AARP SmartBrief
Best Employers Program Honorees
Mercy Health System
Winning years: 2007, 2006, 2005
Industry: Hospitals/Healthcare
Location: Janesville, WI
URL: www.mercyhealthsystem.org
Highlights of 2007 Winning Strategies
Mercy Health System's "Senior Connection" is a free program for those 55+ providing health insurance and financial counseling as well as a free prescription discount card, sponsored senior activities, and brown bag lunches and trips. Mercy has many flexible work options including: a weekender program for weekend only work with benefits, a traveler option for those wanting to commit to a 6-13 week assignment, nursing float options, a registry/pool option allowing flexible 48-96 hours/month, 8-10-12-hour shift schedules, as well as work at home options and flexible part-time schedules.
Additional Policies and Practices:
- Recruiting: Mercy targets mature workers and retirees with e-cards, direct mail campaigns, and by sponsoring booths at job and product fairs targeted to seniors. The company's retired work force assists with recommendations.
- Workplace Culture/Continued Opportunities: Mercy offers the following learning and development programs to its full- and part-time employees: tuition reimbursement, in-house classroom training, on-line training, and certification classes. Part-time employees must work 20+ hrs/week to be eligible for the tuition reimbursement program and certification classes. In the past 12 months, 100 percent of employees participated in at least one training opportunity, with an average of 25 hours. For employees with 10 or more years of service, there is a special accelerated time off accrual system with licensure renewals provided at no charge and health insurance at a discounted rate. The employee opinion survey inspired numerous improvements including: a childcare stipend for overnight travel and 12 more additional scholarships, the Mercy Retiree Association, and domestic partner benefits, including health coverage. In addition, Mercy added a debit card for flex benefits, a 529 college savings plan, long-term care insurance, short-term disability benefits, and dental benefits. Managers and supervisors offer employees an opportunity to develop new skills by working on temporary assignments in other departments, team projects, and a formal job rotation program. Mercy Retiree Association members may serve as mentors throughout the organization. The Mercy Occupational Therapy department performs over 280 work station ergonomic evaluations annually and assists with modifications.
- Benefits/Health: Full- and part-time employees (working 20+ hrs/week) receive individual and family medical coverage, individual and family prescription drug coverage, individual and family dental insurance, individual and family long-term care insurance as well as short-term disability. Long-term disability is offered exclusively to employees working 36+ hours per week. Health benefits for retirees pre-65 and 65+ include individual as well as spouse medical and drug coverage, dental insurance, long-term care insurance, and EAP services. For those ages 65+, all of these benefits are available to new hires upon retirement. Mercy offers an FSA account to its employees. Other health benefits include an increased paid-in-full preventative screening for eligible participants, an e-flex debit card, and a customized education packet and a $25 health insurance premium discount for those participating in an annual free health risk assessment.
- Benefits/Financial: Mercy offers a 403(b) as well as a cash balance plan to its full- and part-time employees and provides a match to the 403(b) program. It also offers a discretionary match based on system-wide performance goals. Employees 50+ can make catch-up contributions to the 403(b) plan. Mercy staff and staff from the financial services firm that administers the 403(b) plan provide financial planning information to employees. Specifically, the HR specialists perform "HR Housecalls," visiting each Mercy location monthly. After retirement, retirees may meet with investment counselors or Mercy's Senior Connection counselors. Mercy employees have a Combined Time Off plan allowing unused hours in a time bank to be used at the employee's discretion. Long-term employees can have up to 360 hours in their time bank, which can all be used as paid time off for caregiving; the Paid Sick Plan allows for 460 hours of accrual in which 80 may be used for caregiving. In addition, the Mercy Donated Leave Sharing Plan allows employees to donate time to other partners in need. The following wellness programs are offered to full- and part-time employees: flu shots, health screenings, health risk appraisals, smoking cessation programs, health club discounts, physical activity/exercise programs, weight loss programs, stress management training, and the Mercy Safety Fair. In the past 12 months, 94 percent of employees have used at least one wellness program. Mercy offers full- and part-time employees on site eldercare, back-up care for childcare, back-up care for eldercare, and referral services to assist with childcare and eldercare.
- Benefits/Alternative Work Arrangements: Mercy full- and part-time employees can chose from numerous flexible work options: flex time, compressed work schedules, telecommuting, and a formal phased retirement program. Mercy offers full-time employees job sharing. Mercy's "Work to Retire Program" allows employees 50+ the option to work reduced hours, pool, or work at home. Employees 55+ with 15 years of service may work 1,000 hours seasonally. Full-year part-time benefits are offered despite the reduction in work hours. Full-time employees are eligible to move to part-time work on a permanent or temporary basis.
- Opportunities for Retirees: Mercy currently has 96 retirees. There is an individual with direct responsibility for retiree relations who stays connected with retirees by communicating regularly with them, inviting them to events, providing them with ongoing access to retirement planning workshops/information, and formally acknowledging them when they retire. Mercy offers retirees temporary work assignments, consulting/contract work, and telecommuting, as well as part-time and full-time work.
- Age of Workforce: Twenty-eight percent of Mercy employees are 50+. The average tenure of employees age 50+ is 12 years.
