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Work @50+/2008
2008 Best Employers for Workers Over 50
November & December 2008
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After eight years of honoring great employers, we’ve become pros at identifying creative workplace practices that benefit 50+ workers. We’ve seen innovations such as flextime, phased retirement, and tuition reimbursement become mainstays at age-friendly companies. But even our seasoned judges were impressed by this year’s group of honorees. Their commitment to the total health and well-being of their workers and families is further evidence that the 50+ employee has become a valuable asset worth nurturing and protecting. Our hope is that more forward-thinking employers will follow their example. That said, we present our Top 10. (Find 40 additional companies honored by AARP for valuing older workers on page 2.)
1. Cornell University
Ithaca, New York
Higher Education
11,302 employees (43% 50+)
Recruiting Practices: 4
Training and Development: 4
Health Benefits: 5
Pension Plans: 5
Alternative Work Arrangements: 5
A comprehensive approach to caregiving is one reason Cornell advanced to the head of this year’s class. Besides having long-term care insurance for employees and their loved ones, the university now has a consultant to help workers find the right child-care and elder-care facilities for family members. Another benefit is a pretax savings account to help employees pay for dependent-care costs. One more reason Cornell makes the grade: its employees and retirees can take several classes a year at the prestigious university—for free.
Past Years' Best Employers
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2003
2. Scripps Health
San Diego, California
Health Care
11,589 employees (32% 50+)
Recruiting Practices: 5
Training and Development: 5
Health Benefits: 5
Pension Plans: 5
Alternative Work Arrangements: 5
Scripps gives its workers the red carpet treatment, literally. After every five years of service, employees are treated to an Oscars-style dinner celebration, including a nine-piece band and a Joan Rivers impersonator (we’re not kidding). But Scripps is completely serious about protecting its employees and their families. Example: a new elder-care program, which provides employees with professional care managers who conduct in-home assessments of aging family members and recommend and help secure long-term care facilities if needed. A Scripps benefit to love? Six free 30-minute massages a year for interested employees.
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3. SC Johnson
Racine, Wisconsin
Consumer Products
3,258 employees (35% 50+)
Recruiting Practices: 3
Training and Development: 4
Health Benefits: 5
Pension Plans: 5
Alternative Work Arrangements: 4
Employee pampering distinguishes multinational SC Johnson, where workers in need of a little TLC receive massages and physical therapy at a reduced cost in the on-site, 100,000-square-foot fitness facility. Among other perks that employees enjoy is a surrounding 142-acre park, with activities ranging from miniature golf to canoeing to swimming in an Olympic-size pool. And if they’re feeling under the weather, SC Johnson workers have access to an on-site physician (and a complete annual physical is free). Another attention grabber: The company pays up to $50 a night to cover child-care and elder-care costs when workers are away on business.
Ratings Guide
AARP evaluated each employer’s performance on a range of workforce practices beneficial to older workers. The five key criteria below are rated from 1 (worst) to 5 (best) in this article. These criteria, along with other criteria, influenced each employer’s overall ranking.
Recruiting Practices We noted how companies seek older workers. Some measures: Does the company target mature workers in its recruiting efforts? Do recruiting materials reflect the diversity of the people the company hopes to hire, including mature workers?
Training and Development An important part of any job is keeping skills sharp. AARP evaluated the companies’ skill-enhancing programs as well as how proactive companies were in encouraging employees to take part. Ditto for perks such as tuition assistance. T&D ratings also took into account whether the employer regularly conducts employee-opinion surveys and provides opportunities for new experiences, such as cross-training and temporary assignments.
Health Benefits We assessed each company’s medical, prescription-drug, vision, and dental insurance coverage, including the percentage of the premium that workers must pay and whether these benefits are offered to part-time workers and retirees. In addition, we looked for extras such as long-term care insurance.
Pension Plans Key measures: Do the companies offer traditional defined-benefit plans and/or defined contribution plans? Do they have other financial incentives such as stock options, profit sharing, or 401(k) automatic enrollment? Do they offer resources to help workers make informed decisions about retirement savings?
Alternative Work Arrangements We looked for opportunities such as telecommuting and flextime, which are important to workers with caregiving responsibilities. Another grade booster: phased retirement, in which employees receive benefits while working fewer hours.
