Employment
AARP Honors 35 Best Employers for Workers Over 50
News Release
August 31, 2004
Separate Report Spotlights Best Practices by Best Employers
What do a dental benefits administrator, an office technologies and services firm, a financial services company and an auto manufacturer have in common?
These diverse companies recruit and retain mature workers – they treat them right – and rank among the 35 employers from across the U.S. that have been named 2004 "AARP Best Employers for Workers Over 50."
Simultaneously, AARP released a report spotlighting specific best practices among best employers selected this year – and in the two previous years – in AARP's annual competition.
The 2004 awards come as recent projections point toward a continued jump in the percentage of mature workers in the economy. Fourteen percent of the workforce is aged 55 and older now; the percent is expected to reach 19 percent by 2012.
"The winning employers stand as exemplary models for others who have yet to plan for the graying of their workforce," said Deborah Russell, who directs the Best Employers program for AARP. "The creative practices today's winners have in place may well evolve in the future, but the 2004 Best Employers give us high standards to strive for."
Twelve of the awardees are hospitals, four are in financial services, and three are providers of insurance. Two of the award recipients, Principal Financial Group and Adecco Employment Services, were named to the list for the third consecutive year. Twelve others are two-time honorees.
Many of the honorees excelled in many, if not all, of the categories that were evaluated, including recruitment practices, continuing opportunities for advancement, flexible work schedules, and benefits for current and retired employees. The full list of AARP's 2004 Best Employers for Workers Over 50 follows the release.
The awardees will be honored at a dinner in New York City on September 23. The next day, AARP and BusinessWeek will cohost a forum in New York that will focus on employer best practices. A separate forum will be held in Boston on September 15.
In conjunction with this year's list of Best Employers, AARP also released "Staying Ahead of the Curve 2004: Employer Best Practices for Mature Workers," a detailed analysis of the best practices among winning employers over the past three years.
"Employers should look at this report to gain a competitive edge. For the first time, AARP lays out a framework for companies on what policies and practices they need to adopt to attract the mature workforce," Russell said.
Drafted by Mercer Human Resource Consulting on behalf of AARP, the report includes these key findings:
- Attraction and retention of the right workforce is important
to the winning companies. For example, a number of companies
offer phased retirement programs. Several allow employees to
collect full retirement benefits while continuing to work
part-time or reduced hours – while also allowing full
health and other benefits. These companies include SSM Health
Care (St. Louis, MO), 2004 and 2003 winner; Bon Secours Richmond
Health System (Richmond, VA), 2004, 2003; and Brethren Village
(Lancaster, PA), 2004, 2003.
- Some employers leverage their areas of market focus to offer
programs to support the maturing workforce. For instance, some
hospital systems and health care providers offered health care
services at a discount. St. Mary's Medical Center
(Huntington, WVA), 2004, 2003, provides many diagnostic and
preventive services available free to mature female employees
(screening for breast cancer, skin cancer and cervical exams), as
well as a range of services such as free annual check ups to all
employees.
- Newer programs are emerging to engage the mature worker. Such
programs show appreciation for longer service, recognize mature
worker issues, and/or support family care needs. Volkswagen of
America, Inc. (Auburn Hills, MI), 2004, 2003, administers an
elder care flexible spending program that allows employees to
allocate $5,000 in pre-tax earnings in such an account.
AARP is concurrently unveiling a new website to provide information and guidance for employers seeking to attract and retain a mature workforce. The address is www.aarp.org/employerresourcecenter.
"AARP is working on a number of fronts to ensure that people who want to keep working as they grow older can do so," said Russell. She added that AARP is simultaneously seeking to help older Americans gain the skills they need to stay employed.
AARP invited employers to apply for the Best Employer designation by describing their innovative practices toward 50 and over workers in an extensive questionnaire. A consulting firm provided a preliminary rating of the applicants. Then a panel of six outside judges evaluated the applications and their opinions, combined with the consultant's evaluations, led to final ratings. Additional vetting followed to determine the Best Employers.
Applications are now available for the 2005 Best Employer competition. Employers are invited to apply by visiting www.aarp.org/bestemployers. The 2005 application will seek to determine employers of choice by, among other things, highlighting those who provide flexible work options, operate creative recruitment programs and rehire retirees. The deadline for applications is February 28, 2005.
AARP The Magazine, in conjunction with the announcement of the Best Employers winners, will include articles in its November-December issue that will focus on providing resources for staying marketable as a mature worker.
2004 AARP Best Employers for Workers 50 and Over (in alphabetical order)
- Adecco Employment Services (Melville, NY)
- Beaumont Hospitals (Southfield, MI)
- Bon Secours Richmond Health System (Richmond, VA)
- Brethren Village (Lancaster, PA)
- Centegra Health System (Woodstock, IL)
- Deere & Company (Moline, IL)
- Delaware North Companies Inc. (Buffalo, NY)
- DentaQuest Ventures, Inc. (Boston, MA)
- First Horizon National Corporation (Memphis, TN)
- Gemini Incorporated (Cannon Falls, MN)
- Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. (Nutley, NJ)
- Lee County Electric Cooperative (North Fort Myers, FL)
- Lincoln Financial Group (Philadelphia, PA)
- Loudoun Healthcare, Inc. (Leesburg, VA)
- Minnesota Life (St. Paul, MN)
- Mitretek Systems (Falls Church, VA)
- New York University Medical Center (New York, NY)
- North Memorial Health Care (Robbinsdale, MN)
- Pitney Bowes, Inc. (Stamford, CT)
- Principal Financial Group (Des Moines, IA)
- SSM Health Care (St. Louis, MO)
- St. Mary's Medical Center (Huntington, WV)
- Scottsdale Healthcare (Scottsdale, AZ)
- Scripps Health (San Diego, CA)
- Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation (Clayton, MO)
- Sonoco (Hartsville, SC)
- Stanley Consultants, Inc. (Muscatine, IA)
- The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc. (Cambridge, MA)
- The Methodist Hospital (Houston, TX)
- The Vanguard Group (Valley Forge, PA)
- Volkswagen of America, Inc. (Auburn Hills, MI)
- WELBRO Building Corporation (Maitland, FL)
- West Virginia University Hospitals (Morgantown, WV)
- Westgate Resorts (Orlando, FL)
- Zurich North America (Schaumburg, IL)
AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization dedicated to making life better for people age 50 and older. We provide information and resources; engage in legislative, regulatory, and legal advocacy; assist members in serving their communities; and offer a wide range of unique benefits, special products, and services for our members. These include AARP The Magazine, published bimonthly; AARP Bulletin, our monthly newspaper; AARP Segunda Juventud, our quarterly newspaper in Spanish; NRTA Live & Learn, our quarterly newsletter for 50+ educators; and our Web site, www.aarp.org. We have staffed offices in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.