Does age matter?

Presents evidence in support of other findings to show that older employees are, on average, as effective as younger employees, but prejudice against older applicants and staff is common. It is sometimes suggested that age and performance are found to be unrelated because of selective staff turnover; that perhaps less effective older employees leave the company soon after they start. In a study in a sales organization, it was shown that age and performance were completely uncorrelated in a group of current employees, and that this pattern existed since employees′ early days with the company. Suggestions are made for organizational policy and procedure improvements in this area.