Working Wonders

They’re dependable, caring, experienced, and wise. And that’s just for starters. So it’s no surprise that more and more smart companies are turning to older workers to get the job done right

A funny thing happened to Renée Ward when she launched an online employment agency called Teens4hire.org. The Huntington Beach, California, entrepreneur soon discovered that the real demand was for older workers. "Retailers, restaurant chains, and business-service companies all asked me to do something similar for workers ages 50-plus," she recalls. Ward launched http://www.Seniors4hire.org last February. By July of 2005 she had a daily average of 80,000 active job seekers looking at 20,000 openings posted by more than 500 participating businesses, including Regal Entertainment Group, General Nutrition Centers, and RadioShack.

What’s the big attraction? "People in their 50s and 60s have a great work ethic, and they want to spend time with customers," explains Kay Jackson, a spokesperson for RadioShack. "We want people who are passionate about customer service, and our older workers remember the good old days when salespeople prided themselves on how well they could help customers."

By Brad Edmondson

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