CVS Health Corporation has experienced tremendous growth through expanding store locations, offering more health services and products, and increasing accessibility for customers. However, the company faces concerns about retaining employees and improving work conditions. Employees report high stress due to understaffing, long shifts without breaks, inadequate training, and feeling undervalued. To improve employee satisfaction and retention, CVS should address staffing levels, enhance training, implement stress reduction programs, recognize employee contributions, and be responsive to worker feedback.

1. Danielle Regoni
Individual Project Presentation
November 5, 2016
Dr. Deloach
CVS Health Corporation
and Current Concerns

2. CVS Company Background
▪ Established in 1963, but did not begin offering pharmaceuticals until 1967 CVS Health, 2016
▪ By 1990’s, CVS contained over 100 stores and began acquiring smaller pharmacies
and insurance companies
▪ In 2007, CVS merged with Caremark Rx to become CVS Caremark (now CVS Health),
the nation’s largest pharmacy/benefits provider MarketLine, 2015
▪ As of 2015, CVS:
– Contained over 7800 locations across the US, and including Puerto Rico & Brazil
– Employed over 218,000 workers
– Serves approximately 65 million customers and fills 1.7 billion prescriptions annually CVS Health, 2016
 Major competitors include: Walgreens, Wal-
Mart, Rite-Aid, & individual providers

3. Current Company Growth
▪ CVS has experienced tremendous growth in the past several years
▪ Factors leading to company growth include:
– Greater accessibility (more store & MinuteClinic locations) “CVS 2014 Annual Report,” 2014
– Greater low-cost, generic pharmaceutical drugs available to consumers Trefis Team, 2015
– Greater expansion of specialty drugs (such as drugs for Hepatitis C & cancer treatments) Trefis Team,
2015
– Continuing offers of a myriad of health, beauty, seasonal, hygiene, & food products “CVS Health Corporation,”
2015
– More Americans have health insurance than ever before Trefis Team, 2015
CVS Health, 2015 CVS Health, 2015 “CVS 2014 Annual Report,” 2014
CVS Health, 2016

4. Company Structure
▪ 3 distinct lines of business:
– Corporate HQ in Rhode Island
– Pharmacy Services
– Retail Departments
Store General
Management
Lead Pharmacist
Salaried
Pharmacists
Hourly Pharmacy
Technicians
Retail
Department
Manager
Hourly Retail
Employees
General Structure Within Store Locations
MarketLine, 2015

5. Current Company Concerns
▪ A study conducted by the 24/7 Wall St. group Frohlich, Sauter, & Stebbins (2015)
named CVS as one of the “12 worst companies to work for”
– The data for their study was retrieved from over 400,000 company reviews on Glassdoor.com
▪ Consistent employee concerns across states & store locations include:
Work Within a High-Stress Environment
Perceptions of Being “Undervalued” Within the
Company
12-13 hour work shifts without appropriate breaks Concerns have not been heard/are disregarded
Scheduling inflexibility No employee/store recognition programs
Inadequate numbers of employees to handle large
volumes of customers & other daily tasks
Management/corporate executives “do not care
about employees”
Inadequate training &/or training requirements
completed at home, “off the clock”
Unrealistic expectations set forth by management
High turnover rates
Table compiled from Frohlich, Sauter, & Stebbins, 2015; A. Bernardo & B. Makowski, personal communication, September 24, 2016

6. Current HR Practices: Recruitment & Selection
▪ Current selection process already includes:
– Online applications (for general background information)
– Online applications also include personality/ethics tests & work-sample assessments
– Telephone interview for basic information (such as work availability)
– Interview with at least 2 managers, includes situational and conflict-resolution questions
– Thorough reference checks
– Drug screenings
▪ CVS partners with various colleges/technical schools to recruit students in
Pharmacy & Pharmacy Technician programs
▪ No recommendations for change
A. Bernardo & B. Makowski, personal
communication, September 24, 2016

