ENCORE EMPLOYERS: Will tough times pinch encore opportunities?
Posted 10/31/2008 - 4:46pm
by Cal Halvorsen
in
Michael Watson, VP at Girl Scouts of the USA, told employers at a recent roundtable that nonprofits are a safer place to work than Wall Street. Photo by Sarah Priestman of Civic Ventures.
All the gloom and doom talk about workforce cuts may not adversely affect those who seeking encore careers, according to attendees at a recent Employer Breakfast Roundtable on Mature Workforce Issues held in Washington, D.C.
Michael Watson, vice president for Human Resources at the Girl Scouts of the USA, said that nonprofits have one major advantage over many large businesses in the current economy: Even though nonprofits are often resource constrained, they rarely go out of business overnight the way companies such as Lehman Brothers have.
Phyllis Segal, vice president at Civic Ventures, pointed out that in tough economic times, nonprofit services are in even higher demand – and thus talent will continue to be needed in the sector.
As the zigzagging stock market continues to erode boomers’ retirement nest eggs, the national media have been filled with stories of older Americans who say they must work longer than they expected. The challenge is to pair them with employers offering paid encore careers that are personally fulfilling and help solve community problems.
Current economic conditions were the major topic of discussion at the event sponsored by AARP in conjunction with Civic Ventures, The Conference Board, and the Society for Human Resource Management. It began with Segal presenting new research from the “MetLife Foundation/Civic Ventures Encore Career Survey” and the just-released “Tapping Encore Talent: A MetLife Foundation/Civic Ventures Survey of Nonprofit Employers.”
The findings show that more than half of individuals age 44 and older are interested in or already have an encore career – and nonprofit employers find this workforce at least as appealing, if not more than, workers in other stages of life.
Many nonprofit employers who attended the event reported that they have utilized the encore talent pool of workers in the second half of life seeking paid jobs that combine personal fulfillment with social impact.
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Will Tough Times Pinch Encore Opportunities?
Although I tend to agree with Michael Watson and Phyllis Segal regarding non-profits as continuing businesses, a key point not evident in the commentary concerns the ability of non-profits to maintain current staff levels and to increase permanent staff positions.
Because of budget cuts, deminishing grant money, and decreases in individual donations, less is available to promote and fulfill the critical mission. Thus, current staff is required to take on ever more responsibility…or it just doesn’t get done.
Non-profits are suffering in the current economic climate — not by going out of business or for lack of demand for their services — but rather in that they are unable to provide needed services in a time of increased demand. Non-profits are businesses and must have cash flow and "profits" to survive.