By Maya Bhose, founder and CEO, The Well Placed
“There are not enough hours in the day to get everything done. Our sector may have a skills gap, but it’s not on my priority list.”
If you are a charity CEO this may resonate with you. Capacity is an everyday struggle, but there isn’t enough time to address it. There are too many other demands managing day-to-day operations.
Imagine gaining high-level talent who require little training and can hit the ground running, freeing you to focus on strategic goals.
There is an available talent pool of commercial marketing professionals in their late careers who want to switch to the voluntary sector and find work with purpose but can’t find a way in.
Their skills are broad: communication, relationship building, strategic thinking, financial acumen, resilience and perseverance, ethical judgement, project management, tech savvy, and event planning.
Sharing their experience is a development opportunity for those in early career who can learn best practices, avoid common mistakes, and understand the broader strategic context of their work.
This younger/older collaboration creates a mutually beneficial partnership, where both can learn, grow, and contribute to an organisation’s success.
Late-career recruits offer a diversity of thinking that immensely benefits how a team gels and continuously learns together. Organisations with a diverse age range are 1.7 times more likely to be innovation leaders in their market, according to a report from KPMG. This is due to the unique blend of fresh ideas from younger employees, who have an unconditioned perspective, and the experience and strategic thinking provided by older employees. By blending these skills, teams can make more balanced, well-informed decisions.
You may not have a skills gap, but do you have a learning gap? Age and experience can fill that gap. And free up your time to focus on your mission.
We are a new non-profit organisation that matches the skills of mid-life professionals with charity hosts. The next cohort will begin in May 2025. Please contact us if you would like to know more this opportunity.
