Forging Ahead:
Working With a Purpose – Promoting the HR Profession

At the IPMA-HR International Conference this month, CPS hosted an informational session on the Retirement Transition: Leveraging Your Talents as an Independent Consultant. The Managing Director of CPS Consulting Services East, Gib Johnson, and Business Development Director, Giles Reneau, presented useful information for HR professionals who are nearing retirement but who are not quite ready to leave the field entirely. Cindy Medlock and Richard Heil talked about their post-retirement experiences working on HR projects as independent consultants.

CPS uses the retiree-to-consultant business model extensively. Steve Klink, Mike Masternak and Dick Brainerd retired from public service in 2001, 2003 and 2004 respectively. What are they all doing now? Sharing their extensive knowledge with other HR professionals while working as CPS consultants. As Brainerd, who retired from the Metropolitan Council in Minnesota, states, “I believed I still had something to offer [HR] and a desire to do so.”

Transitioning from an office setting to independent consulting, however, should not be done without careful consideration. Klink, who has nearly 30 years of experience working for agencies such as the U.S. Treasury Department, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Transportation, cautions, “Be careful what you wish for! Think through what you are doing and the pros and cons of various job opportunities.” Brainerd adds, “Make sure that you fully understand what the job is you are going to do, what is expected of you and who it is that you will be working with.”

While consulting might not be for everyone, retirees, in general, aren’t retiring. Masternak, who retired from Michigan’s Department of Human Services, advises those considering returning to the workforce, “… try something different…go for it. Most of my former colleagues who retired to make a career change have found it rewarding, challenging and fun.”

If you’d like to learn more about the retiree-to-consultant transition, the presentation
Transition to Independent Consultant can be viewed here.

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