At Work... Retiree Workforce

By Libby Barsky
Special to The Jewish State

 

 Name: RetireeWorkforce.com

 Type of business: Online recruiting for retired job seekers

 Address: 146 State Highway 34, Holmdel

 Telephone: (877) 778-9675 or (877) 778- UWORK

 Website: http://www.retireeworkforce.com

 Number of employees: 2

 Founded: May 2006

 Top officers: Joseph J. Scalice, CEO; and E. Scott Wingerter, vice president of sales

 How would you describe your business?

 "Our company creates a job market for retires. We are focused on creating a relationship and a gateway between employers and experienced retirees," said CEO Joseph Scalice.

"These retirees are looking to get back into the work force in some capacity, whether it be full-time, part time, or on a flexible schedule. Our focus is to create that match and relationship. Ours is a similar model to other job boards except we gear all our jobs to retirees. All the companies that post on our job board are looking for a more mature, educated, experienced individual. Geographically, we have jobs all over the country...with 80 percent are on the east coast."

 What makes your business special?

 "There are surveys that show retirees want to work. Some have paid significant fees to agencies for a position.

"We don't charge for any service for the candidate; it is the employer who is charged.

 Typically, we don't put a limit on age. Our candidates are anywhere between the ages of 45 and early 70s. The average candidate is probably in late 50s, early 60s. Typically, they are the workers from larger corporations who have been bought out, but they are 61 and don't want to stop working. They come to us and we help keep them active.

 "A company seeking employees on the Internet may have many resumes, but they aren't relevant to what is wanted. Using our service is more cost effective because we're sending resumes of qualified and quality candidates from our database, and each one will have 30-35 years of experience. Just know when you post a job for a particular person you will get a higher percentage of persons who meet your criteria for the position.

"We are on the forefront of what will be a significant labor shortage in the coming years. Employers are slowly realizing that the amount of talent that is retiring in the next few years is difficult to replace. They are looking to hire these individuals back in any capacity, just to get back the knowledge and experience these retirees have. Also, the labor force behind them is significantly smaller. Those two factors are now slowly coming together and will accelerate in the future. We are one of the few companies that [is] really doing this on a focused level."

  What goals do you have for the business?

 "Our goal is to be an advocate. We want to be not merely a job board, but to be a service to both candidates and employers, to have them recognize the amount what they are losing and have a gateway to get those candidates back. Our goal is to make companies aware that these retirees want to work and can be very useful to the company by giving them a strong competitive advantage with their knowledge. Our goal is to make as many people as possible aware of what is going to happen in the next five to 10 years, and to get people to be aware...[of] what's going on in the marketplace."

  How has your business changed?

 "The Web site launched in February 2006, and after getting feedback from candidates and employers, we listened to our candidates and retooled the site to be more user- friendly, then launched an improved Web site in May 2007.

"An individual will search according to a radius around a zip code, key words and other criteria to find positions in the database, then will create a member resume or we will build a resume if you don't have one. There is an automated process to walk the individual through to create the profile and cover letter and submitting the application to desired positions. Candidates can elect to keep their profile public, and then companies can search them based on key words. The profile is all encrypted, and on our end it's completely secure. The candidate gives permission to have the resume viewable."

  What was your most important deal?

 "There wasn't one important deal. It was the relationships we made with each company and the candidates who visited the site. The biggest bump was getting the feedback from our actual users to create a more user- friendly environment to search through the site. The present site has more features and job opportunities listed than the previous site."

  What changes do you see in the next 10 years?

 "Being on-line, you have to constantly change and update. The industry will explode with the amount of people in the retiree workforce. The companies will see the need for our service. In the next 10 years, we expect to increase the amount of jobs and options that are available to our candidates; we will receive feedback from our candidates and users. We know this segment of the work force will grow exponentially."

  What's the most important thing you've learned in your business?

 "You have to listen to your users, to the people who use your site every single day. We've made it a point to listen to what our viewers tell us and give them what they want. You have to give them what they are looking for, and use them as a bench mark."

  What advice would you give to someone considering this line of work?

 "You have to understand the marketplace and really understand that you need to have a value added. There are many job boards out there, and you need to make your site different. You have to provide a solution for what people are looking for. Find the problem, find the solution, and then from there create something. People are looking for solutions."

  Is there anything else you would rather be doing?

 "I love the people I work with. I think we are making a difference. We have a lot of people applying. That says to us the jobs we have on-site are enticing and interesting to these candidates. I've gotten e-mails and calls from people who appreciate the service and think it's timely and something that is useful for them in their search. They applaud me for doing this, and they make me feel good. I'm thrilled to be where I am, and I'm excited for the future."