Dear Co-workers,

The best way to serve our co-workers—you—is by listening to ways we support you well and ways we can improve. But we can only learn if you tell us. So, I encourage you to take the time to tell us in the upcoming co-worker survey conducted by an outside firm.

Here’s what we heard from you last year through the same survey:

You told us we support you well in the areas:

• Taking pride in what you do
• Making a difference in the lives of our residents
• Creating meaningful work

And, you told us we can better serve you in areas of:

• Creating a more cooperative culture
• Adapting to change
• Offering fair pay

Based on your feedback, we focused on:

1. Creating a continual feedback loop
2. Offering creative benefits
3. Ensuring competitive pay

Let me explain each:

1. We created a continual feedback loop by initiating post-shift surveys in OnShift through which you can earn points for cash bonuses. Since its launch in May, we have awarded over 5,000 reward bonuses, totaling about $260,000.

This is in addition to the existing feedback methods like our management team’s rounding, performance reviews, annual satisfaction surveys (like this one), Stupid Rules submissions and just simply talking to your manager.

2. As for creative benefits, last year we:

• • Launched the PayActive app through which you can get paid before payday and to date, we have over 260 active users.
  • Expanded our Co-worker Foundation eligibility to co-workers who have been with us for as few as 90 days. Last year, the Foundation issued $61,000 in grants and $136,000 in appreciation gift cards.
  • Adjusted our career paths to pay bonuses upon completion of the career path level. Since we made this change in August, we have paid out $42,000 in one-time bonuses for completed career paths.

This is on top of our ongoing offering, such as in 2022:

• • The total employer-paid contributions for co-workers’ medical, vision and dental plans were over $8.5 million.
  • Our employer-match contribution of up to 6% to co-workers’ 401(k) plans amounted to $838,000.
  • We awarded $157,000 in co-worker referral bonuses,
  • … over $90,000 in Helping Hand interest-free loans,
  • And co-workers enjoyed almost 24,000 $2 meals in our co-worker dining program.

3. As for pay—the biggest change we made, we:

1. • Increased all co-workers’ pay between 3-10%. This was made possible by raising residents’ rent which went directly to your pay and benefits.
   • Increased starting rates for 95% of direct care co-workers to at least $15/hour—with the rates of some roles raised above that. This was an overall average increase of 17% to front-line team members—our largest increase our company has ever done!
   • Added eligibility of shift differentials for nurses and shift managers at the same rate as PCAs and Med. Associates.

Only 57% of you participated in last year’s survey, and we want—we need—to hear from more of you. This year we’re aspiring for 90% participation among eligible full- and part-time co-workers who work 30 or more hours a pay period and were hired before 3/31/23 so we can learn from more of you to support all of you. So, please participate in this survey:

• It’s anonymous (only your campus and co-worker group are known)
• It’ll only take about 20 minutes.
• You may take the survey during your work day.
• On April 17, be on the look-out for a text and/or email of the online link for the Great Place to Work Trust Index Survey conducted by an outside firm.

Thank You for Participating.
We’re listening.

Meredith Mills

President & CEO