Press Releases

Higher innovative power with an older workforce

As international competition continues to increase, it forces companies to be innovative. In order to remain competitive they have to continuously improve processes, products and services. At the same time the average age is rising in society and in the workforce of many companies. Innovation, however, assumes flexibility and creativity, which tend to decrease with increasing age.

GISMA professor Eric Kearney provides answers in a lecture at the fair “Personal und Weiterbildung” (“Human Resources and Continuing Education”) on 10th June 2010 to the question of how companies can further increase the innovative power in future with older staff.

Kearney sees one possibility in the targeted employment of mixed-age teams, in which older and younger can make their relevant strengths available. Research to date has repeatedly shown that there is probably no connection between age structure and team performance. Latest research results, however, now show that „mixed-age teams‟ are actually more creative under certain conditions than teams of a homogenous age. All managers that are under innovation pressure should become familiar with these conditions and know how not only heterogeneous age factors but also interdisciplinary, cross-functional and other factors of diversity regarding other demographic variables can be put to good use for competitive advantage.

Prof. Eric Kearney is holding his lecture on Thursday, 10th June 2010, at 2 p.m. at the fair “Personal und Weiterbildung” (“Human Resources and Continuing Education”).

Halle 5, „Speakerscorner“
Rhein-Main-Hallen Wiesbaden
Friedrich-Ebert-Allee
65185 Wiesbaden