Rupert Organizational Design - Age-Inclusive Workplaces

Since 1986 our principals have pioneered the flexible and inclusive workplace practices that engage employees and fuel business innovation. We partnered with our best practice clients to integrate women and people of color into previously hostile environments; to unleash the power of telework and fully remote work; and to secure knowledge transfer and systematic mentoring through thoughtfully designed phased retirement initiatives.

As companies the world over scramble to understand and integrate the enormous disruption and potential of near-universal work from home and the intense talent challenges looming after COVID, we possess the knowledge, experience, analytic skills and design acumen to create the mutually respectful cultures that will mark the business winners in the years ahead. We focus on three domains.

DEI and Flexibility
ROD provides the research, diagnostic and strategic tools that enable our clients to understand what their current and prospective workforces need and the changes that they must make to remain competitive in the intense search for talent in the years ahead. For three decades we have recognized that we are exiting the industrial era and must reap the full potential of transformed ways of working. We understand further that diversity is not only a matter of visible differences, but the vital variations in where, when and how we do our best work. We relish partnering with fearless clients who are prepared to drop the exclusive, discriminatory habits of old and treat their employees with the respect and full inclusion of their whole selves that they expect and deserve.

Phased RetirementWhile surveys show 60% of 55+ workers want and may need to continue working and ease into retirement, only 5% of employers offer such options. In an era of low birthrates, reduced immigration and the “Great Resignation, discarding aging workers is no longer acceptable. Our firm pioneered the mutually respectful phased retirement systems that add value in multiple ways: the retention of mature contributors on reduced schedules, the capture and transfer of vital knowledge, and the creation of long sought-after intergenerational development pathways. The mainstreaming of part-time schedules opens up similar possibilities for other populations, while the defeat of age bias strengthens such success with other forms of discrimination. Our proven models and tools virtually eliminate the risk that discourages many employers from pursuing this option.

Deep UpskillingGenerally, our public and private institutions fail to cultivate the deep communication, conflict resolution and collaboration capabilities that are essential for diverse, team-centric, remote and goal-driven workforces. Our Mutual Respect framework is a live, habit-oriented transformational regimen that provides a foundation for all forms of operational skills development. It requires and represents a serious investment of private capital in the social capital necessary for success in the post-industrial workplace. Random training online or on one’s own time is not sufficient to close the true skills gap that has only become worse in these divisive times.