7. ▪ Wellness programs with opportunity to earn
bonuses for reaching health targets
▪ Bonus opportunities for all employees based
upon goal completion
▪ Free yearly health screenings & use of
MinuteClinics
▪ Tuition reimbursement & scholarship
opportunities
▪ Store discount (all purchases)
▪ Resources for child/elder/dependent care
▪ Sessions for stress reduction (yoga, massage
therapy, techniques for handling stressful
environment, discount gym memberships
Additional Benefits
▪ Competitive salary
▪ Opportunities for advancement & pay increases
▪ Flexible scheduling (including compressed work
weeks)
▪ Full health, dental, & vision benefits
▪ 401(K) retirement plans (with company
contributions)
▪ Generous paid vacation/sick days per year
▪ Paid maternity & paternity leave & for adoptive
parents
▪ Employee stock options
Core Benefits
Current HR Practices: Compensation &
Benefits
All benefits should be extended to part-time
Artz, 2010; CVS Health, 2016; Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, & Wright,
2015

8. Current HR Practices: Performance Management
▪ Annual performance review, slight pay increase for achieving “Outstanding
Performance,” action plans if expectations are not met
▪ More open communication to provide more informal feedback/assessments
throughout the year
▪ During 1st year of employment, more than one formal evaluation is necessary
▪ Involve employees in goal-setting (individual, department-level, store-level)
▪ Employee recognition programs (i.e., Employee of the Month)
▪ Rewards when goals are achieved (other than pay increase)
– Additional paid day off
– Bonuses
– Other “out-of-the-box” gifts
Blizzard, 2014; West & Blackman,
2016

9. Current HR Practices: Training & Development
▪ CVS currently practices “rapid on-boarding” in which employees are expected to
become highly productive within a very short period of time Tabvuma, Georgellis, & Lange, 2015
▪ However, many employees have complained that the current training process does
NOT adequately prepare them for work expectations
▪ Training process should include:
– Company orientation (including explanation of benefits)
– More extensive job-task & customer service training
– Utilize a variety of training methods, including classroom instruction, on-the-job
training/mentorships, & online modules
– Periodic reviews of company policies & procedures to reinforce training
▪ Employee development should include increased opportunities for career &
educational advancement, especially for Pharmacy Technicians

10. HR Concerns: Employee Retention
▪ Based upon employee concerns of: long work
shifts with inadequate breaks, little scheduling
flexibility, inability to handle high volume of
customers and tasks set forth by
management, inadequate training or
completing online training at home “off the
clock”
▪ If no actions are taken by CVS leadership, the
company will continue to experience high
turnover as well as exposing employees to
other detrimental effects of stress
▪ Effects of stress in the workplace include:
lowered task performance, high absenteeism,
burnout, job dissatisfaction, and possibly
violence in the workplace
▪ Also may lead to greater medical and
insurance expenditures for the company
1st Major Area of Concern: Work Within a High-Stress Environment
Greenberg, 2011; Mani, Sritharan, & Gayatri,
2014

11. HR Concerns: Employee Retention
Recommended Action Effect for Employees/Company
Extensive expansion in number of store workers
Employees should feel more equipped to handle high
volume of customers; more adequate coverage for
employees requesting time off and break coverage;
longer work shifts can be segmented into shorter shifts;
specific “other” tasks set forth by management can be
accomplished as well as handle customers in a timely
and thorough manner
Changes in training procedures
All training must be conducted during regular work hours
or employees should be compensated for “off-the-clock”
training completion; more comprehensive training to
assist customers with over-the-counter product and
general health questions
Enhance wellness and stress relief programs
Assist employees in achieving a healthier lifestyle and
reducing stress; offer exercise or meditation classes,
workshops with wellness consultants, or Employee
Assistance Programs (EAPs); teach employees
techniques for handling stress
1st Major Area of Concern: Work Within a High-Stress Environment

