CASE EXERCISE –Bonne Bell Factory Employees Average Age 70
The morning shift at the Bonne Bell plant in Lakewood, Ohio—composed of 86 assembly line workers—packed and boxed 10,800 tubes of lip stick. Anything over 10,000 is considered good. In addition to meeting their production goals, what’s unique on this assembly line is that the average age of these workers is 70. The oldest just turned 90.
This seniors-only production department was launched in 1997, not as some grand social experiment, but as a practical business decision. The company needed workers, labor markets were tight, and seniors were available. The company’s president, who himself was 76, suggested the idea. His executives in charge of manufacturing and packaging were skeptical. They thought older workers would be too slow and costly or be misfits in a high-tech world. They worried that seniors would complain they could not do the work or that they needed breaks or were not feeling well. The company’s president refused to accept these stereotypes. Although he did not know of another company that had a senior department, she said, “Let’s try it and see if it works.”
And work it did. Retirees now account for close to 20 percent of Bonnie Bell’s workforce of 500. The group handles work that once was outsourced, saving the company more than $1 million in its first four years and effectively silencing the skeptics. Shipment goals are set and met. Turnover is almost nil. And the company has a sizeable waiting list of seniors who are interested in taking jobs when future ones become available. Seniors have proven to be an ideal source for new employees.
Not only have seniors proven to be productive and loyal, they also help keep costs down. Since most receive Social Security, they do not rely on their jobs to fully support themselves. They do not need $15 or $20 an hour jobs to make ends meet. They seem more than happy to accept pay rates that start at $7.50an hour and move to $8 after a year. In addition, the company saves by providing these employees with no health benefits. Most of these workers are covered by a spouse’s medical plan or Medicare and say they do not need extra coverage.