New survey among European companies on demographic
European companies make progress in preparing for the ageing workforce and show an increased awareness for the shrinking workforce in their countries. These are the key results of the recently published second ‘Demographic Fitness Survey’ by the Adecco Institute. The ‘Demographic Fitness Survey’ was conducted among 2,506 companies in Germany, the UK, France, Italy and Spain and is to be the biggest survey among European companies on demographic change. The survey reveals that an increased number of companies have started to analyze their internal age structure and more large companies say they plan to hire more employees aged 50 and older in 2008 versus 2007. The increase in the number of companies analyzing age structures indicates an increased awareness of the issue: 40 percent of all European firms, up from one third a year ago, have conducted an analysis of the overall age structure of their organizations. Medium-sized firms have demonstrated the most significant improvement over the past year.
The survey also concludes that much remains to be done: on a scale of 100 to 400 points, measuring the preparedness of companies to cope with the demographic crunch, European companies averaged a “Demographic Fitness Index (DFX)” of 182 points. The DFX measures five factors that influence a firm’s ability to successfully cope with an ageing workforce: career management, lifelong learning, knowledge management, health management, and diversity management. The indices are calculated based on the answers given by the firms interviewed. Germany and Spain lead the group of countries, with the highest DFX of 186 points each.
