Retail Presents 2nd-Career Opportunities for the Older Set

When today's snowbirds pack their bags to head south for the winter, they throw in their beach towels, golf clubs and tennis rackets -- right alongside their orange Home Depot aprons.

Snaring those northern residents who spend winters in the South is the latest recruitment tactic being employed by large companies such as Home Depot Inc. and CVS Corp., which rely heavily on part-time employees willing to work flexible hours.

While some industries try to thin their ranks with early retirement offers, others, particularly in the high-turnover retail industry, have been bracing for a labor shortage as the baby boomers head toward retirement. Looking for new ways to recruit and keep older workers, Home Depot and CVS are now offering retirees jobs that move with them, from summer home to winter home and back again.

Edward Wright, 72, an electrical contractor for 50 years, started working for Home Depot in Lake Wales, Fla., because he was restless after retiring from his business in Burlington, N.J. The company hired him to work in its electrical department four days a week from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., showing customers and co-workers wiring and other electrical do-it-yourself skills.

When it came time for Wright to return to New Jersey, Home Depot told him he could work there, too, and he went to work at a store over the border in Pennsylvania.

"I love it, to be honest with you," Wright said. "It feels like you're needed. Naturally when you get up there in age, lots of companies want to get rid of you."

According to a Merrill Lynch & Co. report released earlier this year, 60 percent of people age 51 to 70 have taken steps to prepare for a new line of work in retirement. And it's not all about the money. Of those who plan to work in retirement, 60 percent say they will do so to keep mentally active, while 47 percent cite the money.

Often, the companies are getting highly experienced employees willing to work at bargain rates. Pay for a general merchandise worker in the retail industry averaged $10.58 an hour in April, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

On the downside, older workers may run up more health expenses. Costs for the 50-to-65 age group average 1.4 to 2.2 times as much as health care for workers in their thirties and forties, according to Towers Perrin, a human resources consultant. Many older, part-time workers, however, don't take part in company health plans. All in all, companies say, circumstances argue in favor of older workers.

"If we were not able to retain, train and hire and keep older people, we wouldn't have a business," said Stephen M. Wing, director of government programs with CVS. "The younger folks, there's just less of them. We need those older people to stay in the workforce, and people are living longer, healthier lives."

Whereas 38.3 percent of people 50 and older participated in the labor force in 1985, that figure had climbed to 47.1 percent last year, according to labor data.

"At one point, 65 was retirement age," Wing said. "To be honest, at 65 people are at their best. They have all those life experiences they can share. We see that as a real plus."

In studying its employee demographics in the early 1990s, CVS found that less than 7 percent of its workforce was over the age of 50. That did not match up with the demographics of the general population, and it certainly did not match the customer population. So CVS began to actively recruit older workers, and this year, 18 percent of its employees are over 50.

Home Depot began to focus on older workers as it opened stores in Florida in 1981. "We discovered the value of hiring older workers," said Don Harrison, spokesman. "Obviously, Florida is a retirement mecca. . . . The experience they bring, the customer service, work ethic, you just can't beat it."

Home Depot hired Vivian Burgess at its store in the District's Brentwood neighborhood two years ago, after she had spent time in retirement taking care of her ailing mother. After a year or so working in the appliance department, she took a job in flooring. "I wanted to learn something new," she said. "I wanted to learn the computer system."

Some companies are getting recruitment help from AARP, which last year signed up 24 companies to its National Employer Team, which links the companies' Web sites to the AARP site so retirees can search for jobs. AARP offers companies recruiting workshops, and participants are part of a sort of laboratory where they can experiment with new ways to recruit and retain older workers, said Emily Allen, manager of workforce programs for AARP.

Borders Group Inc. joined the AARP program last year. Older workers, said Suzann Trevisan, senior manager for diversity programs, fill a need for employees who can work flexible hours. Trevisan also said older workers closely mirror the typical Borders customer.

"Our target customer is over the age of 45. We have done studies at Borders that found where we're able to most reflect our customer, our sales are better," she said. "There is such a large propensity of people who buy books over age 50."

Wing said that CVS has found customers often head straight for older employees. "I think they know that older person has probably had the same aches and pains."

Tom Ruprecht, 58, manager of the CVS in Wheaton, took an early retirement offer from Giant Food in 2004 after 32 years working for the company. 

Retirement wasn't really an option -- he and his wife are helping to raise their toddler grandson who lives with them. He said he thinks CVS hired him "because of my experience dealing with people of all ages and types."

On a recent hot afternoon, a customer who spoke only Spanish came in with a cough and a handwritten note seeking an over-the-counter medicine. Ruprecht took him to the medicine then mimed instructions to take two tablespoons every six hours. The man nodded, grateful, and went off to pay.

"I felt I was young enough, if I was going to work for a new company, I might as well start over," Ruprecht said.

Bill Duclos, 79 and a pharmacist for 55 years, spends half his year working one day a week at the CVS near his Naples, Fla., home, and the other half working one day a week at the Lakeville, Mass., store. He and his wife lived in New Bedford, Mass., and when they decided to spend winters in Florida, he took the Florida boards so he could practice there. ("After I had been out of school for 40 years!" he said.)

"I don't want to quit. I like what I'm doing. I like meeting the people," he said. "I've always done this. I can't stand hanging around, doing nothing."

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