Mercy Health System’s Senior Connection is a free MHS program for those over 50 and provides health insurance and financial counseling, a free prescription discount card, and sponsors senior activities such as brown bag lunches and trips. MHS offers numerous flexible work options, including Weekender Program (work only on weekends), Traveler Option (work 6-13 week assignments), Nursing Float Option (nurses are guaranteed benefits while floating departments), Registry Pool Option (work 48-96 hrs/month with benefits), 8-10-12 Hour Shift Options, Work at Home Option, and Work-To-Retire Program (work reduced hours – seasonally).
Other Benefits:
- Recruiting: Mercy Health System uses e-cards and direct mailings to target mature workers and retirees. They also recruit via personal recommendations, sponsor booths and/or attend job and product fairs targeted at the senior population and work with area partner agencies to identify experienced candidates.
- Workplace Culture/Continued Opportunities: The hospital offers the following learning and development programs to its full and part-time employees: tuition reimbursement (3% used in past 12 months), in-house classroom training (100% used in past 12 months), on-line training (3% used in past 12 months), and certification classes (5% used in past 12 months). Employees must work at least 20 hrs/week to be eligible for the tuition reimbursement program and certification classes. Long-service anniversaries are celebrated with announcements, parties, and awards. The following improvements to benefits have been made within the past three years due to results from employee opinion surveys: long-term care insurance, short-term disability, dental benefits, for those with ten or more years of service there is a special accelerated time off accrual system, licensure renewals are provided at no charge and health insurance is offered at a discounted rate, increased tuition reimbursement, adoption assistance, sabbatical leave, career mentoring program, and dependent care adaptive devices benefit.
- Benefits/Health: Full and part-time employees (working at least 20 hrs/week) receive individual and family medical coverage, individual and family prescription drug coverage, individual and family dental insurance, individual and family long-term care insurance, and short term disability. Employees working at least 36 hrs/week receive long-term disability. 18% of employees are enrolled in the individual medical, prescription drug, and dental plans while 19% of employees are enrolled in the employee and family medical, prescription drug, and dental plans. 0.5% of employees are enrolled in the individual and family long-term care insurance plan while 100% are enrolled in the short-term disability plan. Health benefits for both retiree’s pre-65 and 65+ include individual as well as spouse medical and drug coverage, dental insurance, and long-term care insurance. New hires are eligible for all of the above benefits upon retirement. The hospital offers a health flexible spending account.
- Benefits/Financial: The hospital offers a 401(k) and cash-balance plan to its full and part-time employees. 401(k) match is 25% on the first 4% of salary contributed and there is also a discretionary match based on system-wide performance goals. Employees age 50+ can make ‘catch-up’ contributions to their 401(k) account. The hospital offers referral services to assist with child and elder care, and back-up care for child care. The referral services to assist with child care and the back-up care for child care are offered to employees to use for their grandchildren. The following wellness programs are offered to full and part-time employees: flu shots, health screenings, health risk appraisals, smoking cessation programs, health club discounts, exercise programs, weight loss programs, and stress management training. 85% of employees have utilized at least one of the above wellness benefits in the past 12 months.
- Benefits/Alternative Work Arrangements: The hospital offers the following alternative work arrangements to its full and part-time employees: flex time (5% participation), compressed work schedules (5% participation), telecommuting (0.5% participation), and a formal phased retirement program (1% participation). Full-time employees are also eligible for job sharing (0.2% participation). Full-time employees are eligible to move to part-time work on a permanent and temporary basis.
- Opportunities for Retirees: The hospital currently has 100 retirees. There is an individual who has a direct responsibility for retiree relations. The hospital stays connected with its retirees by communicating on a regular basis with retirees, inviting retirees to organization events/celebrations, providing retirees with ongoing access to retirement planning workshops, and formally acknowledging retirees on the occasion of their retirement. Retirees are offered the following work arrangements: temporary work assignments, consulting/contract work, telecommuting, part and full-time work.
- Age of Workforce: Twenty-eight percent of the hospital’s employees are 50+. Sixteen percent of the hospital’s past twelve month new hires are 50+. The average tenure of employees age 50+ is 10.25 years.
Mercy Health System sees a health care professional shortage, which makes it critical that it keep its older workers satisfied. More than one-quarter of its employees are 50+, and one of the ways it retains them is by providing workplace flexibility.
Mercy offers management training that is measured at the conclusion of each session. There has been a 99 percent satisfaction rating over the past five years with a rating of 100 percent in the most recent group.
A new program in the past year gives employees 55+, with 20 years of service, the opportunity to work 1,000 hours per year at their discretion and receive benefits the entire year. There is a special emphasis on job shadowing as well as volunteer opportunities for staff to contribute to the communities they serve.
Benefits:
- Full-time employees pay 15 percent of the premium for health and prescription drug coverage. Part-time employees (minimum 20 hours/week) pay 27 percent for health and 41 percent for drug coverage. All have access to dental and long-term care insurance, as well as short- and long-term disability.
- Mercy has two types of retirement plans for full-and part-time employees. One is a defined contribution plan and one is a cash balance/hybrid program. Employees hired before 1992, receive whichever plan is most beneficial to them. Those hired after 1992, are automatically enrolled in the cash balance plan. The formulas for the two plans, which determine the amount of benefit, depends on a number of factors such as the employee’s years of service, hours worked, salary, and age. Mercy also has a Matched Savings plan that “matches” participating employees an additional 2 percent of their salary. These retirement plans provide several options for employees when they decide to retire.
Twenty-six percent of the company employees are 50+. Sixteen percent of employees hired in the last year are 50+.
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