Turning Gray to Gold - Industry Trend or Event

Action by Congress that will allow Social Security recipients ages 65 to 69 to earn as much as they can without biting into their retirement benefits couldn't come at a better time for employers trying to fill office worker positions.

With millions of baby boomers looking toward retirement, the worker shortfall is likely to increase dramatically. The change in the Social Security law gives major incentives to older people to stay on the job or to leave their present jobs and find full- or part-time work elsewhere.

Data from the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that from 2000 to 2010, the number of Americans over age 60 will increase by 22.6 percent, compared with 5.6 percent for those under 60. This is a sharp turnaround from the decade of 1990 to 2000, when it was projected that the number of people under 60 years old would rise 10.5 percent and those over 60 would increase 8.4 percent.

Current unemployment statistics not only show a vibrant economy, this data also shows a particularly hot market for those over 55 who want to work. Total unemployment for men and women of all ages has ranged from a low of 4.1 percent to a high of 4.4 percent in the 12 months that ended February 2000. For those 55 and over, it has ranged from a low of 2.6 percent to a high of 3 percent.

Smart employers have recognized the extraordinary opportunities older employers offer in today's superheated job environment and are turning "gray into gold."

Older, experienced executives have turned the tables on the human resource departments and become one of the hottest commodities in today's lob market, according to John A. Challenger, executive vice president of Challenger, Gray, & Christmas, a national outplacement firm. He calls these people "the new workaholics." Many had been moved out of previous jobs during the wave of downsizing in the late '80s and early '90s, and many "never thought they would work again," he says.

Many corporations tired of the work ethic of the so-called Generation Xers have embraced older employees because of their traditional approach to work and jobs, according to Challenger. "They may be empty nesters who no longer have the time commitment associated with raising children," he adds, "and they are free to devote an extraordinaiy number of hours to work."

He points out, "They have an upbringing where a strong work ethic was a significant family value, and they work hard to prove to employers the correctness of their decision to hire them in the first place."

Challenger maintains they can usually start work with little or no training. Because they have lived through the shocks of downsizing, "these people will work and work and work because they fear job loss and hope to make this job [their] last until retirement."

The time it takes an older executive to find a job is very similar to the time frame for younger ones, Challenger's numbers indicate. It takes workers over 50, 3.95 months to get rehired, compared with 3.39 months for the rest of the population.

"For some companies, turning down an older worker would be like slitting their own throats because they don't have enough people now," Challenger says.

He admits discrimination is sometimes still an issue when it comes to hiring older workers. Sheldon Steinhauser, a sociology professor at Metro State College in Denver, points out that because of economic need, businesses are trying to rethink the stereotypes that have deterred older workers in the past. Among those stereotypes: Older workers are not retrainable, they demand higher salaries, and they aren't worth the investment in training because they're likely to retire soon.

"Stereotypes change only because of economic need," says Steinhauser, who also is president of a Denver consulting firm that specializes in helping companies accommodate older workers. Businesses are now hiring older people even if they haven't fully changed their perceptions and biases, he says.

Opportunities also abound for workers 65 and over, which is generally believed to be the age of retirement. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the number of workers age 65 and over jumped 31 percent to 3.8 million between 1985 and 1995.

The Employee Benefit Research Institute reports two-thirds of current workers expect to work after they "retire." The American Association of Retired People (AARP) adds, "Most older workers continue working because most of their self-esteem is tied to their jobs."

A Pennsylvania State University study showed almost one-third of retired men return to work at some point--mostly within the first year of retirement, and "two-thirds of those take full-time jobs."

Days Inn is one major employer with an appetite for older workers, according to Challenger. "They consider them a stabilizing influence and good mentors for younger workers because they have been through many changes in business."

Days Inn has discovered that older employees book slightly higher than average sales, and they found no difference in productivity in employees above and below 40 years of age.

The Washington, D.C.-based Association of Career Management Consulting Firms International says members are reporting increased success in helping older employees, and points out, "Job seekers between the ages of 40 and 70 today are increasingly in demand by employers in search of experienced workers who will require little training."

"Organizations today need people who can think, not just follow rules. Increasingly, I see more employers finding that the older worker fits nicely in the company's strategic plan," says association member J. Robert Tank of Lee Hecht Harrison, Boca Raton, Fla.

One of the prejudices against older workers--their lack of computer literacy when compared with younger counterparts--has become a myth. Data shows seniors are becoming increasingly comfortable with PCs and the Internet. Computer ownership among individuals over 50 has grown 38 percent in four years.

A Senior Net/Charles Schwab study estimates 40 percent of the over-50 population has a computer at home. This is an increase of 29 percent since 1995. Nielsen Media Research and CommerceNet further report 7.6 million Americans, or approximately 15 percent of the Internet-using population in the United States and Canada, are age 50 and older.

