Graving workforce will test business.

The aging of America is being felt in every corner of our society. From housing to health to transportation, the prospect of Americans growing older and living longer is creating new challenges in every community across the country.

Getting far too little attention is how greatly the "graying of America" will alter the business landscape. For as society ages, Valley-based business owners will need to adapt to aging customers, aging workers and workers being called upon to be caregivers to their aging parents. This troika will create significant pressures and demands which we must begin to address today if we are to successfully navigate these waters tomorrow.

Older customers

As America ages, businesses need to think anew about the kinds of products and services that appeal to an older demographic. Beyond the commodities themselves, employers need to discern the best ways to market their products to seniors--what mediums are they turning to for their information? How do buying patterns differ after a certain age? What impediments--from technological to physiological to psychological--might accompany, for example, telephonic communication with customers?

Businesses need to better understand the physical and mental changes that take place in the aging process. Over half of all people over 65 experience some hearing loss. Seniors may face diminished vision and mobility, memory loss, dementia and age-related attention disorders, yet in spite of such deficiencies still expect to be treated in a manner that acknowledges that they are fundamentally competent, experienced people.

In response to this growing marketplace, some companies have begun conducting various forms of senior sensitivity training where, through interactive exercises, employees experience first hand what it is like to grow older--where eyesight may not be as sharp, when it becomes a little harder to walk, when arthritis in the hands may set in, etc. As society ages, it is increasingly important that all of our citizens better understand what it is like to grow older ... and particularly important for businesses to understand and appreciate their aging customers.

To take this a step further, recent trends have shown that a growing number of Americans will work past the traditional retirement age of 65. As a result, businesses that in the past have promoted early retirement to make way for younger workers are finding such thinking to be a relic from a different era.

An older workforce will put new challenges on Valley-based businesses. One such challenge will be providing for continuous learning so that these older workers can upgrade their skills and be productive in a rapidly changing, knowledge-based economy. The prevalence of new technologies and the pace of change are accelerating almost daily to the point where skills and knowledge quickly become obsolete if not upgraded.

Prospects of an older workforce are also causing employers to rethink the benefits they provide in everything from health and disability to workers' compensation and life insurance (all of whose premiums are generally higher in older workers). As the workforce ages, employers can expect an increase in the number of workers with chronic health conditions causing employers to explore such work options as phased retirement, part-time work and less demanding schedules.

Employees as caregivers

Since Americans are living longer, more and more middle age employees will be called upon to serve as "caregivers" to an aging parent. In most cases, these parents are no longer able to care for themselves as they once did but still seek their independence and wish to remain in their own home for as long as possible. The burden for making this possible will fall squarely on the employed, adult child. How business responds will be a test of an employer's compassion, understanding and adaptability.

David Schmidt is president and chief executive officer of SCAN Health Plan, a geriatric-focused health plan serving more than 65,000 seniors in Southern California including many in the San Fernando Valley.