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Prime Time Awards 2007
Outstanding Employers of Older Workers
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CVS Knoxville Distribution Center
CVS Corporation has been recognized as a leader in hiring, training and retaining older workers at its pharmacies around the country, and that leadership is certainly evident at the CVS Knoxville Distribution Center in Tennessee.
More than 500 employees work at the distribution center in a variety of tasks, including material handling and sorting, data entry, clerical, scheduling and more, and many of these jobs are well suited for and desired by older workers. More than 20 percent of the center’s employees are over 55, and most of those are long-term employees. Through the job-bidding program many older workers have moved from floor work into support functions, such as inventory control or team-leader positions, but the CVS’s reputation as a senior-friendly company has attracted new older recruits as well. Human Resources Specialist Stephanie Fairchild says, “We are supportive of all employees, but our company reputation of being friendly to older workers and our programs that offer senior-friendly jobs have attracted many older workers.”
The company offers part-time work, flexible schedules, seasonal employment, a wide variety of jobs, multiple shifts, and emphasizes cross-training and a team environment where people learn from each other. Last year, Human Resources conducted a mini-seminar on generational differences, focused on better understanding age group traits. In addition, the center is conducting its regular work/life survey to develop ways to improve its workplace. A recent survey resulted in a ten-hour day, four-day week, which is very popular with older workers.
CVS Knoxville Distribution Center is also looking outside the workplace for additional insights into the aging workforce. They hope that a study recently initiated with Boston College to study changing demographics in the workplace will help them learn how the generations are interacting in their facility and that they will be able to use this information to improve communication from management and within teams.
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Darrenkamp's Market
Darrenkamp’s Market is a community grocery store that has served citizens of Lancaster County for almost 100 years. With stores in three locations in the area, shoppers return for the quality meats, fresh produce and excellent, customer-friendly staff.
The welcoming atmosphere that Darrenkamp’s has for older workers is a direct result of a family philosophy of putting employees first, providing a friendly, flexible working environment, and offering workers with a well-rounded benefits package. Nearly 30 percent of Darrenkamp’s 530 employees are over the age of 55, and 27 are age 75 or older. Ask these older employees why they stay and you’ll hear phrases like “the friendly business environment, the employee benefits, and the great relationships built while on the job.”
Employees receive a very generous benefits package starting with a 10 percent discount on all purchases for every employee. Part-time workers receive paid vacation, paid holidays, optional insurance plans, and a 401K plan with employer matching benefits. In addition to these, full-time employees receive medical, vision and dental plans, life insurance and short-term disability. There are also incentives for employees who go above and beyond to serve customers, such as the “Jerry Award”, named after patriarch Jerry Darrenkamp. It is given once a month and recipients receive free lunch and their name is placed in a drawing for a special uniform and a trip.
Darrenkamp’s longstanding tradition of making employees number one so that they, in turn, make customers number one, can be witnessed in the great relations employees have with management, with each other and with the customers. Some of the older workers become surrogate grandparents to the younger workers, a tradition of the Darrenkamp family, where Joe and Dave Darrenkamp lead the business and their parents Jerry and Jane continue to maintain regular hours. Says Jane Darrenkamp, “How many people do you know who can be with their kids every day? We’re blessed.”
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Josh Early Candies
Josh Early recognized early on that chocolate candies are the kind of product that people can do without. Customers need to be treated with care and made to feel special, and even the appearance of each box of chocolate adds to the retail experience. Josh Early Candies has found that all this attention to the customer requires skills in their employees well suited to mature individuals.
Of the company’s 61 employees, more than 60 percent are age 55 and older, and the oldest worker is 79. Seasonal work, part-time schedules, summers off and a flexible work schedule, all provide options much valued by older workers. Schedules are made up a month ahead, and employees can build needed time off into the schedule, allowing flexibility for workers to spend time with visiting grandchildren or for appointments.
The company promotes a culture of excellent customer service and customer satisfaction. Sales clerks attend a formal, six-week training program. During this time, new hires are trained in company procedures such as carefully handling of pieces of chocolate for the best visual appeal to the public. The company finds a mature attitude, patience and understanding are needed to wait on customers. Says President Barry Dobil, “We find older workers are detail-oriented and understand why certain steps need to happen, for example, in fixing chocolates piece by piece in boxes, then communicating this to customers, sharing why the candy is being arranged in a particular way.” All workers are cross-trained for sales and production, and training is augmented by working with a seasoned worker, shadowing and learning that consistency is important. Preference for salary increases is given to those employees who train others and for those who cross-train and perform multiple functions such as mail order, production and sales.
Workers who work at least half time receive a wide range of benefits that include 50 percent co-pay, major-medical insurance with prescription and dental plans, seven paid holidays, vacation that expands to three weeks after five years of service, a 401K plan, merit and cost-of-living increases, and of course, all the candy you can eat!
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Nursing Home Ombudsman Agency of the Bluegrass (NHOA)
The Nursing Home Ombudsman Agency of the Bluegrass (NHOA) is special, not only because it hires older workers, but it is special because the whole philosophy of the organization is based on the premise that older people are the best advocates and champions for other older people.
NHOA’s program uses part-time, state-certified, long-term care ombudsman, all over the age of 50, who identify, investigate and work to resolve complaints for residents and their families of more than 60 nursing homes in central Kentucky. The program relies on elders from each community NHOA serves to advocate for residents in their home communities and to provide a link to the broader community through the sharing of the latest news and local announcements. The local ombudsman keeps the nursing-home residents involved in community affairs and provides an active link to local issues and affairs.
Families often feel helpless in the long-term care arena so ombudsmen serve as experts in long-term care information, providing unbiased, accurate and user-friendly information to consumers. And ombudsman don’t only work with residents and their families, they build relationships with local attorneys, doctors, facility administrators and staffs to monitor and learn about issues facing nursing-home residents. In addition, broad information gathered from the program provides a view of long-term care conditions in the region and provides an early-warning system to potential problems.
The job of ombudsman is well suited to seniors, not only because they relate so well to their clients, the positions are ideal for older workers who enjoy flexible schedules. Ombudsmen set their own schedules and have great flexibility in the hours they work, but even more importantly, their activities provide a tremendous sense of self satisfaction and strong ties to their local community, another very attractive component of work for older workers. The NHOA program was one of only ten programs to receive a MetLife Foundation/Civic Ventures BreakThrough award in 2007.
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