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The YMCA of Greater Rochester

Winning years:  2007, 2006, 2005
Industry:  Not for profit - Philanthropic organization
Location: Rochester, NY
URL: www.rochesterymca.org

Highlights of 2007 Winning Strategies

The YMCA of Greater Rochester offers flexible work options such as job sharing, part-time professional positions, and flexible work schedules to assist employees with balancing work and family life. The YMCA's "Walk the Talk" initiative encourages employees to walk a minimum of 10,000 steps daily and participate in complimentary fitness classes. The YMCA distributes free pedometers, offers an online tracking tool to monitor progress, and awards bonus steps for eating healthy food choices.

Additional Policies and Practices:

• Recruiting: The YMCA of Greater Rochester uses senior placement agencies to target mature workers and retirees. The YMCA has a partnership agreement with Lifespan, which provides information, guidance, and services to assist the mature population. The organization participates in recruiting events at the Veterans Outreach Center and also at the Rochester Area Employee Network, which recruits individuals age 50+ with disabilities.
• Workplace Culture/Continued Opportunities: Full- and part-time employees are offered many learning and development programs: tuition reimbursement, in-house classroom training, on-line training, and certification classes. A Workforce Investment Act Training Grant of $70,000 is also offered with 46 percent of employees using it in the past 12 months. Employees must work 25+ hrs/week to be eligible for the tuition reimbursement program. In the past 12 months, 75 percent of YMCA employees participated in at least one training opportunity with an average of 40 training hours. The YMCA encourages employees to participate in professional societies, attend developmental conferences, and pursue their own professional development. Accommodations are given to employees with special needs: TTYs for those who are deaf/hard of hearing, ergonomic evaluations, and handicap accessible facilities.
• Benefits/Health: Full- and part-time employees (working 25+ hrs/week) receive individual and family medical coverage, individual and family prescription drug coverage, individual and family vision and dental insurance, individual and family long-term care insurance and short-term disability. Long-term disability is also offered to full-time employees. Health benefits for retirees pre-65 and 65+ include individual as well as spouse medical and drug coverage, vision and dental insurance, as well as life insurance or other death benefit coverage. Retirees 65+ also receive individual and spouse long-term care insurance and EAP services. New hires are eligible for all of these benefits upon retirement. The YMCA offers an FSA account to assist employees with their out-of-pocket health care costs. Retirees are also offered a YMCA family or individual membership.
• Benefits/Financial: The YMCA offers a 403(b) plan to its full- and part-time employees and a match to the program. The organization encourages employees to participate in the 403(b) plan by offering all new hires the opportunity to automatically enroll in the plan, employees may choose to invest in life cycle funds, employees 50+ can make catch-up contributions, and tax deferred annuity options are given as well as an optional 457(b) plan. Employees receive financial planning information from the financial services firm that administers their 403(b) and from external financial planning experts not associated with the 403(b). The YMCA offers paid time off specifically designated for caregiving, short-term time off without pay as well as long-term leaves of absence (6 months) without pay to allow for caregiving. The organization offers wellness programs to full- and part-time employees: health screenings, health risk appraisals, smoking cessation programs, health club discounts, physical activity/exercise programs, weight loss programs, and stress management training. Employees can access electronic wellness newsletters. Ninety-nine percent of employees have used at least one of these wellness benefits in the past 12 months. The YMCA partnered with Preferred Care in efforts to assist older adults in improving their health. Full- and part-time employees are offered on-site childcare, and referral services to assist with childcare and eldercare. YMCA full-time employees pay a reduced rate for their childcare programs.
• Benefits/Alternative Work Arrangements: Full- and part-time employees can chose from a range of alternative work arrangements: flex time, compressed work schedules, job sharing, telecommuting, and a formal phased retirement program. The phased retirement program gives employees the opportunity to phase down their work expectations without jeopardizing their retirement payout. Full-time employees are eligible to move to part-time work on a permanent or temporary basis
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• Opportunities for Retirees: The YMCA currently has 40 retirees. A person with direct responsibility for retiree relations communicates regularly with retirees, inviting them to events and providing them with ongoing access to retirement planning information. The YMCA also formally acknowledges employees when they retire. The Y EX-EMPS Group is a formal retiree association, which hosts annual retiree luncheons, weekly retired men's club events, and an Active Older Adults Program. The organization offers retirees temporary work assignments, consulting/contract work, telecommuting, as well as full- and part-time work. There are also volunteer and donor opportunities.
• Age of Workforce: Sixteen percent of the YMCA employees are 50+. The average tenure of employees age 50+ is 10 years.

