Assistant Dining Services Manager Greg Mazzeo and Line Cook Jennifer Houck are proud of the Short Line Café’s cuisine at Charlestown. The Short Line is one of six restaurants at the community
When Greg Mazzeo decided to leave his successful job at a national restaurant chain he searched for a new opportunity where his interest in food service management would be better aligned with his desire to help improve quality of life for others. He found it at Charlestown, one of 19 communities managed by Erickson Living.
“I wanted to work at a company that offered a work-life balance and a culture where I would be allowed to be myself to use my skills in creative, mutually rewarding ways for everyone I work with and serve,” said Mazzeo, a member of the LBGT community.
Mazzeo began his Charlestown career as a Service Manager. He is today an Assistant Dining Services Manager, where he oversees a 25-person staff in the community’s Short Line Café, one of six restaurants at Charlestown. He has been with Charlestown for five years. “I could not be more happier than I am now,” he said.
He accessed Charlestown’s tuition reimbursement program, which helped him to obtain his M.S. degree in Human Resources Development from Towson University. He also has used the company’s Health and Wellness benefit to partially subsidize his membership at a local gym. Moreover, his Charlestown job affords him a value-added consistent work schedule that provides him greater family time.
The company’s employee benefits package also includes generous paid time off, opportunities to volunteer, comprehensive medical benefits, on-site employee health and wellness centers, and employee discount programs. Erickson Living also encourages and supports activities such as the Million Step Challenge and Baltimore Running Festival.
“In my job I am able to relate to my colleagues as individuals, not just as co-workers,“said Mazzeo, who is a member of Charlestown’s Diversity & Inclusion Council and who led a LGBT panel discussion of residents and staff at a community-wide event last year. “This is so important to me, because each of us has a responsibility to care about the people around us.”
The company’s goal is to not only to attract and retain strong employees, but to build a community where employees can thrive. “We want to help people truly find a home once they get here,” said Joe Machicote, Senior Vice President of Human Resources for Erickson Living.
Erickson Living is in a highly competitive industry where recruiting is key to its ability to attract quality candidates for the vast array of jobs it has. The company is in a period of rapid growth, with new buildings in development at existing campuses and there are plans to continue adding to its current portfolio of communities. This growth leads to an increased demand in employees,
It is important to retain employees in a workforce of Erickson Living’s size in one of the most competitive industries in the economy – Healthcare. There are currently dozens of career opportunities in areas such as Healthcare, Finance, Resident Life, Philanthropy. Legal, Human Resources, Administration, General Services, and Dining Services.
Mazzeo underwent three individual job interviews with Charlestown and Erickson Living officials before he was hired. “It was tough, but it was worth it,” he said. Charlestown currently has more than 1,200 full and part-time employees. Last year it hired a significant number of new employees. Its staff completed 9,754 training hours to develop their job skills. These employees serve more than 2,100 residents.
One the company’s most popular training programs is Erickson Living University (ELU). ELU is a blended learning environment that provides both mandatory compliance trainings and supplemental development opportunities. Employees can chose from 750 courses in twenty-nine languages, including leadership, healthcare, and computer courses.
ELU’s framework offers a clear structure for employees, with various courses of study to choose from and achievement markers along the way. Career planning courses help employees envision their future within the company, and trainings help them gain the necessary skills.
Erickson Living today employs over 14,000 talented and diverse team members across the enterprise. The employees are viewed as Erickson Living’s greatest asset and the vital link between the company and its more than 23,000 residents network-wide.
Each of Erickson Living’s communities recognize meaningful interactions in their own ways, such as the Mission Moments program, which tells the stories of people -- employees or residents -- who impact each other’s lives. Mazzeo is a proud Mission Moments honoree.
Mazzeo typifies the Everyday Heroes who Erickson Living recruits each day. If people are driven to make a difference and feel passionate about what they do, they will thrive in an Erickson Living career. When they join the company’s team of Everyday Heroes, they gain more than a great job in a booming industry – they get to change lives for the better. For more information about Erickson Living careers: https://jobs.ericksonliving.
About Erickson Living: Erickson Living® is a nation-leading developer and manager of continuing care retirement communities. The Erickson Living network currently comprises 19 communities in 11 states, which together are home to more than 24,000 residents. Further information regarding Erickson Living is available at EricksonLiving.com .
