2007 Winning Strategies: AARP Best Employers for Workers Over 50
Source: AARP.org | December 2007
- Workplace Accommodations: Practices of the AARP Best Employers for Workers Over 50 in 2007
- Employee Benefits Practices of the 2007 AARP Best Employers for Workers Over 50
- Support for Caregivers: Practices of the 2007 AARP Best Employers for Workers Over 50
- Flexibility and Work Arrangements Practices of the 2007 AARP Best Employers for Workers Over 50
- Recruiting 50+ Workers and Retirees Practices of the 2007 AARP Best Employers for Workers Over 50
- Training and Professional Development Practices of the 2007 AARP Best Employers for Workers Over 50
- 2008 Winning Strategies: AARP Best Employers for Workers Over 50
Since 2001, 120 employers have received recognition from the annual AARP Best Employers for Workers Over 50 awards program. This program honors leading companies and organizations whose best practices and policies for addressing issues affecting the aging workforce set the example for the workplaces of tomorrow.
In the tradition of AARP's Best Employers for Workers Over 50, the 2007 winners are true pacesetters. These companies seek qualified employees and recognize that older workers represent an important and growing segment of the qualified labor force that they seek These companies' workforce policies and practices—including recruiting efforts, training policies, flexible work arrangements, health and retirement benefits, support for caregivers, and workplace accommodations, to name a few—help them attract and retain valuable employees of all ages. Key features of their practices, especially those of particular importance to older workers, are highlighted below.
Recruiting
The 2007 Best Employers seek out the experience of mature workers and target them in recruiting efforts. Examples of how the companies appeal to a mature audience include:
- Featuring pictures of age-50+ workers on all marketing materials in order to make it clear that older workers are welcome
- Focusing on the "new worker," a person who has second or third careers
- Using job announcements that say, "Retirees welcome!"
- Holding job fairs with community organizations, libraries, senior communities, and church groups
- Using e-cards and direct-mail campaigns that are designed to appeal to mature and retired populations
- Collaborating with other organizations, such as AARP, Goodwill Industries, and local Workforce Investment Boards in their recruiting efforts to reach a larger audience
Training
The 2007 Best Employers offer training and professional-development opportunities for workers of all ages, including some that have particular value for mature workers. Here are some examples of the development opportunities:
- Assignments designed to help employees learn new skills
- Job-refresher courses for mature workers who plan to start working again after having been out of the workforce for some time
- Training for managers on helping mature workers to reinvent themselves
- Seminars on topics such as "Understanding Retirement Benefits," "Addressing Elder-Care issues," "Selecting a Nursing Home," and "Bridging the Generation Gap"
- Help with choosing or planning for alternative careers
- Training programs based on teaching methods that are effective with adult learners
Benefits
Good health and financial benefits go a long way to helping businesses attract and retain employees. The 2007 honorees have committed to providing a wide array of benefits for active employees. Many also offer benefits to retirees. The following are examples of benefits offered by the 2007 Best Employers:
- Medical benefits for full-time and part-time employees
- Retiree health benefits for retirees under the age of 65 and for those over the age of 65
- Education programs on Medicare Part D and long-term-care insurance
- Wellness programs, such as free health screenings, flu shots, and physical-activity programs.
- One-on-one financial-planning assistance and consultation
- Employer-provided contributions to pensions or to retirement-savings plans
Flexible Work Arrangements
By offering flexibility in when, where, and how employees work, the 2007 Best Employers have discovered a valuable tool to retain productive, engaged workers. Here are some of the flexible-work options the Best Employers offer their employees:
- Formal phased-retirement programs, through which employees may work reduced schedules for a period of time prior to full retirement
- Short-term assignments for retirees, or set schedules permitting retirees to work a certain number of hours while continuing to collect full pension benefits
- Job-sharing arrangements through which the responsibilities of one job are completed by two or more part-time employees
- Opportunities to move to part-time work on a temporary or permanent basis
- Seasonal time-off opportunities, which enable employees to work part of the year while reserving the other part for travel, leisure, family, or personal matters
- Paid time off that is designated specifically for volunteering in the community
Caregiving Programs
The 2007 AARP Best Employers understand the pressures faced by many age-50+ workers, who juggle the demands of caring for parents and raising children at the same time. Best Employers offer their workers who have caregiving responsibilities a range of support, including the following:
- Referral services to help employees locate and select elder-care resources, such as adult day care, in-home care, and caregiver-support groups
- Paid and unpaid time off to care for family members
- Discounted rates for ongoing elder-care or child-care assistance
- Subsidized backup elder-care and child-care programs for times when ongoing arrangements fall through
- Online seminars and caregiving articles that employers make available through their Employee Assistance Programs
- Symposia at which representatives of local organizations that help with caregiving are available to provide information and to answer questions
Workplace Accommodations
As workers age, they may experience physical changes that affect their ability to do certain tasks. A common characteristic of the 2007 AARP Best Employers is a commitment to changing the work environment or the job responsibilities so that employees can remain valuable contributors to the workplace. Here are some examples of the workplace accommodations that the 2007 honorees have made:
- Ergonomics programs, including education about ergonomics, body mechanics, risk factors, and stretching, plus access to an on-site therapist
- Adjusting the height of work stations to accommodate wheelchairs, and modifying parking-lot curbing
- Providing a "buddy" to accompany an employee on crutches to meetings, and giving the employee a parking space near the entrance
- Offering flexible hours to an employee with a progressive disability
- Supplying home-office equipment for an employee with health problems, so that the employee could do medical transcribing from home
- Accommodating a nurse who experienced increased hearing loss by transferring her to a smaller unit and by providing special equipment.
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