12. HR Concerns: Employee Retention
▪ If employees do not feel valued as part of the company,
end results include: high absenteeism, high turnover,
lack of motivation, decreased task performance, and
overall job dissatisfaction Greenberg, 2011
▪ CVS leadership should mandate that all store locations
implement employee recognition, reward, and incentive
programs
– Can be accomplished in many successful ways:
▪ “Employee of the Month” programs
▪ Rewards incentives for entire stores or on an individual basis for
excellence in customer service
▪ Goal-setting programs set forth by management to reward
employees/departments/store locations
2nd Major Area of Concern: Perceived Lack of Value Within the
Company

13. HR Concerns: Employee Retention
▪ Employees have reported a general sense of being disregarded or overlooked by
management with regard to expressed concerns and feedback
▪ If the “EthicsPoint” firm is not able to relay information regarding employee concerns
to CVS leadership to enact change, then this method of communication is
ineffective
▪ Other proactive measures can be taken by company leadership, including:
– sensitivity and effective leadership training should be made available to management staff
– all CVS locations should institute an open-door policy and respond accordingly to employee
concerns
– regular feedback should be provided to all employees
– Positive work relationships should be fostered between management and employees
2nd Major Area of Concern: Perceived Lack of Value Within the
Company

14. Summary
▪ Despite tremendous growth and admirable wellness visions for employees and
customers, CVS has experienced some highly publicized, repeated concerns
– Employee concerns are relatively consistent across states and store locations
▪ Sadly, many of these concerns appear rather straightforward, yet without
appropriate company responses and actions
▪ If concerns are addressed early enough, the company can possibly avoid any long-
lasting or permanent harm to the company

15. References
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Artz, B. (2010). Fringe benefits and job satisfaction. International Journal of Manpower, 31(6), 626-644.
Blizzard, D. (2014). Effective performance management. Journal of Accountancy, 218(1), 18.
CVS Health (2016). Benefits. Retrieved from https://jobs.cvshealth.com/employee-benefits.
CVS Health. (2016). Our story. Retrieved from https://www.cvshealth.com/about/our-story.
CVS Health (2016). 2015 annual report. [PDF Document]. Retrieved from http://investors.cvshealth.com/~/media/Files/C/CVS-IR/reports/cvs-ar-2015.pdf.
Frohlich, T., Sauter, M., & Stebbins, S. (2015). The worst companies to work for. 24/7 Wall St. Retrieved from http://247wallst.com/special-report/2015/06/29/the-worst-companies-to-work-for/.
Greenberg, J. (2011). Behavior in organizations (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
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Loeb, W. (2015). Why CVS’ new health initiatives are a winning strategy. Forbes Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/walterloeb/2015/12/18/why-cvs-health-new-initiatives-are-a-winning-
strategy/#734bbf5030f0.
Mani, K., Sritharan, R., & Gayatri, R. (2014). Effect of job stress on the employees’ performance. Annamalai International Journal of Business Studies and Research, 6(1), 47-55.
MarketLine. (2015). Company profile: The CVS Health Corporation. Retrieved from Business Source Complete database.
Noe, R. A., Hollenbeck, J. R., Gerhart, B., & Wright, P. M. (2015). Human resources management: Gaining a competitive advantage (9th ed.). McGraw-Hill-Irwin.
PayScale. (2016). Average hourly rate for CVS/pharmacy employees. Retrieved from http://www.payscale.com/reserach/US/Employer=CVS_/_Pharmacy/Hourly_Rate.
Roach, J. C. (2016). Would standardized job testing assist employers in hiring the right employee? Monthly Labor Review, 1.
Tabvuma, V., Georgellis, Y., & Lange, T. (2015). Orientation training and job satisfaction. Human Resource Management, 54(2), 303-321. doi: 10.1002/hrm.21650.
Trefis Team. (2015). CVS Health strongly placed to tap growth opportunities. Forbes Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2015/02/05/cvs-health-strongly-placed-to-tap-growth-
opportunities/#474d861876917a5e9ecf7691.
West, D. & Blackman, D. (2015). Performance management in the public sector. Australian Journal of Public Administration, 74(1), 73-81. doi: 10.1111/1476-8500.12130.