CVS Caremark—Making Strides in Diversity

By Joan Leotta

Many of us know the CVS/pharmacy chain as a convenient place to get prescriptions filled and pick up sundry items for everyday life. The CVS Caremark (www.cvscaremark.com) family of companies not only provides service through 6,300 retail outlets in 40 US states but also fills or manages more than one billion prescriptions per year through stores, mail orders, and online sales. Executives of this successful company, which boasts $80 billion in annual revenue, know that hiring people with any and all backgrounds makes good business sense.

Stephen Wing, CVS Caremark's director of workforce initiatives, says, “We have great leadership from our President and CEO Tom Ryan. He is committed to our stores mirroring the community at large.”

Good business decision

Because CVS Caremark recognizes that “diversity is consistent with our values of respect and openness and we believe it is the right thing to do,” (reference) the company provides employment opportunities to all sectors of the population.

From the headquarters office in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, to each and every retail outlet, distribution center, and office, CVS Caremark has instituted several programs that encourage employee diversity. Programs such as Welfare-to-Work and Mature Workers—and practices that include hiring people with disabilities—have led to the creation of a culture of flexibility among managers and employees alike.

Welfare-to-Work

CVS began with four people, then 60, then more—many of whom had undisclosed and disclosed disabilities. “In the mid 1990s,” says Wing, “I became the training person in charge of tax credits and I soon learned that my job was to develop the company's Welfare-to-Work initiative.” Thanks in part to this program, CVS achieved a 60% employee retention rate—exemplary for retail work.

Many Welfare-to-Work employees initially hired into lower-level jobs eventually move up the career ladder to become managers. Two have even become pharmacists. Although there is no “typical” story that captures the program's success, Wing relates the following anecdote: “Employees began to receive pay in the training phase. One of the young women hired told her manager that when she got home with her first pay, her children were waiting for her to cash her check so that they could watch her pay for the family groceries with cash instead of food stamps.”

CVS soon realized that the Welfare-to-Work program was changing people's lives, not simply giving them jobs. The woman who proudly bought her groceries with cash still works for CVS, twelve years later.

Mature Workers

Realizing the potential loyalty and dedication of non-traditional employees, CVS also instituted the Mature Workers program. At the same time, managers at the corporate level explored the possibility of having state agencies help pay for equipment necessary for accommodations. When the Mature Workers program began, fewer than 7% of the employee population were over the age of 50. Currently, about 19% of the CVS Caremark family fit the program—including six employees over 90.

To recruit older workers, the company began offering attractive benefits such as health care coverage to part-time workers—ideal for retirees. In addition, the company's Snowbird program allows employees to work in one store during the summer months and in a warmer part of the country for the rest of the year.

Finally, the company realized that keeping employees productive is sometimes as simple as providing a bit more down time. “Sometimes an older worker needs to sit down for part of the day,” says Wing. “Our managers had to learn that such accommodation needs are not due to laziness, it's a simply physical need so that the employee can keep working at a high level.”

Connections are key

Through many initiatives, CVS Caremark strives to make connections within the communities where its retail stores reside. One example of this community outreach is All Kids Can, a program of the CVS Caremark Charitable Trust that entails a $25 million commitment to making life easier for children with disabilities. Through this connection, the company developed a relationship with area youth groups—and found many young people with disabilities in need of jobs. A few at a time, in Philadelphia and then Long Island, the company has been working with these youth to train them and prepare them for CVS Caremark careers. “They spend the first three or four weeks in the training store and become comfortable with all of our procedures,” says Wing. “We keep them close to home for work and try to learn what they need to be successful.”

Wing adds, “Our managers have embraced these programs. We show them that the people who come to work for us through these programs are top notch, and when the mangers see that for themselves, they often ask for more.”

Success stories

CVS Caremark's Regional Learning Center, operating under the leadership of Mike Wesdock, has hired many workers who characterize the spirit of the company's diversity initiatives. One dedicated worker, Maggie, is picked up by a Metro access van each day at 5:00 a.m. to arrive at work by 7:00 a.m. Randolph, who began working with CVS in 2006 after retiring from the post office, says, “My work with CVS has given me the opportunity to interact with other people and help to be a positive influence on co-workers and their career paths.”

George, who was referred to CVS through Full Citizenship of Maryland, an agency that helps place adults with developmental disabilities , enjoys his customer service work. George reports that ever since he began his internship with the company, he looks forward to going to work each day. “I like helping customers,” George relates. “Sometimes I help customers at other CVS stores I go into even when I'm not working.”

Opportunities

Knowing that any employee recruitment program must also be good for the company's bottom line, CVS Caremark vies for the best and brightest students with disabilities. Wing recounts that this past January, the company became a part of an effort to recruit future pharmacists from among students with disabilities who were already high achievers in math and science . From a pool of eight students with various disabilities, three agreed to work for CVS this summer.

Wing notes, “We hope that these students will change from their other math or science majors into pharmacy. We have already spoken to the deans of several pharmacy schools to facilitate transferring their credits from their current majors into pharmacy,” a six year college program.

Future innovations

In addition to receiving many local and regional awards for its diversity efforts, in 2006 the company received the New Freedom Initiative Award from U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao. The award recognized CVS/pharmacy for its innovations to recruit, hire, and promote people with disabilities, giving them the opportunity to fully participate in all aspects of community life.

In October of 2007, Wing represented CVS Caremark and signed an agreement with the US Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy, undertaking an aggressive recruitment and training program for people with disabilities.

“Hiring, retaining and advancing employees with disabilities is just good business,” says the ODEP's Karen M. Czarnecki, acting assistant secretary of labor, in a statement regarding the alliance. (reference)

At CVS Caremark, leadership knows that diversity is key to creativity and growth. “We care for our colleagues/employees and our customers,” says Wing, “and want the people in each pharmacy to mirror the population.”

Edited by Mary-Louise Piner.