What is this telling us about the experience of older workers in our organisation?
• Are there common themes emerging?
• Do we recognise these experiences? (They may be different from our own experiences, why is that?)
• What is emerging as the biggest issue we need to address?
• What actions can we take?