Since December 2024, Stephen DeClercq has been going to work at Georgia-Pacific's corrugated plant in Milan, Michigan. That might seem unusual considering the plant closed in 2024, and DeClercq retired in December following 41 years with G-P.
But the company tapped him to be part of its new initiative to fill labor gaps by bringing retirees back into the workforce. For the last nine months, DeClercq has been part of the program and serves as the caretaker at the shuttered Milan plant until it sells. G-P contacted him due to his command of his previous role as the plant's superintendent.
"When they first asked me about it, I told them I didn't think so. They asked me again and I decided to go ahead and give it a shot," DeClercq said. "It's a good opportunity."
Program organizers place retirees into positions at G-P — including business units besides packaging, such as lumber and tissue — and other companies owned by parent Koch. They’re encouraged by the early results from the Retiree Talent Network, which launched in November 2024. The initiative is one way manufacturers increasingly are thinking outside the box to attract and keep talent as ongoing manufacturing labor shortages show no signs of easing.
G-P views the program as giving them a competitive advantage not only in addressing labor shortages but also in retaining institutional knowledge, maintaining productivity and reducing overtime costs.
"This is a welcome addition to all of the other services we offer," said Kathi Robinson, market manager at Encadria Staffing Solutions, Georgia-Pacific's in-house staffing agency which runs the program.
Placements began before the official program inception 10 months ago, and to date there are 141 participants with an additional 25 retirees available and awaiting placement.
Participants had to work at and formally retire from the company, either voluntarily or when G-P eliminated their positions or closed a facility. They provide particular skills for special projects or short-term assignments, including as equipment maintenance technicians and lift-truck operators.
"It was designed to create a database of retirees to leverage the wealth of experience and knowledge that our retirees have to bridge gaps in staffing," said Natika Boyd-Johnson, senior client service manager at Encadria.
The company also reached out to Kenyon Meyer, who retired in October 2024 after working at G-P’s Denton, Texas, sheet feeder plant for 10 years, to gauge his interest in assisting with maintenance and upgrades on two corrugators at a plant in San Leandro, California. Meyer agreed to come on board, and since March 2025 he's been traveling from his home in the Dallas area to the California plant for two to three weeks per month.
"I've been a corrugator for over 40 years. I have a lot of knowledge and a lot of background experience," Meyer said. "So I felt like my knowledge and experience would help. And also to see the gaps in the process and give them suggestions on how to improve the process and get to a better state."
How it started
The Retiree Talent Network is the brainchild of previous Encadria General Manager Sue Strong-Gossage, who herself has since retired. "We didn't want to experience a brain drain," Robinson said, and Strong-Gossage recognized the value in harnessing "those folks that were planning on retiring to mentor and guide our up-and-coming talent.”
Robinson took the lead on the program after Strong-Gossage's recent retirement and says the team is "certainly going to try to do Sue proud and make sure that this program is beneficial to our upcoming retirees."
Many participants are recruited after filling out an exit survey upon retirement that includes questions about whether they’re interested in joining the network, either immediately or in the future. Boyd-Johnson engages with potential participants to offer additional resources with facts about the program and to gather relevant retiree information such as proficiencies, desired work hours, desired project lengths and whether they're willing to travel.
Several times a month, Encadria sends "spotlight" emails to G-P and Koch HR teams that highlight a retiree and their skill set. Facility operators reach out to Boyd-Johnson with requests for the appropriate retiree to fill distinct roles.
She connects the parties and then onboards the retiree if the connection is mutually agreeable. Boyd-Johnson also receives requests from facility supervisors to contact certain retirees who aren't yet in the program but are in demand based on their expertise and ability to fill specific needs.
Because these employees already were vetted and onboarded when they worked for the company in a full-time capacity, they typically go through a pared down onboarding for the Retiree Talent Network. Although participants are W2 employees, they are considered consultants and generally work part-time hours on a variable schedule. The flexibility allows them to take on other part-time work if they choose, with exceptions for G-P’s competitors.
The initiative gives retirees "the opportunity to still contribute to Georgia-Pacific, but on their time frame. It's flexible for them" and allows them to work around factors including taxes and benefits, said Boyd-Johnson.
Joining the talent network allowed DeClercq to ramp down his employment instead of fully retiring abruptly. He said the compensation from working roughly two to three days a week at four-hour stretches lets him pay for insurance while making some extra income each month.
DeClercq would consider taking on another consulting role with G-P once the Milan plant is sold and his oversight no longer is needed, but it would depend on the role — and it would need to be local. Until then, he'll continue to be plant caretaker.
“It’s kind of neat still meeting some new people — you know, with realtors that come in I'm showing the plant," DeClercq said. “It's kind of neat to answer their questions and stuff [based on] the time I spent there, the knowledge I have of the facility.”
How it's going
G-P is tracking the program's success, but does not yet have firm data to reference on performance metrics considering the initiative isn't even a year old; that historical data might become more solid in another six to eight months. The team is refining the program as it progresses and identifying additional opportunities.
"It's currently in its infancy. We will absolutely be thinking strategically about how to further leverage the retiree network program," Robinson said. "This will hopefully be a permanent part of all of Encadria's services."
While some retirees are intentionally paired with newer hires to share accumulated knowledge, many informally fall into positions of mentoring less experienced workers. Meyer feels that at the San Leandro plant, especially with one eager early-stage employee he has taken under his wing.
"This plant's got a lot of young people and they've had a lot of turnover," he said. "The younger ones seem to want to learn and reach out to me and ask me questions and what should they do in a situation. So that's cool."
Explaining that there were a lot of areas on the corrugators that hadn't been properly maintained, Meyer said the employees now "are starting to see things being repaired, get corrected" and can emulate that after observing him.
"It definitely is a unique kind of program," Meyer said. "This option to utilize retirees, I don't know too many companies that have that.”
