Proposing a Diversity Intelligence Training Framework for Leaders and Managers to Attract, Maintain, and Balance Mature Workers

Introduction

Researchers indicated that diverse and multicultural intellectual human capital assets within organizations are more effective at producing higher performance (Nelson, 2014, Chen, Liu, & Portnoy 2012, Moon, 2013 & Bogilovic & Skerlavaj, 2016). One diverse characteristic is that of workers over the age of 40 who are considered to be mature workers in many workplaces. These workers are protected from workplace discrimination by the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) of 1967 (US Department of Labor, n.d. a). There has been a significant increase in the number of workers who have chosen to remain in the workplace beyond traditional retirement ages in the workplace. Brandon (2018) purported that full retirement age will continue to increase to about 67 years of age for workers born in 1960 and later. Increased life expectancy, financial necessity, and improved health of older Americans are all factors that are contributing to retirement-aged people delaying their retirement (Orszag, 2018). Pew research and the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistic both reported that some employees are uncertain about retirement and expressed delaying retirement until after age 65. Statistics from these two organizations confirmed employment of 65 and older employees has increased significantly over the past 30 years (Pew Charitable Trust, 2018, Toossi & Torpey, 2017).

As workplaces become more diverse, especially with older adults deciding to retire later or to work through retirement, leaders must become more adept at leading diverse employees. Having the knowledge and the understanding on how to lead diverse employees (Hughes, 2016, 2018c) and manage diverse intellectual human capital assets is important in keeping an organization’s competitive advantage. According to Wiig (1993), knowledge management is fundamentally the management of corporate knowledge and intellectual assets that can improve a range of organizational performance characteristics and add value by enabling an enterprise to act intelligently. Since the early 1990s knowledge management has been a critical factor for organizations looking to increase their productivity and effectiveness (Delong & Fahey, 2000; Drucker, 1999; Zack, 1999; Inkpen, 1996). According to Koulopoulos and Frappaolo (2000), knowledge management is a critical business strategy, which enables an organization to leverage its most precious resources, collective know-how, talent and experiences to accelerate the rate at which it handles new market challenges and opportunities. Inkpen (1996) propounded that organizations’ failure to create and manage knowledge as a critical asset may account for their declining performance.