Retired scientists return to help
The retirement years for baby boomers are here, and many businesses will watch as their most experienced workers head for the exits.
But with leadership from Procter & Gamble, a groundbreaking company was formed in 2003 that allows retirees to work in their scientific specialties on a project basis long after they've left full-time employment.
YourEncore, based in Indianapolis, was formed to be essentially an employment agency for retired scientists and engineers, many of whom spent their careers developing leading technology at some of the nation's largest companies.
"Some of the best minds in the world are walking out the door," said Brad Lawson, CEO and president of YourEncore. "We want to leverage a lifetime of experience that these scientists have and connect them with companies who need their expertise."
At present, YourEncore has roughly 4,000 scientists. They come from backgrounds including engineering, chemistry, health care, biology and more as part of its employee network, said Lawson.
These experts have the opportunity to work with 26 member companies on special projects that can last a few days or many months.
"At most well established companies over 50 percent of their R and D staff are eligible for retirement in the next five years," said Lawson. "Everyone realizes that this is becoming a problem, especially in the scientific and engineering disciplines."
To ensure that talented former workers were still able to contribute, executives at P&G concerned about the brain drain developed the concept for YourEncore.
They wanted to be able to tap into the experience of retired experts, but the complicated human resource paperwork and contracts made it difficult for P&G just to rehire its former workers on a part-time basis.
So several managers from P&G's research and development area investigated the possibility of starting a separate company that would work with independent scientists and connect them with companies across the country that needed their knowledge and experience for short periods.
Early in the process, they got support and input for the idea from executives at Eli Lilly and Co. in Indianapolis and the Boeing Co. in Chicago. These three founding companies then began looking for a consulting firm to organize the new business.
They eventually chose Barnard Associates of Indianapolis, a management consulting firm, to get the project started. Lawson was hired by Barnard to be CEO of YourEncore because of his experience running his own consulting firm that focused on customer service.
Recruiting the scientific experts for its network of consultants has not been difficult, said Lawson, and has mostly happened through word of mouth. YourEncore has doubled the number of retirees it contracts with every year since its inception, he said.
For their part, the individuals who sign on with YourEncore said they appreciate the chance to work in their fields again, but on their own terms.
Paul J. Sagel of Maineville, Ohio, a former chemist with P&G who retired in 2001, said he has worked with YourEncore for the past three years and has consulted on nine or 10 projects in that time, many with P&G.
"I missed the mental challenge," said Sagel of retirement. "As a scientist, there's nothing better than finding a solution to a problem."
Karen Kreutz, section head, corporate research and development, information and knowledge at P&G and one of the executives to work on the early stages of YourEncore, said that those involved in research and development were excited to have an opportunity to utilize resources from highly trained scientists outside the company.
"We have always kept in touch with our alumni," she said. "We also knew our retirees were very credible. But prior to this it was very difficult to bring retirees back. Now YourEncore takes care of the employment issues for us."
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