Scripps Health

Winning Years: 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004
Industry: Hospitals/Health care
Location: San Diego, Calif.
URL: www.scripps.org

Highlights of 2009 Winning Strategies

This year, Scripps Health celebrates its sixth straight appearance on AARP's list of Best Employers for Workers Over 50. Scripps has continued its emphasis on attracting and retaining talented, mature, exemplary workers. In 2008, it participated in a job fair called the "50+ Hiring Bonanza."

The Scripps Retiree Relations program helps maintain relationships between the organization and retirees by sending newsletters and holding social events.

Scripps' Career-Development Services Program enables employees to move to other jobs within the organization. Employees are re-recruited into new jobs that allow career advancement, leadership, and development.

Recruiting: Scripps Health uses multiple sources to locate and hire mature workers, including placement agencies and job fairs for older applicants. Scripps also joined a job fair targeting age-50+ workers, called the "50+ Hiring Bonanza." In 2008, Scripps hired its largest number of nurses over age 50.

Workplace Culture and Continued Opportunities: Scripps offers the following learning and development programs to its full- and part-time employees: tuition reimbursement, in-house classroom training, online training, and certification classes. The in-house classroom training, online training, and certification classes require only one hour of work per week for eligibility, while tuition reimbursement requires 16 hours per week for eligibility. In 2008, 100 percent of Scripps employees participated in at least one learning program, and the average training time was 23 hours per employee.

The organization celebrates long-service anniversaries with announcements, parties, awards, and service-awards dinners.
Employee feedback via the "Great Place to Work Trust Index" led Scripps to add some benefits, such as paid time off, paid short-term disability, and higher employer contributions to the retirement plan.

Employees can expand their job options and skills through temporary job assignments, team projects, access to a formal job-rotation program, and by participating in the Emerging Leader Program. This program allows non-managerial staff to see and experience what it takes to become a leader at Scripps.

The organization is also committed to accommodating the needs of its employees and recently installed a special air filter in an employee's work area because she is allergic to dust mites. The organization also performs ongoing damp-dusting of the filing area.

Benefits/Health: Scripps offers the following health benefits to full- and part-time employees working at least 16 hours per week: individual and family medical and prescription-drug coverage, individual and family vision and dental coverage, individual and family long-term-care insurance, and both short- and long-term disability.

Retirees under and above age 65 receive individual and spousal medical and prescription-drug coverage, individual and spousal vision and dental coverage, individual and spousal long-term-care insurance, individual and spousal death benefits, and the services of the employee assistance program. New hires are eligible for the age-65+ retiree benefits, which include dental insurance, long-term-care insurance, the death benefit, and services from the employee assistance plan.

Scripps offers employees flexible spending accounts to help with out-of-pocket medical expenses. Scripps offers the 401(h), a tax-free health-insurance savings account for retirees, as part of its 401(a) plan.

Benefits/Financial: Scripps offers 401(a) and 403(b) retirement-savings plans with an employer match to all of its full- and part-time employees. The organization automatically enrolls new hires in the retirement plans. Employees may invest in life-cycle funds, and employees over age 50 can make catch-up contributions.