Questions to ask about ageism in your organisation

The Age AWARE Audit framework focuses on five areas where ageist practices frequently occur: accessibility/design, workplace, adaptability, representation and engagement. This kind of framework helps leaders spot hidden ageist practices and make the most of the longevity economy. Being age-aware means looking at these five connected areas to question old biases, find new opportunities, and recognise the value of older adults as customers, workers, and stakeholders.

1. Accessibility and Design

An age-aware company ensures that physical and digital products, services, and spaces accommodate age-related changes in sensory, cognitive, and physical abilities, enhancing usability for all ages without stigma. As Kat Holmes, Chief Design Officer at Salesforce and author of "Mismatch: How Inclusion Shapes Design", noted, "Design is essential to inclusive growth." Efforts to improve accessibility can help an organisation expand market reach, improve the user experience, and build a brand reputation for social responsibility and inclusivity.

Probing questions 

•    Do we involve older adults in our design and usability testing?

•    Are universal design principles used in our development of products and services, physical locations, and digital platforms?

•    Do we have practices to ensure accessibility without stigmatisation?

•    Do we seek continuous feedback for iterative improvement?

•    Can we quantify the accessibility of our offerings for older adults?

Examples of hidden ageist practices

•    Offering customer support only via chatbots, disregarding preferences for human interaction.

•    Designing facilities - especially in health care - with long walking distances, bad signage, or inadequate seating and lighting.

•    Developing apps with low-contrast text and tiny icons, making them unusable for older adults (and other populations) who have dexterity and vision impairments.

2. Workplace

An age-aware company creates an environment that leverages the strengths of all generations, values experience, fosters innovation across age groups, and supports the evolving needs and aspirations of older workers. As researchers on aging Catherine Collinson and Michael Hodin put it, a multigenerational workforce "brings an exciting array of skills and expertise, perspectives, and life experience that can enhance an organisation's innovation, productivity, and overall performance." Efforts in this area can strengthen the employer brand to attract diverse talent, improve knowledge retention and transfer, and create a more inclusive and resilient culture.

Probing questions 

•    Do our recruitment and retention strategies effectively target older workers?

•    Are there robust safeguards against age discrimination in our HR processes?

•    Does our corporate culture genuinely welcome and value older employees?

•    Are our training programs adaptable to diverse learning styles and experiences?

•    Do our benefits and policies address the specific needs of older employees?

Examples of hidden ageist practices

•    Limiting leadership programs to employees under a certain age.

•    Using algorithms that reject job applicants over 50.

•    Enforcing mandatory retirement policies, regardless of an individual's capabilities.

3. Adaptability

An age-aware company evolves its strategies and practices to align with demographic shifts, anticipating and responding to changes in market dynamics and workforce composition. Efforts in this area can help organisations to adapt when demographics change and to consider a wider market of users for innovations. The 50-plus population boom isn't just a momentary trend: Boston Consulting Group (BCG) has noted that "the demographic will continue to grow in size and importance for decades."

Probing questions 

•    Do we regularly analyse and respond to older consumers' changing preferences?

•    Do we stay informed on how to serve an aging population?

•    Can our business model adapt to serve an aging demographic?

•    Is our long-term strategy aligned with projected demographic shifts?

•    Are age-related considerations integrated into our innovation processes?

Examples of hidden ageist practices

•    Assuming that older adults are resistant to new technologies.

•    Failing to adjust to the changing health care needs of aging employees and stakeholders.

•    Overlooking age-specific concerns in data privacy and security measures.

4. Representation

An age-aware company portrays the diversity of older adults authentically in all communications, rejecting stereotypes to reflect varied lifestyles, abilities, and contributions. Among online advertising images showing adults, just 15% of the people are 50-plus, according to research conducted by AARP. Improvements in representation can increase brand loyalty among older consumers and promote cross-generational collaboration.

Probing questions 

•    Are there guidelines for age-inclusive language and imagery across our communications?

•    Is the diversity of older adults fairly represented in our marketing and communications?

•    Do we have processes to identify and eliminate ageist stereotypes in our messaging?

•    Is there visible age diversity in our leadership and decision-making roles?

•    Can we measure the impact of our efforts to represent older adults more inclusively?

Examples of hidden ageist practices

•    Featuring only young models in product collateral.

•    Using "harmless" humor in any communications material (from internal slides to external advertisements) at older adults' expense.

•    Portraying older adults as inept or passive in using modern devices.

5. Engagement

An age-aware company develops meaningful connections with older populations across business operations, recognising their multifaceted value as consumers, employees, and stakeholders. BCG reported that over-50 consumers "have immense buying power, spend more than other age groups on individual purchases, exhibit strong brand loyalty, and wield surprising influence over younger consumers." Closely linked to adaptability and representation, engagement efforts can help an organisation increase market share among older consumers, tailor innovation to growing demographics, and strengthen reputation through inclusive practices."

Probing questions 

•    Do we consider older adults in our product development?

•    Do our strategic marketing decisions take 50-plus consumers into account?

•    Do our customer service approaches suit the needs of older consumers?

•    Do we actively look to build and maintain trust with the aging population?

•    Do we consider the role of caregivers and family members in our engagement strategies for older consumers?

Examples of hidden ageist practices

•    Avoiding marketing channels that cater to older adults.

•    Dismissing feedback from older customers as less valuable or relevant.

•    Overlooking aging in corporate social responsibility; environmental, social, and governance; and diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.

^{Source: Lifschultz, M. (2024). Uncover the Ageism Hiding in Your Organisation. MIT Sloan Management Review.}

To be read also in the dossier « Ageism in the workplace »

• Older Workers Facing Discrimination
• Tribune: Florence Delacour - Valuing Active and Positive Ageing in the Workplace
• Exacerbated Ageism in the Digital Age