A little provocation: Apple relies on a young team. What about ULTRASONE?

Many tech companies such as Apple or start-ups around the globe rely heavily on a young, dynamic team.

At ULTRASONE, we have been considering for some time whether age should actually be defined as a hiring criterion. Employees aged 50 and above—those over 50 years old—have proven to be by far the best choice when it comes to assembly, repairs, and packaging. But our older team members also have major advantages in customer support.

Working with people aged 50 and above offers a wide range of benefits that can enrich companies and teams. Older employees often bring decades of professional experience. This experience includes deep technical knowledge and an understanding of different work processes, which can be invaluable for solving complex problems and for strategic planning.

Many older employees—compared to many younger ones—have a strong work ethic, as they grew up in a time when loyalty and perseverance in the workplace were strongly emphasized. They are often reliable, disciplined, and committed.

Older employees are generally more stable in their careers and less inclined to change jobs frequently. This can help companies reduce turnover and build long-term teams.

Thanks to their life experience, older employees are often better able to face challenges calmly. They have often developed proven problem-solving methods and can approach difficult situations pragmatically.

In certain sectors, such as retail or customer service, older people may also have a better understanding of customers’ needs, which can improve customer loyalty and service quality.

With increasing age, many people develop a high level of resilience. They have already overcome numerous changes and challenges and bring this resilience into their work.

Older employees also often take a long-term perspective and can think strategically. They are less influenced by short-term trends and help ensure sustainable decision-making.

My opinion on this:

In my 25 years at this company, I have worked with many different personalities and employees of all age groups. By far the best and most reliable has been the older generation—our currently oldest team member is 72 years old. Their independence and their constant willingness to improve processes are of immeasurable value.

In the past, during efficiency tests, I repeatedly found that when working on high-volume tasks I could be up to three times faster with untrained staff than with the established assembly team.

Honestly—at some point it simply became too frustrating to keep being annoyed about it. Today everything runs perfectly!