Second Year at the Top for UK in Adecco Institute 'Demographic Fitness' Survey

The Adecco Institute presents the Demographic Fitness Survey 2007, the second survey on the topic of demographic change in Europe and its consequences for companies in European economies. Similar to the inaugural Demographic Fitness Survey of 2006, the 2007 survey is based upon a sample of at least 500 interviews per country ñ a total of 2,506 interviews with companies of all sizes in the five major European economies (Germany, France, the UK, Italy, and Spain), making it Europeís biggest survey on demographics in the business world.

The Adecco Institute measures firmsí preparedness across five areas: career management, lifelong learning, as well as health, knowledge, and age diversity management. The top line findings of the research found:

UK's second year at the top - The UK topped the Demographic Fitness Index for the second year running, with 186 points, though this year shared the position with Germany and fell three points from last year's result of 189. France again trailed the pack on 174 points

Leading the way - UK firms excel at career management, and particularly in creating entirely new positions to help employees get on in their career. 60% of UK firms confirm that they practice this, more than any other European country

Lifelong learning - UK companies offer more learning tools to their employees. UK employees are - on average - offered around 5.8 of the 8 main learning tools identified by the Adecco Institute. Businesses here are particularly adept at offering workplace based training initiatives (96%) and technical skills training (86%)

Failing health - While the UK leads the rest of Europe in most fields, it drops points on health management at work. The UK scored lowest of all European companies, offering on average just 2.9 of the 9 main 'health promotion tools' identified by the Institute. UK firms are notably worst at offering pre-employment medical check-ups, and are also significantly worse at offering regular health checks
Diversity leader - While falling behind on health management, UK firms lead the pack on diversity management. 93% of UK firms offer equal opportunities for all age groups, and perform better than their European counterparts on diversity overall

Rene Schuster, Adecco UK Group CEO comments, ìWhile there is a slight slip in the UKís overall performance in the survey from last year, it is exciting to see that UK business again leads the way in preparation for the challenge of an ever changing workforce demographic.

The overall findings of the survey suggest that there is work still to be done to prepare Europe for the challenge of an ageing and shrinking workforce, but we are seeing more and more companies taking steps to address this.î

If you would like a copy of the full research report, or to speak with Adecco about the findings, please feel free to contact us at adecco@octopuscomms.net or via 44 (0) 845 3700 655