News and updates for in-the-know vintage accounting, HR, and insurance experts and those who value their talents.
 
 
A Year for  New Paradigms 
As the wheels on this 2019 train get rolling and we chug "full steam ahead" into the New Year, I find myself eager to take some of the lessons I learned in 2018 and apply them in the months ahead.

One of the most important is around the concept of aging. I'd been noticing that we, as a society, tend to view aging from an antiquated, negative lens. We think we are living "old" longer, but what is actually happening is we are living younger longer. Most healthy 70-year-olds are not "old" in the conventional sense; rather, they are physically and mentally active and vibrant contributors to their families, communities, jobs and society. We now have the gift of a longer active life. This is an opportunity we should be celebrating. And we shouldn't squander it. We must strategize how to harness this longevity to benefit all the different generations in the workforce, from GenZ to the last of the silent generation. I aim to be an active participant in changing the age paradigm. 

Over the past year, I realized that retirement is an outdated concept, too. People don't want to retire from work they want to retire from the office. Today's "retirees" are still working, volunteering, spending time with grandchildren and becoming caregivers. For this reason I've long used the terms "preretiree" and "preretirement" to refer to our mature workers, but we need a full lexicon to explain the transformations that are occurring as we live longer. I hope you'll join me in developing one, just as I work to expand the WAHVE model to more knowledge industries beyond insurance, accounting and HR to meet the needs both of companies that can't find the talent they're looking and of the vintage workers who want flexibility at this stage in their lives.

Finally, WAHVE is a totally virtual company; we have no office. Our challenge is figuring out how to create an amazing, cohesive culture with no walls. Each year we think of new ways to make that happen. For example, we use Microsoft Teams video regularly to stay in touch. When one of our cherished staff members retired recently, we held a virtual retirement party. This past December, we even hosted our first virtual holiday party, complete with games like trivia and word puzzles. For every party, we also send each participant a unique gift that they don't open until the day of the party, so that that we can share what we received with each other in real time. I hope to continue pioneering ways to bring people together and create a shared experience even without a shared space. 

Sincerely,








Sharon Emek, PhD, CIC
CEO and President, Work At Home Vintage Experts

Becoming a Modern Elder

A recent cover story in Southwest, the inflight magazine for Southwest Airlines, featured Chip Conley, hospitality expert, entrepreneur, New York Times bestselling author and founder of the Modern Elder Academy, a weeklong program designed to help those dealing with midlife transitions.
 
The article began with a description of Conley's move to Airbnb  in 2013 to become the company's new head of global hospitality and strategy. At 52, he was twice the age of the average employee. In fact, Conley's own boss, CEO Brian Chesky, had just celebrated his 31st birthday. As the founder of boutique hotel chain Joie de Vivre, Conley had decades of experience in the hotel industry, but he related how, early on in his new role at Airbnb, he sat in on a meeting with app engineers and found himself completely in the dark as to what they were talking about.
 
And yet, during the four years that Conley worked full time at Airbnb, he rolled out two highly fruitful initiatives, Airbnb for Work, which is used by well over half a million businesses, and new quality standards, which have resulted in extremely positive guest satisfaction reviews. In addition he greatly expanded the company's Superhost program. He was incredibly successful and the company values him so greatly that he still works part time as a consultant.
 
So what was his secret? How did Conley manage not just to stay relevant in this new and fast-paced business environment, but to thrive?
 
Here are some of the lessons we can draw from Conley's story on how older workers can flourish in the workforce today.
 
1. Be open. One of the most important skills to embrace as a mature worker is openness - openness to learning new things, to change, to collaboration with younger (and older!) workers. It is critical to cultivate this mindset.
 
In the first few months on the job at Airbnb, Conley began to think of himself as part-intern, part-mentor, which he dubbed a "mentern." He began to see his role as that of a "modern elder," he said - someone who is responsible not just for bestowing wisdom upon the younger generations, but also for seeking out wisdom. He details this concept in his book    Wisdom at Work: The Making of a Modern Elder. "Mutual mentorship is the future," Conley has said.
 
2. Ask questions. As one of Conley's colleagues explained in the Southwest article, "Chip made it very clear that he was not interested in always being the smartest person in the room, so he was able to bring a certain amount of humility into any conversation. What he did was empower other people around him to ask questions and be teachers."
 
The best way to stay relevant is to learn, and the best way to learn is to ask questions. By indicating your desire to learn, you may even help create a "learning culture" in the organization that can lead to better business results.
 
Do it however you feel comfortable-for example, if you're not comfortable speaking up in meetings, consider scheduling one-on-one tutorials with colleagues or seeking out courses or help from your networks-but don't be afraid to ask questions!
 
3. Go back to school. Access to education has never been greater, thanks to the plethora of online courses and certificates available. Forbes recommends
older workers check out sites like Udemy, Lynda.com, Coursera and Khan Academy, as well as open courses from schools like MIT, Yale and Stanford, to learn new skills (such as programming or supply chain management) and brush up on the latest techniques. Consider attending industry conferences when possible, too; their course content is usually tailored to current working conditions and challenges.
 
Not only will you gain valuable information, skills and contacts by enrolling in a course, but the simple process of learning can help open your mind to new possibilities and creative solutions back at the office.
 
4. Leverage yourself. Both the Forbes article and the Wall Street Journal
highlight the impact of older workers creating and marketing a "personal brand." Think about what you have to offer, and capitalize on it. For example, are you the one to always jump in and take on new projects? Or do you love coaching and mentoring colleagues? What you are or want to be known for is your brand. It should be refined enough for people to easily recall it and associate you with it, but not limiting in any way. And the things you do at work should tie back to that brand.
 
5. Network! So many career opportunities come down to who we know and who knows us. Make connections with colleagues at work, through networking conferences, forums, and other outlets.
 
And make sure your connections come from all walks of life. Conley is actively striving to get more organizations to recognize age diversity - and you should, too. "The workplace should be like an intergenerational potluck," he told Southwest. "We need to create a compact where everybody brings what they have to the table - what they're best at, generationally."

Photo by Jeff Minton
Photo by Jeff Minton

Earlier this month AARP published an article featuring two real-life stories about the impact WAHVE is having on "pretirees" in the marketplace.  WAHVE is connecting "pretiring" insurance, HR, and Accounting pro's with contract work nationwide - putting experience to work! 

  Read the AARP article here
Hire A Wahve or Become A Wahve

WAHVE in the news
January 4, 2019
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EVENTS
Please visit the WAHVE booth at one of these upcoming industry events and see how we can help you get hired or find your next great employee:

Joe Vincent Management Seminar  /   Austin, TX

HRLF February Program  / Waltham, MA 

PWSIA Mid-Year 2019  / National Harbor, MD

March 21
Independent Ins Agents of Westchester County / Tarrytown, NY

March 21 -22
  NOHRC /  Cleveland, OH

March 21
CBIA HR Conference   / Cromwell, CT

March 27 - 29
NCSLA Annual Meeting  / Greensboro, NC

April  7 - 10
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
April 11 - 12
InsurEXPO 19  / Durham, NC

What's Next Boomers Business Summit (Marketing Money Music Moments) /   New Orleans, LA

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