JOHANNESBURG - The Havard Business Review previously reported that a wave of around 700 retirements would mean the loss of more than 27000 years of experience.
With this much talent leaving the workforce, it would most certainly have a serious effect on the economy. The wealth of knowledge and experience held by retirees is so valuable that it has given rise to the term “the Expert Economy”.
The term refers to a sector of retired experts in their respective industries who generally hire out their skills and knowledge on a consultancy or interim management basis during their retirement days.
With the ongoing struggle among employers to identify, hire, and retain top talent, the thought of tapping into the “expert economy” and bringing experts back to the workplace but on a consultancy or “associate” basis is now a popular option.
One such company taking advantage of this hiring trend is Exeo Capital, an Africa-focused private equity firm working with retired and semi-retired senior executives, from across Africa, with successful track records to assist as “associate executives” on their investee company’s growth strategies.
Herman Marais, the managing partner at Exeo Capital, said that because of these associates’ many years of experience, they were well placed to mentor and support younger management teams in driving operational performance improvement.
Marais said that nowadays it was becoming common for businesses to choose to bring in semi-retired executives whose years of industry experience help them advise on specialised short-term projects or problems instead of hiring someone in on a permanent basis.
“It’s not always feasible to hire a full-time specialist, especially from a cost perspective, which is why companies are deciding to rather hire inexperienced talent from a select network on an ad hoc basis. Often these associates are also able to bring in a fresh perspective and offer valuable lessons for internal company management.