Complete BreakThrough Awards Coverage

© Photograph by Alex Harris

Innovative organizations around the country, from YMCAs to hospitals to transportation companies, have found a new pool of employees who are experienced, reliable and cool in a crisis.

These new workers are older, part of the growing population of aging baby boomers who are finding their time and talent increasingly in demand by nonprofit groups and other organizations facing shortages of skilled and talented employees.

“These organizations are at the forefront of what promises to be a critical transformation of our workforce, economy and ability to meet social needs,” said Phyllis Segal, vice president of Civic Ventures, a San Francisco think tank that sponsored the BreakThrough awards to shine a spotlight on the nonprofit and public sector organizations that are providing meaningful public interest jobs for people over 50. The awards were funded by the MetLife Foundation.

“These employers recognize that new approaches to recruiting and retaining older employees can help them deliver on their critical missions,” Segal added.

One of the key qualities that the BreakThrough award winners share is flexibility, which includes offering part-time and full-time positions, varied workday schedules, telecommuting, on-site child (and grandchild) care, labor union membership and the ability to shape positions to fit skills and schedules. Employers that accommodated the schedules, commutes and other needs of their workers were more effective at recruiting, hiring, utilizing and retaining employees.

As a result, some BreakThrough Award winners report lower turnover rates and less absenteeism for employees over 50 compared with younger counterparts. Other winners report that older workers — because of fuller life experiences — are often better at handling crises and interpersonal issues.

One BreakThrough winner, the Leesburg Regional Medical Center and the Villages Regional Hospital in Florida, for example, boasts vacancy rates of just 5 percent, a turnover rate for registered nurses of only 9 percent, and an overall turnover rate of less than 15 percent, all far below industry averages. The key was the hospitals’ decision five years ago to boost retention and recruitment of employees over 50. Since then, the percentage of employees over 50 has grown from 33 percent to 42 percent.

“We’ve never looked back," says Darlene Stone, the medical center’s vice president of human resources. The older workforce “matches our patient population,” says Stone. “Plus, we value their work ethic. They are reliable, committed, loyal and methodical, which is especially important in health care because it results in fewer errors.”

For the YMCA of Greater Rochester, another BreakThrough winner, recruiting older workers was a natural response to the influx of older members. The organization “wanted employees who matched this growing demographic,” explains Fernan Cepero, the YMCA’s vice president of human resources. “Silver Sneakers,” a wellness program for older adults, has brought in 10,000 new members since 2004.

At the YMCA, the percentage of employees over 50 has increased by a third in recent years. According to Cepero, this shift is good for older members, who “feel more comfortable with more mature workers” and it has improved the quality of their workforce. Older employees are more reliable, more likely to complete assignments, and more skilled at speaking and writing than younger employees, says Cepero, adding that the turnover rate for those 50 and older is just 2 percent, compared to 20 percent overall.

Older adults pursuing second (or third) careers are helping fill vital social needs. Troops to Teachers, a Pentagon-run program, has placed more than 10,000 military veterans in public schools since 1993, many of them teaching math or science in inner-city schools, all areas of with chronic teacher shortages.

In the classroom, the veterans’ discipline and poise are significant assets. Ninety percent of principals surveyed in 2005 said that they considered former service members more effective in classroom instruction and management than other teachers with similar years of teaching experience. The principals added that Troops teachers boost student achievement more than traditionally trained teachers.

“We know that discipline, teamwork, planning, and organizing are essential to getting things done in a timely manner,” says Sandra Sessoms-Penny, who retired as an Air Force senior master sergeant and now serves as assistant principal of a 500-student high school in rural Virginia. “The same ingredients apply to school systems.”

A new crop of placement agencies are making it easier for baby boomers to find new work opportunities in roles that improve the quality of life in their communities, and easier for employers to tap that talent pool. BreakThrough award-winner ReServe Elder Service, Inc., for example, connects people over 55 with work in the nonprofit and public sectors.

Pauline Augustine, a retired marketing consultant, recently found new work with the nonprofit Community Environmental Center in New York, which helps low-income residents save energy. “It’s great to be able to use my skills and talents in a place that’s doing work I believe in and one that treats me like a pro,” Augustine says. “I’m doing useful work that’s valued.”

She is one of three ReServe workers at Community Environmental Center. “When I tell colleagues about the caliber of these employees, their eyes light up!” says Richard Cherry, the center’s executive director. “There’s just no substitute for their experience, skills and knowledge.”

MORE BREAKTHROUGH COVERAGE

Profiles of 10 innovative organizations »
BreakThrough Awards Final Report
The Conference Board: "Boomers Are Ready for Nonprofits, But Are Nonprofits Ready for Them?"
Chronicle of Philanthropy: "Nonprofit Groups Lag Behind Government and Business in Recruiting Older Workers, Report Says"