January 28, 2020

Brookdale Benefits: What's In It for You

About Brookdale Senior Living

Brookdale Senior Living offers multiple care levels for seniors in more than 600 communities nationwide. Brookdale helps you find the right care plan for yourself or your loved one. With amenities such as transportation services, salons and private dining rooms and activities such as gardening, fitness classes and trivia nights Brookdale caters to a wide range of interests and needs.

Associate quality of life is important at Brookdale. That means we work to make our associates benefit offerings the best they can be while addressing possible needs, from health care to little perks like discounts on major services and products.

For Tamara Arendt, a benefits manager at Brookdale, finding the right benefits for Brookdale’s associates is all about value.

“We know there are a variety of things people value, so we try to offer a variety of programs,” she says.

“That’s what our aim is. We want to provide a wide variety of benefits and programs to help people in all aspects of their lives, whether it be financial, social, well-being or health, and hopefully do it at a cost that can be affordable.”

For Tamara Arendt, a benefits manager at Brookdale, finding the right benefits for Brookdale’s associates is all about value.

“We know there are a variety of things people value, so we try to offer a variety of programs,” she says.

The Process

Her benefits committee is comprised of different company leaders to make sure many departments are represented. They work together brainstorming benefit ideas, starting with a three-to-five-year strategy plan. The committee also holds quarterly meetings to discuss the upcoming year’s enrollment offerings.

“It’s a much larger process than I think anyone ever realizes,” Arendt says.

Why the in-depth process for deciding which benefits will be offered? She says it’s because they want to offer more than just the basics. In addition to considering what additional voluntary programs will cost the company, they also think about the lifestyles of associates at Brookdale.

“We want to keep the same benefits available for everybody across the organization, but everybody values something different,” she says.

“You have to make sure you have options that every level of person in the organization would value, and that’s the challenge.”

The Perks

Along with health, dental and vision, programs like student loan reimbursement, flexible spending accounts, tuition reimbursement and commuter benefits are all available to associates. They also offer a 401(k) plan that matches $.25 of every dollar contributed up to 4 percent. Plus, part-time employees also have access to insurance benefits.

Even with all of these, some of the most popular benefits are the unexpected ones, she says.

“The one that made the biggest splash for us last year was pet insurance, and that’s probably the plan we got the best feedback on.”

For anyone considering a career at Brookdale, the benefits offered are just one part of the bigger goal of making sure associates are happy. There’s a lot to look forward to, especially with perks like associate recognition programs and the company’s focus on career development.

“As a new hire comes in we set them up for success within Brookdale,” she says. “We welcome them, initiate our in-house training program including a position partner and ensure they know the expectations of their role.”

Above all, she says, Brookdale wants associates to know every role within the company adds value to our residents’ quality of life. This is what makes Brookdale so special.

“We want to treat them with respect,” she says. “We want to leave a good impression.”

Interested in learning more or in exploring a career at Brookdale? Visit our careers website or contact us today!