Last August I wrote an article here about retirees and how they are a rich source of untapped talent for customer service jobs. That earlier article talked about the ongoing war for talent and how millions of Americans retired early during the pandemic, creating the opportunity for many of them to now consider working part-time.
I believe the opportunity to offer flexible customer service roles to retired Americans has been enhanced by the opportunity to include them on a GigCX platform. It allows them to use the expertise they have built up over many decades in work, it allows them to work from home, and it allows them to just work flexibly – selecting the hours they prefer.
This flexibility creates a great opportunity for retired Americans to earn in a flexible way and it allows brands to tap into their expertise. Imagine just how many people have retired early from the retail or travel sectors – the experience is out there, but these people don’t want to return to a full-time job.
The opportunity to help the retired community is very real. Around 40% of retired Americans don’t have a nest egg, they are relying entirely on social security. This is fine if you can dramatically reduce your outgoings in retirement, because social security was never designed to completely replace an income from work. If you are retired and still paying rent then relying on social security alone is going to be very difficult.
Most Americans are retiring with a few hundred thousand dollars in savings. It can feel like a lot when you see the balance on a bank statement, but as we are all living longer, those who retired early may find it is difficult to stretch that cash over several decades. Investment site The Motley Fool recently polled 750 retired Americans to ask about their recent experience and over 85% said they are really feeling the pinch – high inflation is eating away at their purchasing power.
Maybe it’s time to rethink retirement. Instead of imagining a life of endless golf and fishing trips, perhaps it is more realistic to imagine that retirement will be phased. The earliest phase will be retirement from the treadmill, stepping away from a career and worrying less about status and promotion.
In this early phase it remains acceptable to keep working, but on the terms set by the retiree – working from home and working flexible hours being essential. Retaining some flexible work can ensure that living costs are covered and those important savings don’t need to be touched until much later in the retirement journey.
GigCX offers some great options for the retired. Flexible hours and work from home ensures that anyone can contribute their skills from anywhere. Choosing the brands they want to represent means that the workers can utilize their career experience – which is a great bonus for the brands hiring them as well.
It is clear from all the statistics around retirement and the pandemic that many Americans may have retired a little too early, considering the amount they have saved. GigCX allows them to create an initial phase of retirement where they can keep working, keep paying the bills, but without the constraints of a regular job. It’s a great option that can genuinely help millions of retired people right now.
For more information on LiveXchange and how our GigCX marketplace works, please click here. Feel free to contact me directly via my LinkedIn here. Follow LiveXchange on LinkedIn for regular blogs and ideas on GigCX and how a flexible approach to customer service is changing consumer and brand relationships.