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Winning Strategies 2006

Twenty-two percent of The YMCA of Greater Rochester employees over age 50 have participated in their alternative work arrangement program.  Job sharing, part-time professional positions, and flexible work schedules assist the employees with balancing work and family life.

Other Benefits:

• Recruiting: The YMCA has partnered with Lifespan, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing information, guidance, and services to help older adults take on both the challenges and opportunities of longer life.  They also use senior placement agencies to target mature workers.
• Workplace Culture/Continued Opportunities: Full and part-time employees are offered tuition reimbursement (used by 1% of employees), in-house classroom training (used by 75% of employees), on-line training (used by 1% of employees), certification classes (used by 75% of employees), as well as a workforce investment act training grant of $70,000 (used by 46% of employees).  Employees must work at least 25 hrs/week to be eligible for the tuition reimbursement program.  Long-service anniversaries are celebrated with announcements, parties, and awards.
• Benefits/Health: Full and part-time employees (working at least 25 hrs/week) receive individual and family medical coverage, individual and family prescription drug coverage, individual and family vision insurance, individual and family dental insurance, individual and family long term care insurance, as well as short and long term disability.  100% of full-time employees are enrolled in the above benefit plans while 11% of part-time employees are enrolled in the plans. The YMCA offers a health flexible spending account.  Health benefits for retirees pre-65 include individual as well as spouse medical insurance and drug coverage.  New hires are eligible for these benefits.  Retirees age 65+ include individual as well as spouse medical insurance and drug coverage, individual and spouse vision and dental insurance, individual and spouse long term care insurance, EAP services, as well as individual and spouse life insurance or other death benefit.
• Benefits/Financial: The YMCA offers a 401(k) plan to its full and part-time employees. The defined contribution is 12% of the employees’ salary.  Employees must be age 21+, be enrolled in the plan for two years and have worked at least 1,000 hours in each anniversary year to receive the contribution. All new hires are automatically enrolled into the plan and employees age 50+ can make ‘catch-up’ contributions.  The YMCA offers on-site child care, and referral services to assist with child care/elder care to full and part-time employees.  The child care benefits are additionally offered to employees to use for their grandchildren.  In the past 12 months, 20% of employees have used the on-site child care benefits while only 1% have used the referral services.  In addition, the YMCA has an EAP provider to provide support and guidance in areas of elder and child care.  The YMCA provides its full and part-time employees the following wellness related benefits; health screenings, health risk appraisals, smoking cessation programs, discounts to local health clubs, exercise programs, weight loss programs, and stress management training.  In the past 12 months, 67% of the employees have taken advantage of these benefits.
• Benefits/Alternative Work Arrangements: The company offers the following alternative work arrangements to its full and part-time employees:  flex time (12% participation), compressed work schedules (6% participation), job sharing (87% participation), telecommuting (1% participation), and a formal phased retirement program (2% participation). The primary objective of the phased retirement program is to meet the employee’s needs without jeopardizing their retirement payout.  Full-time employees are eligible to move to part-time work on a permanent and temporary basis.  Employees are given paid time off that is specifically designated for care giving.
• Opportunities for Retirees: The company currently has 35 retirees. There is an individual on staff who has a direct responsibility for retiree relations.  The YMCA stays connected with its retirees by communicating regularly with them, inviting retirees to organization events, providing them with ongoing access to retirement planning workshops, and formally acknowledging them on the occasion of their retirement.  Retirees are offered the following work arrangements:  temporary work assignments, consulting/contract work, telecommuting, full and part-time work, as well as volunteer/donor opportunities in which 35 retirees participated in past 12 months.
• Age of Workforce: Fifteen percent of the company’s employees are 50+.  Eight percent of the company’s past twelve month new hires are 50+.  The average tenure of employees age 50+ is 10 years.