Rent a Geezer: The "FlexGeneration" Is Here

How do you match up those eager flexers with the companies that need them? Today’s experts are trying to make a business of it – a business that the Minneapolis Star Tribune calls “Rent-a-Geezer.”

The experts, Mary Christensen and Demian Martin, prefer to call this demographic “experienced resources.” Their company, Experienced Resources LLC in Bloomington, Minnesota, attracts executives with at least 20 years on the job for organizations that need experienced help on a part-time or project basis.

Demographics Tell the Story

Three factors favor businesses like Experienced Resources:

1. First, the tidal wave of Baby Boomers is beginning to hit retirement age. We’ve been talking about this for years, but now it’s actually here. The earliest boomers have just qualified for Social Security.

2. The total number of experienced people in the workforce—those that organizations need to keep running—is likely to fall.

3. Most baby boomers expect to work at least part-time in retirement, a recent survey done by AARP found.

Taken together, these factors suggest that companies are going to need the help, and the Boomers are eager to provide it. What was needed was a middleman to put the two together.

BLR’s SmartPolicies on CD supplies 350 HR policies, prewritten for you, and ready to customize or use as is. Examine it at no cost or risk.  Click to learn more

Buying Time for Search

A recent Wall Street Journal article by Sarah E. Needleman suggests another reason for using temp execs—to “buy time” while looking for a permanent employee. In fact, one placement firm noted that 25 percent of its temporary placements ultimately transition to full-time.

Can You Be Your Own Middleman?

Part of the appeal of using an outfit like Experienced Resources is that they handle all the arrangements, payroll, taxes, etc. You just get the person sitting at a desk with no hassles. The placement approach also appeals to workers because they have someone to negotiate for them and handle details.

As one healthcare administrator noted, “I was able to bring someone in that I could not afford to hire permanently. They were like my very high-level employees, and they were able to implement faster solutions.”

Of course, you can also be your own middleman. Either way, it’s advisable that employers start to do some thinking about whether they might need flexers to fill gaps that might open in their employment picture. Here are the steps to take:

1. Analyze your workforce. Where are you likely to be losing people, and how hard will it be to replace them? Would hiring temporary execs give you time to conduct calm searches for permanent replacements?

Why write your own policies when we’ve already done it for you …. at less than $1 each! 
Inspect BLR’s SmartPolicies on CD at no cost or risk. Click for details.

2. Do internal legwork. Once you see where the trouble spots will be, brainstorm how to address them. Do you have a cadre of recent retirees? Might current workers be interested in working part-time after retirement? What sorts of incentives are you willing to offer in terms of flexibility, part-time, or project basis?

3. Look outside. What other organizations might have the kinds of workers you need? What placement companies (like Experienced Resources) are at hand? It might be time to get a relationship going, so they can look for the people you are likely to need.

The alternative: Do nothing and you may find yourself on the hot seat, answering questions like, “What do you mean our key design engineers have retired and we can’t find replacements?”

In the next Advisor: Workforce expert Charles Wonderlic on why older workers are a good bet, and an introduction to a program that writes policies for flexible workers … and just about everything else.