Many older workers are removing roadblocks that had slowed their entry into high-tech fields by enrolling in computer training programs. Nonprofit Green Thumb Inc. of Arlington, Va., which provides job training programs to workers age 55 and over, has had more than 800 seniors enroll in information technology training courses since they began them 18 months ago. These training programs are currently available in 20 states with plans for continued expansion.

Challenger predicts older job seekers will be aided by a shrinking pool of younger workers on which high-tech firms have relied. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts the number of 25- to 34-year-olds will drop nine percent between 1996 and 2006 whereas the pool of 45- to 65-year-olds will increase 40 percent.

One geographic area that has evidenced a preference for more mature adults is North Carolina. Both the Triad area (Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and High Point) and the Charlotte area are particular hot spots.

"Things are definitely better today for older people looking for full-time and part-time work," says Judy Henson, head of Personnel Staffing in High Point. She calls older men and women an "untapped market."

"My clients have discovered that older, more mature workers can really produce and offer a number of other major advantages," Henson adds. "I now get people who call me and ask do you have more of the mature workers. I didn't get that before. Like anything else, once it's proven, everyone wants to do it. People are telling us these are quality employees, and they want more of them."

The situation is the same in Charlotte, according to Bonnie Ceran, head of operations at Accountants Inc., a firm of 10 professionals specializing in finding full- and part-time positions for accounting and finance professionals.

"Anybody can have a job today," says Ceran. "In the Charlotte market, there are many opportunities for employment and not enough people to cover them. Employers have discovered older employees as a new source."

Ron Gibson, regional director of the 12-office Corestaff group in Charlotte, reports: "There are absolutely more opportunities for older workers in today's workplace. Companies are realizing they don't have time for training. The mature worker is a lot more focused."

Another benefit of hiring older workers, according to Challenger, is the ability to relate to customers. "At one time, it seemed ideal to have a staff of younger employees simply because they could relate to the primary consumer," he says. "Now, as the data indicates, more and more older people are using technology and developing a higher understanding of, and comfort with, the equipment and the language."

Other qualities older workers offer is superior work habits. "Older workers are more dependable," says Henson. "If they say they are going to do something, they do it. Their absentee rate is much lower. They come to work on time. More importantly, they take pride in what they do, and they really appreciate having a job."

One company that has received national attention for its policies of hiring older people is the Vita Needle Co. of Needham, Mass. The company has a legacy of hiring older workers for fulltime positions. Its founder, Oscar Nutter, came out of retirement to found the company in 1933. He worked until he was 96. The company has 35 employees and half are over 65.

"Seniors provide a very steady, reliable workforce," explains Ernie Garron, one of Vita's top executives. "Most of our 35 employees joined the company after retirement. They like our flexible policies and convenient location. Most walk to work."

"We are able to find and keep good people," he adds. "They love to work, and they are just happy to have a place to go."

Vita's oldest worker is 88 years old. The company has been featured in newspapers all over the nation, including articles in The New York Times and The Boston Globe, and has had coverage on the NBC Today show and the NBC Nightly News.

For older executives who don't want to work full-time but want to stay active, part-time or temporary work provides an ideal environment. David Fluher, a spokesman for Melville, New York-based Qlsten Staffing, one of the "big three" temporary staffing firms, calls the need for older executives in part-time positions "a really hot market."

"We have a tremendous demand for seasoned people," he says. "This kind of work is ideally suited for them. Some want to work from nine to three, so they can spend the late afternoon with their grandchildren. Others will winter in the south and summer in the north, and because of our network we can find work for them in both places."

Steve Bercham, vice president of communications and acting director of research for the Alexandria, Virginia-based Association of Temporary and Staffing Services, points out that lawyers and marketing communications executives are two particularly hot areas. "Both law firms and corporate law departments are looking for lawyers for specific, temporary assignments," he says. "The marketing communications executive is particularly valuable for things like new product launches where they will come in and develop the materials."

Rudy Dew, president of Torrance, California-based Rudolph Dew & Associates, an out-placement firm with offices throughout California and Hawaii, says, "It's not the age, it's the performance that counts."

He points out that when counseling older people, "one of the biggest jobs is to convince them they can still do the work."

The AARP reports baby boomers, now moving into their 50s and looking toward retirement, are eager to stay active. A study shows a majority of the 76 million people born between 1946 and 1964 plan to work at least part-time when they retire. The survey was done by Roper Starch Worldwide, a New York-based polling company, who interviewed 2,000 "boomers." The survey found only five percent want to work full-time, but 80 percent want to work part-time after age 65.

Clearly, when it comes to today's workplace, the old adage "You're not getting older, just getting better" clearly applies, and smart companies are turning gray into gold.

James T. Berger is a Chicago-based freelance magazine writer who makes his living as a strategic marketing consultant.

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