ProTem.online is the network that capitalises on the experience of portfolio workers, professionals approaching retirement, those already retired and so enables organisations to hire some of the best brains in the country.

It is the brainchild of two of the most connected construction and property veterans, John Rushton and Alex Tosetti, who have recognised the future need for flexible working in a gig economy.

John Rushton, designer and business leader, has been aware for some time that there is a brain drain at the point of retirement in many organisations. Professionals facing the prospect of leaving an organisation to retire find it very difficult to adjust.

Alex Tosetti, working for 30 years as a leading consultant in major corporate organisations, realised the need for client organisations to be able to hire experts for specific tasks or projects. “ProTem.online does what it says on the tin: providing ‘professional, temporary’ experts for short-term tasks, without committing to full-time employment’’ says Alex.

And so the ‘virtual collective’, ProTem, was established to fill a vast space, allowing up-cycling of industry experts, the new ‘interims’. It is not a recruitment agency, it is simply preventing the brain drain from our industry, while allowing flexibility to both experts and hiring organisations.

The industry is also going through massive transformational change, driven by rapid technology and digital intervention. The ProTem portal is artificial intelligence driven, self-policed and can grow virally within the marketplace as demand requires.

Furthermore, the generation of the learned expert is getting overtaken by the generation of AI. But companies need to bottle the wisdom from the older cohort. One week of an expert can save months in time and cost to an organisation.

Roger Mumby-Croft, professor emeritus of entrepreneurship at Oxford Brookes University comments:

“The transition from full employment to retirement is a critical time for peopleand for the businesses and professions they are leaving.“For businesses and the professions, retirement of a key person can drain important information and experience. We are notoriously bad at knowledge management, particularly around retirement, failing to pass on vital assets to the next generations of leaders.”

“Because ProTem seeks to slow the transition between full time work and full time play I can only see it as a good idea. It connects professional people who are seeking short-term contracts with organisations who want to draw upon their expertise and experience. This could allow the opportunity for senior advisors to mentor younger employees, sharing their wealth of knowledge. Or the post might be for a particular task for which the organisation does not have the resources. Either way, this must be good for personal and business health,” concludes Mumby-Croft.

ProTem is now building its database of advisors and organisations.

Registration is free, and no fees are payable until short-term contracts are completed. Initially ProTem is targeting engineering, real estate, media, management and professional services.

“I want to focus on the areas known well to the ProTem team. In time we will expand into other sectors and further abroad,” says John Rushton.

“I have worked in 46 countries around the world, and I see no reason why this service should be restricted to the UK only.”

ProTem is online now at http://www.protem.online . . . 

John Rushton, co-founder of ProTem, is the business and creative force behind international design consultancy, Small Back Room. He is also a trustee of Jubilee Gardens, a director of Build Studios, director of Design Southeast, and publisher of Anglo-French ezine: MonOc.

Alex Tosetti, co-founder of ProTem and former senior director of Aecom, Alex is a leading consultant with 30 years experience in urban regeneration, smart cities and environmental impact assessment. He has set up a new impact platform called ‘Cities Reloaded’ which will be a new vehicle for promoting an ‘improved citizen-centric urban environment’. He contributes to many industry forums such as the BSi Smart Cities Committee, the Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE), and is also Chairman of the Environmental Industries Commission (EIC).

Roger Mumby-Croft has had a varied career as an entrepreneur, academic and manager. He attended Ruskin College Oxford and the University of Warwick as a mature student and went on to found the Enterprise Centre at Oxford Brookes where he became deputy dean of the Business School and a professor of entrepreneurship. He is now professor of enterprise at Warwick Business School where he founded their Enterprise Hub, as well as the inaugural Ashcroft Professor of International Management Practice at Anglia Ruskin University.

For more information: www.ProTem.online