4. YMCA of Greater Rochester
Rochester, New York
Philanthropy
2,434 employees (18% 50+)
Recruiting Practices: 5
Training and Development: 4
Health Benefits: 5
Pension Plans: 3
Alternative Work Arrangements: 5
Why the Y? For starters, a tuition reimbursement of $3,000, a generous 12 percent contribution to employee 403(b) plans, and the opportunity for 50+ workers to spend half the year at a Y located in a warmer clime. Above all, the Rochester YMCA lives up to its healthy mission: employees and retirees enjoy the center’s facilities for free, and a Walk the Talk program provides workers with pedometers and encourages them to take 10,000 steps a day. The best part about it? The team of employees that walks the most steps enjoys free cooking lessons from a nutritionist.
5. Lee Memorial Health System
Fort Myers, Florida
Health Care
9,204 employees (38% 50+)
Recruiting Practices: 5
Training and Development: 5
Health Benefits: 5
Pension Plans: 3
Alternative Work Arrangements: 5
Leave it to a leading-edge health care company to find creative ways to protect its employees’, um, health. Here’s how: Employees enrolled in Lee’s health plan receive free generic medications to help treat diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and high cholesterol, and everyone at Lee has access to free clinics at all of the system’s hospitals. Plus, workers who sign up for the company’s low-cost weight-loss program receive access to personal trainers, dietitians, and nurses. And employees looking to balance their mental well-being—or simply seeking a change of scenery—can take up to one year off while still receiving health care benefits.
6. Securian
St. Paul, Minnesota
Insurance
2,454 employees (22% 50+)
Recruiting Practices: 4
Training and Development: 3
Health Benefits: 5
Pension Plans: 5
Alternative Work Arrangements: 4
Securian puts a premium on the happiness of its employees with an array of flexible work arrangements, including compressed work schedules, job-sharing programs, and telecommuting options. In addition to six months of job-protected family or medical leave, the company has an “extended illness” program, which gives employees a week of paid sick leave for each year of full service after the first year.
7. First Horizon National Corporation
Memphis, Tennessee
Financial Services
10,661 employees (27% 50+)
Recruiting Practices: 5
Training and Development: 5
Health Benefits: 5
Pension Plans: 3
Alternative Work Arrangements: 5
Financial giant First Horizon protects its employees’ wallets with a slew of services: free financial planning, one-on-one retirement counseling, discounts on home-loan service charges and fees, and preferred rates on mutual funds. The company’s most budget-friendly benefit? In addition to a generous health plan, First Horizon offers workers a Flexible Dollars program, which provides an average of $2,439 of pretax income to employees to help cover health care premiums, child-care costs, and retirement savings.
8. Stanley Consultants
Muscatine, Iowa
Consulting Services
1,103 employees (34% 50+)
Recruiting Practices: 3
Training and Development: 4
Health Benefits: 4
Pension Plans: 3
Alternative Work Arrangements: 4
One reason Stanley Consultants landed in our Top 10 for the fourth time in a row? Because of its commitment to supporting its workers in times of need. Stanley employees are encouraged to donate money and paid time off to a Member Charity Fund for fellow colleagues to use in an emergency. (During the Iowa floods this past summer, some Stanley employees used the fund to repair their homes.) Workers who are retiring can cash in their accumulated sick leave along with any remaining vacation leave. Stanley Employees not quite ready to retire but who are looking to explore the world can apply for work on overseas assignments.
9. Bon Secours Richmond Health System
Richmond, Virginia
Health Care
6,579 employees (30% 50+)
Recruiting Practices: 4
Training and Development: 5
Health Benefits: 2
Pension Plans: 5
Alternative Work Arrangements: 5
We admire the way Bon Secours promotes intergenerational bonding. The organization added an on-site child-care center last year for the children and grandchildren of its workers. A GrandPartners program encourages employees to bring their parents to work to bond with the kids at the center. And Bon Secours recently added five annual $1,000 college scholarships for grandkids of employees.
10. Blue Cross Blue Shield Association
Chicago, Illinois
Insurance
907 employees (37% 50+)
Recruiting Practices: 1
Training and Development: 5
Health Benefits: 5
Pension Plans: 5
Alternative Work Arrangements: 3
Blue Cross Blue Shield Association climbed an impressive 36 spots from last year’s list, and one reason behind the giant leap is simple: BCBSA keeps adding perks for its 50+ employees. Its Mature Workers Program offers employees and first-year retirees who are 55 and older a $150 tuition reimbursement for any personal-interest class they choose—from cooking to computer science—and deep discounts on professional financial planning. For those still looking to sharpen their business brain, BCBSA provides an in-house M.B.A. program at a low cost—right on the premises.
—Reporting by Audrey Goodson
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