MANY retirees want to engage in post-retirement work for the money or out of a desire to stay active. We are interested in opportunities for encore or second careers that are less stressful than our first, which give us a chance to utilise our bank of knowledge, experience, and skills in a positive and impactful way. Call it our last hurrah!

One strategy to continue working in our later years is “downshifting”. That means taking on work assignments that are less complicated and demanding than those we performed before retirement. Downshifting comes with reduced pressure, much less stress, and an improved ability to balance leisure and work.

Small enterprises and sole proprietors should capitalise on this trend. Some small businesses and sole proprietors could use competent accounting staff to produce financial reports for management decision-making, or for securing lines of credit and meeting statutory filing obligations. A retired chartered or certified accountant can downshift and perform these accounting tasks with little difficulty.

NGOs and small professional services businesses require clerical assistance to handle communications and administrative needs. Doctors practising out of multiple locations need an administrative presence in each location to handle routine calls, book appointments, maintain patient records, and handle written correspondence. A retired office manager or executive secretary is well-qualified to streamline these processes and inject efficiency and order into such office environments.

A retired police officer transitioning from the rough and tumble duties of chasing and apprehending criminals is well-positioned to utilise his investigative skills and insight to protect a small and medium-sized enterprise’s (SME’s) assets and enhance its ability to reduce losses from theft and fraud.

Retirees can also add value to your business beyond our competence in performing work assignments. We know how to conduct ourselves in the business setting. We have honed our decision-making skills and can confidently and comfortably interact with clients, customers, suppliers, and others. Our diverse skills set make us more flexible than younger, inexperienced employees. Flexibility is key, particularly for businesses with a small staff complement.

Start-ups are at a distinct advantage when they hire retirees with the skills, knowledge, and experience to hit the ground running. For a start-up, high retention is important to enabling the business to find its footing. Younger employees are prone to job-hopping for higher salaries and more favourable benefits. By contrast, retirees bring a heightened sense of loyalty and stability to the table.

Another significant benefit SMEs will derive from hiring retirees is having older persons mentor younger team members. Retirees love to teach. Young people love to embrace new aunties and uncles. Teaching in this context not only involves work-related competencies but includes essential soft and life skills. Simply put, that’s a win-win-win situation for retirees, young team members, and the organisation.

There might be concern that retirees are ‘old school’ and not ‘hip’ to the digital culture. Don’t assume this. Many retirees have used the plethora of available free and paid resources on the Internet to learn a range of digital skills. Many of us routinely use these digital skills for social engagement, access to entertainment, improving knowledge, and buying and selling products and services online. Deficiencies in digital skills that characterised the previous generation of retirees are not as widespread in persons who are retiring today.

If I have made a convincing case why CEOs of SMEs and sole proprietors should hire retirees, and you feel led to respond to this prompting, submit your job openings to Caribbean Community for Retired Persons (CCRP) by e-mail to info@ccrponline.org. The organisation has a pool of members 50 and over from which you can recruit.

Patricia Reid-Waugh, retirement coach, is author of Retirement A New Adventure.