Here’s a strategy move for today’s corporations that simply isn’t getting the attention it deserves. Come on folks! Read the tea leafs. 401K’s are in the dumper, retirement plans are diminishing or have disappeared altogether. There has never been a better opportunity than now to cash in on a great boost in knowledge and bench strength at minimal cost. Old folks who have been idling away on the golf course or swimming laps in the gym have to go back to work.

Consider. A lot of older people are in great shape. They heard the call to diet and exercise early on and have preserved their good health well beyond the expectancy of previous generations. And, let’s face it; most of the current middle managers are idiots. Well, maybe that’s a bit unkind. After all, they matured in an era of prosperity, and really have come to believe that going to meetings is real work, training is unnecessary, and technology can solve everything. Think about it. If you are a savvy top manager or a salesperson, how often have you cringed at the notion of actually having one of these people interact face-to-face with a client. Oh my God!

So, I am offering a modest proposal to create real workforce innovation, dramatically reduce costs, and supercharge the knowledge base of your company with one strategic initiative. Here are the five reasons to hire the old guy.

1. Know-How

The right old guys (or gals) will bring with them a wealth of information; not only about your business, but of business in general. They’ve seen it all. They know that at base things don’t change that much. “OK, so in the last ten years you’ve made it smaller, a bit faster, changed the color, and moved the buttons over here. Uh… it still makes copies, right?” They don’t panic. They’ve survived matrix management, TQM, downsizing, right-sizing, and even ISO 9000 and Six Sigma. They will, however, have this annoying desire to actually interact directly with one another that will have to be squelched. Also, despite not being completely facile with the latest Google Toolbar, their years on Facebook, Amazon, and having to access all of their financial information online have kept them pretty much up to speed. Besides all of the hoo-ha about computers, they’re just frigging typewriters with a telephone and a TV attached.

2. Loyalty and Engagement

Tell me, what creates more loyalty than gratitude? By hiring the old guys you have rescued them from menial chores or housework, liberated them from golf course humiliation, given their sagging fixed incomes a major boost, and returned them to relevance in a world that has written them off. Wow! If that isn’t the formula for a motivated employee, then what is? Also, they’re not consumed with developing a career, unless they’re delusional and shouldn’t have been hired in the first place; they have little interest in company politics, they know what “the abyss” is, and it isn’t losing their job. They may appear somewhat difficult to control since they will have some reluctance to take your crap. You may be periodically annoyed at their persistence in telling stories and reflecting on the past. But, with practice, you will be able to tune these things out along with the other learning you’ve been able to avoid.

3. Recruitment and Retention

Talk about a snap! There are 30 million people in the U.S. who are over sixty. Even if you eliminate the rich, too sick, or just plain don’t want to work, you have an enormous pool from which to draw ready and willing gray talent. A simple ad in the AARP magazine, or even hand written notes posted on the bulletin boards at selected Chinese buffets should do the trick. Best of all, once you have them they’re not going anywhere. More than any other age group, the old guys know that it’s just as bad everywhere else.

4. Cultural Integration and Affirmative Action

OK, there may be some issues around cultural comfort levels. The old guys are deeply infused with methods for gaming the variety of corporate cultures they worked in for so many years. But corporate culture has given way to cultural diversity. Given the already large variance of cultures represented in the company – Indians and Pakistani’s in IT, Asians in finance, and the sprinkling of African Americans and Hispanics in other areas – the old guys would provide a homogenizing influence as well as some English you can understand. Also, no matter how well you think the company has done with affirmative action, I will bet old guys are under-represented.

5. Cost Benefit
This is the real clincher! Hiring old guys makes so much financial sense on so many levels it’s hard to summarize. First of all, they’re already on a pension and collecting Social Security. They’ll work for a fraction of what a young hire would demand in order to live decently and raise a family or pay alimony, or support the live-in out-of-work-actor. And let’s not forget, since the company has stopped providing pensions anyway, the old guys provide no additional cost. “But,” you might say, “Old guys are prone to develop health issues and health care is a major burden.” This is my favorite. There is no health care cost…wait for it…they’re on Medicare!

So there you have it; the five compelling reasons to hire the old guy. I leave you with one final argument; there is little risk of making a bad hiring decision. You don’t have to worry about severance packages, the threat of unlawful termination suits, tiresome exit interviews, and the like. If you decide you’ve made a bad choice when you hired the old guy, just wait a minute.