Conference Board Launches Aging Workforce Database

The Conference Board, a not-for-profit business membership and research organization, has announced the launch of a new Employer-Practices Locator, a Web-based database providing examples of actions companies have taken to deal with an aging workforce.

The organization said the Locator is part of a multifaceted program by The Conference Board on issues surrounding older employees.

It described the Locator as searchable by key word or company name, with a database that selects, pulls together and summarizes material from a variety of print and online sources from 1996 to the present. It eliminates the need for searching multiple locations to find promising practices, including case studies developed by The Conference Board, the group said.

The Employer-Practices Locator delivers a more select list of results than a user would get using a search engine such as Google or Yahoo, the organization explained. It said the function includes a broader range of companies and industries than examples most frequently cited.

“The database answers the question: 'Who is doing what in the fast-growing world of the mature workforce,'” said Linda Barrington, director of research for The Conference Board. “Any employer working with this important labor sector–or writing about it–will find the Locator a valuable shortcut to a wealth of real-world examples of what can and is being done.”

Updated monthly, the Locator currently includes practices of more than 250 companies. Users can narrow their search using any of 23 keywords, such as phased retirement, multigenerational workplace or recruitment.

Industries covered in the database include health care, utilities, transportation, chemicals, manufacturing and government. It is geared for the special needs of human resources executives: benefits managers, diversity officers, talent managers, pension and retirement experts, as well as knowledge managers and chief financial officers.

The Locator's output includes the citation for each reference, its length and a summary of its content including companies mentioned and related key words. With this information, users can determine which articles, books, or other items would be most relevant or useful. A URL is also provided, when available, so the user can immediately click through to the source.

The Conference Board said it is in a unique position to shed attention on and bring insight to this important part of the U.S. workforce, because of its nonpartisan and not-for-profit status and decades of thought leadership on and research into the increasingly diverse composition of corporate workplaces.

Go to www.conference-board.org/knowledge/knowledgeDB/matureWorkforce.cfm for registration information. The Locator is free to all users, although access to in-depth case studies by The Conference Board is limited to members of The Conference Board. In the future, The Conference Board said it will expand the Employer-Practice Locator to focus on additional topics.

The Conference Board Mature Workforce Initiative is committed to helping employers engage and develop mature employees within the rapidly changing multigenerational workplace. Funding for the Initiative is provided by Atlantic Philanthropies.