Best Employers Program Honorees

Volkswagen of America's 'Flexible Spending Accounts for Dependent Elder Care' program provides mature employees with the option to allocate $5,000 in pre-tax earnings to dependent elder care needs. Retirees with less than 20 years of service receive $500 upon retirement while those with 20 or more years of service receive $750.

Other Benefits:

• Recruiting: The company uses an Outplacement Career Transition Company's nationwide resume data base of individuals who have been laid off from employers as a source for recruiting mature worker.
• Workplace Culture/Continued Opportunities: The company offers the following learning and development programs to its full- and part-time employees: tuition reimbursement (25% used in past 12 months), in-house classroom training (60% used in past 12 months), on-line training (80% used in past 12 months), certification classes (25% used in past 12 months), and Employee Rotations and Developmental Assignments (5% used in past 12 months). Employees must work at least 20 hrs/week to be eligible for these programs. Long-service anniversaries are celebrated with announcements, parties, and awards. The following benefits have been added within the past three years due to results from employee opinion surveys: 10 leadership development courses plus diversity awareness and interviewing/selection workshops for all supervisors, paid annual community service day, annual wellness physicals and health fairs, mentoring by older workers, a frequent benefits newsletter providing guidance on health-wellness, retirement/investment planning, eldercare referrals, pre-paid legal services, and Life-Works Employee Assistance services/website including guidance to older workers and retirees on work/family issues.
• 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, and individual and family vision insurance, individual and family dental insurance, and individual and family long-term care insurance. Full-time employees also receive short and long term disability. 27% of employees are enrolled in the individual medical, prescription drug coverage, vision, and dental insurance plans, while 63% of employees are enrolled in the individual and family medical, prescription drug coverage, vision and dental insurance plans. Ten percent of employees are enrolled in the individual and family long-term care insurance plans while 100% of employees are enrolled in the short and long term disability plans. Health benefits for retirees pre-65 and 65+ include individual as well as spouse medical and drug coverage, vision and dental insurance, EAP program, as well as individual and spouse long-term care insurance and life insurance or other death benefit coverage. For the pre-65 category, new hires are eligible for the above long term care, EAP program, and life insurance benefits upon retirement. The company offers a health flexible spending account.
• Benefits/Financial: The company offers a defined benefit, 401(k), and money-purchase defined contribution retirement savings plans to its full- and part-time employees. The company matches 100% of the first 3% employee contribution and 50% match on the next 2% contribution with opportunity to contribute up to 20% of salary for pre-tax contribution. Employees may choose to invest in lifecycle funds and those age 50+ can make 'catch-up' contributions to their 401(k). The company offers referral services to assist with child care and elder care as well as back-up care for child care and elder care. The referral services to assist with child care and the back-up care for child care benefits are offered to employees to use for their grandchildren. Twenty percent of employees have used the referral service benefits and 5% of employees have used the back-up care benefits in the past 12 months. 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 programs. One hundred percent of employees have utilized at least one of the above benefits in the past 12 months.
• Benefits/Alternative Work Arrangements: The company offers the following alternative work arrangements to its full- and part-time employees: flex time (100% participation), compressed work schedules (5% participation), job sharing (less than 1% participation), and telecommuting (25% participation). Some employees move to part-time employment to phase into retirement while some who are close to retirement may apply for a lower-level position, which may increase work-life balance while still utilizing the employee's skills. Full-time employees are eligible to move to part-time work on a permanent and temporary basis.
• Opportunities for Retirees: The company currently has 1,249 retirees. There is an individual who has a direct responsibility for retiree relations. The company stays connected with its retirees by communicating on a regular basis with the retiree, 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, as well as part-time work.
• Age of Workforce: Twenty-four percent of the company's employees are 50+. Thirteen percent of the company's past twelve month new hires are 50+. The average tenure of employees age 50+ is 16.6 years.