Retirees Supplement Staff

Part-time work a great fit for would-be retirees and Affinis

 

Kirk Coonley, P.E.

Gary Creason, P.E.

Kirk Coonley, P.E., is great at lots of things, but he’s not successful at retirement. You might even say he’s a failure at it. After all, he retired from the City of Overland Park on March 17 after more than 20 years of service, only to start a new career at Affinis Corp. in April.

And Gary Creason, P.E., could be thinking about retirement, but instead he’s working part time at Affinis. Both are senior engineers, Gary working in levees and hydraulic structures, and Kirk in stormwater design.

Both of these gentlemen are part of a huge trend in the United States that’s benefiting companies large and small: baby-boomers staying in the workforce longer or rejoining the workforce part-time after retirement.

This trend works out stunningly well for both parties involved and this is especially the case at Affinis.

“Kirk and Gary are so enthusiastic that it’s just great fun to work with them," President Rick Worrel said. "And they both have great expertise in their respective fields - this is a direct benefit to both our co-workers and clients."

With their decades of experience, Kirk and Gary had the level of expertise our firm needed - expertise that’s all but impossible to find in younger workers. They’ve both already made great impacts by teaching and mentoring team members, and providing quality assurance reviews that are a vital part of our process.

For their part, Kirk and Gary like the freedom of part-time work and flexible schedules. As this story is being written, Kirk is at his cabin in Colorado, and when he gets back to Kansas City, he’ll be back at work. Gary spent February in Arizona and has been able visit family often without
worrying about vacation accrued and whether his job will be waiting for him when he gets back.

That retirees work out so well in the workplace is no surprise to E. Scott Wingerter, COO of New Jersey-based RetireeWorkforce.com. He and a partner started an online job bank for retirees a year ago after discovering that retirees wouldn’t apply to positions listed on job banks like Monster.com. The potential applicants were concerned they wouldn’t get hired because of
their age. But Wingerter said he’s found the opposite: retirees and those of retirement age have a lot to offer the job market - and employers love them.

“The biggest thing we always hear is that they show up. They’re on time, they’re personable, and they stay!" he said. "They’re also reliable, trustworthy, dependable, and loyal. And they have great, old-fashioned work ethic."

We’ve already seen this great attitude in Kirk and Gary. It fits perfectly with our mission "To build long-lasting relationships with co-workers, clients and colleagues by knowing their needs and fulfilling their expectations" and also our values of excellence, family, servant leadership, teamwork, and trustworthiness.

Boomers by the Numbers

• 78 million people were born between 1946 and 1964
• One American turns 50 every 8 seconds - 10,000 a day
• Within 5 years, a third of the population will be at least 50 years old
• By 2010 there will be a worker shortage of 10 million