Harvard University: 2008 AARP Best Employers for Workers Over 50

Winning Year: 2008

Industry: Education- Post Secondary

Location: Cambridge, Mass.

URL: www.harvard.edu

2008 Rank: 34

 

 

The Harvard University Retirees Association provides retirees ongoing intellectual growth, social interaction, and service to the university. After 15 years of service, Harvard employees receive the following additional benefits: eligibility to take one Harvard course free of charge, 12 half-price admission vouchers to Loeb Theatre performances, free membership in the Harvard Faculty Club, and free membership at the athletic facilities. Thirty percent of Harvard’s employees are age 50+, and the average tenure of employees age 50+ is 15.8 years.

 

Additional Policies and Practices:

 

Recruiting: Harvard uses placement agencies for older job-seekers to target mature workers and retirees. In addition, the university works with Operation A.B.L.E., which provides training and job-placement assistance to workers age 45+. Harvard also reaches out to veterans by meeting with local veterans’ representatives at local and state employment agencies.

 

Workplace Culture/Continued Opportunities: To its full- and part-time employees, Harvard offers the following learning and development programs: tuition reimbursement, in-house classroom training, online training, and certification classes. Tuition reimbursement is offered to employees working at least 17 hours per week. During the past 12 months, 27 percent of Harvard employees participated in at least one of the training opportunities.

 

The university also encourages and often pays for employee participation in conferences, seminars, and workshops outside of the university.

 

Harvard celebrates long-service anniversaries with announcements, parties, and awards.

 

Responding to employee requests, the following benefits and improvements have been implemented: executive coaching available for senior leaders; improving internal communication by having a designated point person; developing new approach for performance management for senior leaders; periodically providing current state analysis of external pay competitiveness, and expanding Harvard Heroes (the employee-recognition program).

 

Employees develop new skills by working on temporary assignments in other departments and on team projects. Harvard provides ergonomic and physical redesign of workstations, such as making monitor adjustments to allow natural light without creating computer glare. The university also provides equipment, such as adjustable chairs, larger computer monitors, and ergonomic keyboards.

 

Benefits/Health: Full- and part-time employees working at least 17 hours a 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- and long-term disability.

 

Health benefits for retirees under 65 and 65+ include individual and spousal medical and drug coverage, individual and spousal dental coverage, individual and spousal long-term care insurance, employee-assistance services, and individual and spousal life insurance or other death-benefit coverage. New hires are eligible for all these benefits upon retirement.

 

Harvard offers employees flexible spending accounts to help cover out-of-pocket health care costs. In addition, lower-paid employees benefit from a co-pay reimbursement plan (the university pays these expenses after a deductible is met).

 

Benefits/Financial: Harvard offers a 403(b) plan and a cash-balance plan to its full- and part-time employees. Employees may invest in lifecycle funds, and those age 50+ can make catch-up contributions. Employees receive financial planning information from the firm that administers their 403(b) plan and from external experts not associated with the 403(b) plan.

 

The university also offers numerous free financial-planning courses and individual retirement financial planning.

 

Harvard offers paid time off specifically designated for caregiving, short-term time off without pay and long-term leaves of absence without pay, to allow for caregiving.

 

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 and exercise programs, weight loss programs, stress-management training, and three employee-assistance augmented psychotherapy sessions. Twenty-three percent of Harvard’s employees have used at least one of its wellness benefits during the past 12 months.

 

Harvard offers on-site care for children and grandchildren, referral services to assist with care for children and grandchildren and with /eldercare, and backup care for children, grandchildren, and elders to its full- and part-time employees. Harvard provides child-care scholarships and adoption reimbursement, and some employees qualify for child care or eldercare backup assistance.

 

Benefits/Alternative Work Arrangements: Harvard offers the following alternative work arrangements to its full- and part-time employees: flextime, compressed work schedules, and telecommuting. Full-time employees are eligible to move to part-time work on a permanent or temporary basis.

 

Opportunities for Retirees: Harvard currently has 4,000 retirees and an employee directly responsible for retiree relations. The university stays connected with retirees by communicating regularly, by inviting retirees to organization events and celebrations, by providing ongoing access to retirement-planning workshops and information, and by formally acknowledging retirees when they retire.

 

The Harvard Institute for Learning in Retirement is a noncredit non-degree program for retirees.

 

Harvard offers retirees temporary work assignments, consulting and contract work, telecommuting, part-time work, proctoring work, and volunteering.

 

Age of Workforce: Thirty percent of Harvard’s employees are age 50+. The average tenure of employees age 50+ is 15.8 years.