Coping with Poorly Performing Older Workers – What can one do with older employees continuing to work after age 65, just for the benefits. They do not perform very well and it is difficult to discipline or terminate them. What options are available?

This comes up frequently, but is not necessarily an age-related issue. The best method I know of it to draw a line in the sand. Meet with each of the individuals involved and re-establish your expectations. (This is assuming that you have developed a defined set of expectations in the first place.) As a supervisor, you might say something like “I realize that I have been less than conscientious in my supervision of expectations. But I need to correct that because we all need to be more productive. (You can blame it on great scrutiny from above or maybe corporate belt-tightening.) So let’s review the expectations for your position to re-establish them and how they are being measured.” You might get resistance. You might get cooperation. You might even get a refreshing response. In any event, you are essentially re-starting the clock on performance evaluation. Should this person not perform, you can really only use his or her behavior from this point forward as a basis for corrective action/termination. It goes without saying that everyone with this person’s job title should get the same treatment. This means meeting with everyone individually. You should really meet with every one of your direct reports, just to be consistent.