Mercy Health System: 2008 AARP Best Employers for Workers Over 50
By: AARP.org | Source: AARP.org | September 2008
2008 Best Employers
View winners of the 2008 AARP Best Employers for Workers Over 50 Program.
Winning Years: 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005
Industry: Hospitals/Health care
Location: Janesville, Wis.
URL: www.mercyhealthsystem.org
2008 Rank: 17
Highlights of 2008 Winning Strategies
Mercy Health System promotes its Work-to-Retire program, which offers employees age 50+ alternative work options. Employees can choose from working reduced hours, serving in a pool, or telecommuting. Workers age 55+ can also work seasonally for 1,000 hours a year. Each option provides employees full-year, part-time benefits. The Mercy Retiree Association offers health screenings and health-related programs, volunteer opportunities, social programming, mentoring opportunities, and financial-planning seminars. Long-term employees receive discounts on their health insurance premiums.
Additional Policies and Practices:
Recruiting: Mercy uses e-cards and direct-mail campaigns to target mature workers and retired job-seekers. In addition, the Mercy Retiree Association offers retirees the opportunity to advise and support current and potential employees.
Workplace Culture/Continued Opportunities: Mercy offers the following learning and development programs to full- and part-time employees: tuition reimbursement, in-house classroom training, online training, certification classes, and the Mercy Learning Center (a computer-based learning management system). Eligibility for tuition reimbursement and certification requires working at least 20 hours per week. In the past 12 months, 100 percent of Mercy employees participated in at least one of its training opportunities, with an average of 25 hours spent in training.
Mercy celebrates long-service anniversaries with announcements, parties, and awards.
In response to employee requests, the organization has made the following improvements to its benefits: increasing the Stay Healthy insurance benefit; increasing tuition reimbursement; enhancing the Mercy Childcare program; starting a Women’s Affinity Group; introducing the Mercy Learning Center; adding optional indemnity and health-protection plans; offering an online health-risk assessment; providing long-term care insurance, short-term disability insurance, and dental benefits; and increasing time-off accrual.
Employees gain experience by completing temporary assignments in other departments and on team projects. Workers also have access to formal job-rotation programs.
Each year, Mercy’s Occupational Therapy Department performs more than 280 ergonomic evaluations on its workstations.
Benefits/Health: Employees working at least 20 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-term disability. Long-term disability is offered exclusively to those working at least 36 hours per week.
Health benefits for retirees under age 65 and 65+ include individual and spousal medical and drug coverage, dental insurance, long-term care insurance, and an employee assistance program. New hires age 65+ are eligible for all the benefits upon retirement.
Retirees receive the following additional health benefits: discounts to Mercy Wellness Centers, discounts on over-the-counter pharmacy items at Mercy retail pharmacies and Mercy Health Mall, and discounted health services at Mercy. Mercy offers flexible-spending accounts to employees to help meet out-of-pocket health care costs.
Benefits/Financial: For full- and part-time employees, Mercy provides a 403(b) retirement savings plan with an employer match and a cash-balance plan. Employees age 50+ can make catch-up contributions to their 403(b) plans, and the plan has open enrollment.
Employees receive financial-planning information from staff members and from the firm that administers their 403(b) plan. Mercy offers paid time off that is specifically designated for caregiving, short-term time off without pay, and long-term leaves of absence without pay for caregiving. Employees also have a Combined Time Off plan and employees can request time from the Donated Leave-Sharing plan if they need extra time off.
Full- and part-time employees can take part in the following wellness programs: flu shots, health screenings, health-risk appraisals, smoking-cessation programs, health club discounts, physical activity and exercise programs, weight-loss programs, and stress-management training. All employees attend the annual safety fair. Ninety-one percent of Mercy’s employees have used at least one of its wellness benefits during the past 12 months.
The following dependent-care benefits are offered to full- and part-time employees: on-site eldercare, backup care for children, grandchildren, and elders, and referral services to assist with care for children and grandchildren and for eldercare. In addition, Mercy’s Senior Connection, a free program for those age 55+, provides health insurance and financial counseling, a free prescription-discount card, and activities for older people.
Benefits/Alternative Work Arrangements: Mercy offers the following alternative work arrangements to its full- and part-time employees: flextime, compressed work schedules, telecommuting, and a formal phased-retirement program. Full-time employees are also eligible for job sharing. Full-time employees are eligible to move to part-time work on a permanent or temporary basis.
Opportunities for Retirees: Mercy has 311 retirees and has an employee directly responsible for retiree relations. Mercy stays connected with its retirees by communicating regularly, by inviting retirees to organization events and celebrations, by providing ongoing retirement planning workshops and information, and by formally acknowledging employees’ service when they retire.
Mercy offers retirees temporary work assignments, telecommuting, and full- and part-time work. The Mercy Association of Volunteers, comprised mainly of retirees and older community members, runs numerous programs, including the area’s largest Lifeline, Meals on Wheels, and a thrift store.
