CVS Caremark Presents at NCOA-ASA Conference on Company's Commitment to Recruiting and Retaining Mature Workers

Discussion focuses on innovative programs, partnerships, and intergenerational mentoring in the workplace 


WOONSOCKET, R.I., March 28  /PRNewswire/ -- Today CVS Caremark, a leader in developing innovative workforce programs to recruit and retain employees, was joined by other business leaders at the 2008 NCOA-ASA Aging in America Conference in Washington, D.C. for a discussion on the multigenerational workforce and the importance of mature workers.

Michael Ferdinandi, Senior Vice President, Human Resources and Corporate Communications, CVS Caremark, co-presented the session "Seizing Business Opportunities with the NEXT Workforce" at the NCOA/MaturityWorks Alliance Workforce Summit. Mr. Ferdinandi spoke about the company's mature worker initiatives, including creative and flexible benefits options, a welcoming work environment encouraging career advancement at all levels, and strategic public-private partnerships.

By 2010, almost one in three workers will be at least 50 years of age, and as baby boomers continue to approach retirement age, the pool of replacement workers will not be large enough to meet employers' labor demands. Mr. Ferdinandi discussed how CVS Caremark has developed workplace solutions to retain skilled mature workers and recruit and train the next generation of employees. In the past decade, the company has forged innovative partnerships with local and national agencies and organizations in order to actively recruit employees including mature workers, and now roughly one in five employees is age 50 and older. CVS Caremark also offers substantial training, convenient locations, and flexible work schedules -- including a snowbird program that enables employees to shuttle between different store regions on a seasonal basis.

"CVS Caremark prides itself on developing innovative workforce development partnerships and programs, and opening up customized hiring and job training opportunities that match company and community needs," said Mr. Ferdinandi. "The strength of our company is in our talented and diverse workforce, and our mature workers bring to us a lifetime of experience, a wide range of skills, a commitment to customer service, and an eagerness to mentor our younger associates."

Mr. Ferdinandi also revealed the results of a survey on mentoring in the workplace among CVS pharmacists age 50 and over. The study shows that senior pharmacists view mentoring as personally rewarding, especially when mentoring college students and apprentice pharmacy technicians. The study, conducted by University of Vermont Business Professor Barbara McIntosh for CVS Caremark, also shows that senior pharmacists who are interested in mentoring depend on having proper mentor training in order for the mentoring to be successful.

These results help reinforce the value of CVS Caremark's Senior Pharmacist Legacy Mentoring Program, which uses the talent and experience of senior pharmacists, working and retired, to mentor apprentice pharmacy technicians and high school and college students in order to cultivate and reinforce their interest in entering pharmacy careers. The company piloted the program in Chicago in 2006 and will expand the successful program to Atlanta and Tampa next year. As the program continues, outcomes will be formally evaluated, and a tool kit will be developed to allow replicating the project across the country and in other allied healthcare professions.

"In this multi-generational workforce, companies should consider implementing a formal mentoring program to help attract young adults to the profession, retain experienced employees who are at retirement age, and transfer the knowledge and expertise of older workers to young adults," said Dr. McIntosh. "As the study shows, a formal mentoring program is also important in providing mature workers with the tools needed to become successful mentors."

About CVS Caremark

CVS Caremark is the largest provider of prescriptions and related health care services in the nation. The Company fills or manages more than 1 billion prescriptions annually. Through its unmatched breadth of service offerings, CVS Caremark is transforming the delivery of health care services in the U.S. The Company is uniquely positioned to effectively manage costs and improve health care outcomes through its 6,300 CVS/pharmacy stores; its pharmacy benefit management, mail order and specialty pharmacy division, Caremark Pharmacy Services; its retail-based health clinic subsidiary, MinuteClinic; and its online pharmacy, CVS.com. General information about CVS Caremark is available through the Investor Relations portion of the Company's website, at http://investor.cvs.com/, as well as through the pressroom portion of the Company's website, at http://www.cvs.com/pressroom.

  Contacts:
  Carolyn Castel                     Sara Steindorf
  CVS Caremark                       Weber Shandwick Worldwide
  [phone]                     [phone]
                      

DATASOURCE: CVS Caremark



CONTACT:  Carolyn Castel, CVS Caremark, [phone], ;

Sara Steindorf, Weber Shandwick Worldwide, [phone],

, for CVS Caremark



Web site:  http://www.cvs.com/

http://investor.cvs.com/

http://www.cvs.com/pressroom 

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