• Health
• Money
• Leisure
• Make a Difference
• Family
• Online Community
• Membership

L.L. Bean, Inc.

By: Source: AARP.org Date Posted: 2006-08-30 10:08:38.440116-04:00

• Comment
• E-mail
• Print
• Bookmark
• Share

Share

• DIGG
• DEL.ICIO.US
• LINKED IN
• FACEBOOK

E-mail to a friend

Your E-mail:


Your Name:


To:

(Separate multiple addresses with commas)

Message:

(Maximum length: 1,000 characters)

CC me

Winning year: 2006
Industry: Retailing/Direct Selling
Location: Freeport, ME
URL: www.llbean.com

Winning Strategies 2006

L.L. Bean retirees remain eligible for the tuition reimbursement benefit. The company offers flexible work schedules via their ‘Swap Book,’ which allows employees at any Customer Contact Center to trade, pick up or give away shifts, volunteer to stay late, leave early or swap time with another employee, while the ‘Attendance Bank’ provides a bank of time to be used without disciplinary action for time needed away from work for sickness, accident or personal reasons.

Other Benefits:

• Workplace Culture/Continued Opportunities: The company offers the following learning and development programs to its full and part-time employees: tuition reimbursement (4% used in past 12 months), in-house classroom training (75% used in past 12 months), on-line training (20% used in past 12 months), and certification classes (1% used in past 12 months). Employees must work at least 20 hours per week to be eligible for the tuition reimbursement program. Long-service anniversaries are celebrated with announcements, parties, gifts, and awards.
• Benefits/Health: Full and part-time employees (working at least 20 hr/week) receive individual and family medical coverage, individual and family prescription drug coverage, individual and family dental insurance, as well as short and long-term disability. 28% of employees are enrolled in the individual medical and prescription drug plan, 48% in the employee and family medical and prescription drug plan, 29% in the individual dental plan, 55% in the employee and family dental plan, 100% in the short-term disability plan, and 72% in the long-term disability plan. Health benefits for retirees pre-65 and 65+ include individual as well as spouse medical and drug coverage as well as individual life insurance or other death benefit coverage. All of the above retiree health benefits are available to new hires upon retirement. The company offers a health flexible spending account.
• Benefits/Financial: The company offers a defined benefit plan and a 401(k) plan to its full-time and part-time employees. The company matches dollar for dollar the first 3% of an employee’s pre-tax contributions, and 50% for each dollar contributed at the 4 or 5% level. Employees are eligible for the 401(k) upon hire and are fully vested from day one; employees may choose to invest in lifecycle funds, and those age 50+ can make ‘catch-up’ contributions to their 401(k) plan. The company’s EAP offers ‘Taking Care of Mom, Dad and Me’, an on-site multi-session program, and EAP also provides elder care referrals. In addition, dependent care reimbursement accounts are available to employees with up to $5,000 pre-tax contribution which is subject to income limits. 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, stress management training, exercise programs, and weight loss programs. 97% of employees have utilized at least one of the above wellness benefits in the past 12 months.
• Benefits/Alternative Work Arrangements: The company offers alternative work arrangements such as flex time (50% participation), compressed work schedules (1% participation), job sharing (1% participation), and telecommuting (10% participation) to full and part-time employees (working at least 20 hours per week). Full-time employees are eligible to move to part-time work on a permanent and temporary basis.
• Opportunities for Retirees: The company currently has 861 retirees. Retirees are encouraged to return to work on a seasonal basis. There is an individual within the company who has a direct responsibility for retiree relations. The company 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 employees on the occasion of their retirement. Retirees can participate in the on-site retiree exercise program, receive 50% discounts in the company cafeterias, access company recreational facilities, and receive special retiree hours for employee store. Retirees are offered the following work arrangements: temporary work assignments (57 used in past 12 months), consulting/contract work, part-time work (2 used in past 12 months), full-time work (5 used in past 12 months), and on-call work.
• Age of Workforce: Thirty-six percent of the company’s employees are 50+. Fifteen percent of the company’s past twelve month new hires are 50+. The average tenure of employees age 50+ is 11.8 years.