Age of Workforce: Thirty percent of Mercy employees are age 50+. The average tenure of employees age 50+ is 12 years.
Industry: Hospitals/Health care
Location: Janesville, Wis.
URL: www.mercyhealthsystem.org
2008 Rank: 17
Highlights of 2008 Winning Strategies
Mercy Health System promotes its Work-to-Retire program, which offers employees age 50+ alternative work options. Employees can choose from working reduced hours, serving in a pool, or telecommuting. Workers age 55+ can also work seasonally for 1,000 hours a year. Each option provides employees full-year, part-time benefits. The Mercy Retiree Association offers health screenings and health-related programs, volunteer opportunities, social programming, mentoring opportunities, and financial-planning seminars. Long-term employees receive discounts on their health insurance premiums.
Additional Policies and Practices:
Recruiting: Mercy uses e-cards and direct-mail campaigns to target mature workers and retired job-seekers. In addition, the Mercy Retiree Association offers retirees the opportunity to advise and support current and potential employees.
Workplace Culture/Continued Opportunities: Mercy offers the following learning and development programs to full- and part-time employees: tuition reimbursement, in-house classroom training, online training, certification classes, and the Mercy Learning Center (a computer-based learning management system). Eligibility for tuition reimbursement and certification requires working at least 20 hours per week. In the past 12 months, 100 percent of Mercy employees participated in at least one of its training opportunities, with an average of 25 hours spent in training.
Mercy celebrates long-service anniversaries with announcements, parties, and awards.
In response to employee requests, the organization has made the following improvements to its benefits: increasing the Stay Healthy insurance benefit; increasing tuition reimbursement; enhancing the Mercy Childcare program; starting a Women’s Affinity Group; introducing the Mercy Learning Center; adding optional indemnity and health-protection plans; offering an online health-risk assessment; providing long-term care insurance, short-term disability insurance, and dental benefits; and increasing time-off accrual.
Employees gain experience by completing temporary assignments in other departments and on team projects. Workers also have access to formal job-rotation programs.
Each year, Mercy’s Occupational Therapy Department performs more than 280 ergonomic evaluations on its workstations.
Benefits/Health: Employees working at least 20 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-term disability. Long-term disability is offered exclusively to those working at least 36 hours per week.
Health benefits for retirees under age 65 and 65+ include individual and spousal medical and drug coverage, dental insurance, long-term care insurance, and an employee assistance program. New hires age 65+ are eligible for all the benefits upon retirement.
Retirees receive the following additional health benefits: discounts to Mercy Wellness Centers, discounts on over-the-counter pharmacy items at Mercy retail pharmacies and Mercy Health Mall, and discounted health services at Mercy. Mercy offers flexible-spending accounts to employees to help meet out-of-pocket health care costs.
Benefits/Financial: For full- and part-time employees, Mercy provides a 403(b) retirement savings plan with an employer match and a cash-balance plan. Employees age 50+ can make catch-up contributions to their 403(b) plans, and the plan has open enrollment.
Employees receive financial-planning information from staff members and from the firm that administers their 403(b) plan. Mercy offers paid time off that is specifically designated for caregiving, short-term time off without pay, and long-term leaves of absence without pay for caregiving. Employees also have a Combined Time Off plan and employees can request time from the Donated Leave-Sharing plan if they need extra time off.
Full- and part-time employees can take part in the following wellness programs: flu shots, health screenings, health-risk appraisals, smoking-cessation programs, health club discounts, physical activity and exercise programs, weight-loss programs, and stress-management training. All employees attend the annual safety fair. Ninety-one percent of Mercy’s employees have used at least one of its wellness benefits during the past 12 months.
The following dependent-care benefits are offered to full- and part-time employees: on-site eldercare, backup care for children, grandchildren, and elders, and referral services to assist with care for children and grandchildren and for eldercare. In addition, Mercy’s Senior Connection, a free program for those age 55+, provides health insurance and financial counseling, a free prescription-discount card, and activities for older people.
Benefits/Alternative Work Arrangements: Mercy offers the following alternative work arrangements to its full- and part-time employees: flextime, compressed work schedules, telecommuting, and a formal phased-retirement program. Full-time employees are also eligible for job sharing. Full-time employees are eligible to move to part-time work on a permanent or temporary basis.
Opportunities for Retirees: Mercy has 311 retirees and has an employee directly responsible for retiree relations. Mercy stays connected with its retirees by communicating regularly, by inviting retirees to organization events and celebrations, by providing ongoing retirement planning workshops and information, and by formally acknowledging employees’ service when they retire.
Mercy offers retirees temporary work assignments, telecommuting, and full- and part-time work. The Mercy Association of Volunteers, comprised mainly of retirees and older community members, runs numerous programs, including the area’s largest Lifeline, Meals on Wheels, and a thrift store.
Age of Workforce: Thirty percent of Mercy employees are age 50+. The average tenure of employees age 50+ is 12 years.
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