Healthy Business

Our benefits programs invest in colleagues’ physical, emotional and financial wellness. We take a data-driven approach to provide award-winning resources that support the wide-ranging needs of our colleagues – helping them be the healthiest they can be at every stage of their lives. Our colleagues have access to unparalleled points of care through our CVS Pharmacy and MinuteClinic® locations, digital tools and virtual care solutions. We’ve made preventive care our top goal for wellness and provide low and no-cost benefits, from vaccines and screenings to emotional and financial counseling. 

Learn more about our comprehensive health, wellness and financial offerings.

We made several enhancements to our benefits offerings in 2024 to support the mental well-being of our colleagues, including doubling the number of no-cost confidential counseling sessions available to every colleague, from 10 to 20. We also worked to increase utilization of our employee assistance program, Resources for Living. We documented a 20% increase in overall usage, with face-to-face counseling services increasing by 39% and telehealth counseling by 7%. The expansion of our Stamp Out Stigma initiative and our colleague-led “Let’s Have a Conversation” series gave colleagues a platform to share their experience with mental health conditions and substance use disorders.

• 20% increase in utilization of Resources for Living employee assistance program
• 39% increase in face-to-face counseling services

“Whether it’s by accessing no-cost counseling sessions, taking 10 minutes a week for mindfulness practice or sharing a personal story, we aim to empower our colleagues in prioritizing their mental well-being. The enhancements we’ve made to benefits reflect our belief that we must take care of our colleagues, who make our work as the nation’s leading health solutions provider possible.” — Carmilla Tan, VP, Benefits

Our colleagues are the face and brand of CVS Health in the communities we serve. We’ve worked with our CVS Pharmacy colleagues to build a culture where everyone can thrive – one that results in higher job satisfaction, a shared sense of purpose, a workplace where colleagues feel valued, safe and included, and one that provides career paths and a strong future at CVS Health. Colleagues are reporting improved experience year-over-year and retention has improved dramatically across our pharmacy and consumer wellness organization.  

• 16% improvement in retail front store retention in 2024

• 8% improvement in retail pharmacy retention in 2024

• $1B in wage increases since 2021

• 25% of pharmacy and consumer wellness colleagues took advantage of mobility opportunities to grow their careers 

• 98% of field leadership positions were filled internally

Our enterprise security organization works to enhance the safety of all CVS Health colleagues through a risk-based approach focused on mitigating threats. The team supports retail and non-retail settings with physical security solutions, training to broaden colleague awareness of risks, and investigations into incidents that may threaten the safety or security of colleagues.

• Pharmacy time delay safes deployed chain-wide 

• Front store time delay safes deployed in 1,700+ stores 

• 5.9K colleagues trained in de-escalation techniques 

• 13% reduction in workplace violence risk score across distribution center network 

• Increased non-retail security audits by 21% over 2023 

• Nearly 1K active Emergency Response Team (ERT) members. ERT members are trained and certified in the Basic Life Safety skills of First Aid, CPR, AED, Stop the Bleed, and Bloodborne Pathogens

We drive a strong safety culture across our front store and pharmacy through foundational safety-focused trainings, direct colleague messaging, implementation of a Just Culture framework, monthly safety tips and quarterly newsletters. A new centralized resource hub provides colleagues proactive and timely messaging on key health and safety topics, including seasonal issues and trends. 

CVS Pharmacy and MinuteClinic colleagues work with needles in a variety of applications and may be exposed to injury when using them. In addition to supporting colleagues after an injury occurs, we’ve examined how these incidents happen and identified measures to help prevent needlestick injuries. In 2024, we piloted a new sharps container with improved safety features that allows for one-handed disposal. We are actively working with sharp disposal container and needle manufacturers to improve safety features. 

Safety is the first critical pillar of our supply chain and logistics program for operational excellence. We encourage a culture where safety concerns can be identified before an injury occurs and take a proactive approach to identifying and analyzing near-miss incidents. As we increase near-miss reporting, injuries in our distribution centers are trending down.

Learn more about our safety reporting in the Appendix

In 2024, we introduced a plan to prevent heat injury and illness for our colleagues. Our heat illness prevention policy applies to the enterprise and includes response procedures for indoor and outdoor workspaces. The program monitors high heat events and conditions and proactively educates field leaders and colleagues on heat illness prevention. These alerts and communication protocols have greatly increased awareness.

Learn more about how we are supporting customers and patients during extreme heat

At CVS Health, we respect each other’s similarities and differences, because those valuable, diverse experiences and perspectives complement and strengthen our community, culture and workforce. We have a longstanding and unwavering commitment to: 

• A workforce that reflects the customers, patients, members and communities we serve. 

• Championing an inclusive workplace where every colleague feels valued, supported and inspired with a sense of belonging. 

• Ensuring we are a place of opportunity and possibility for extraordinary talent.

Our Colleague Resource Groups (CRGs) are voluntary, colleague-led organizations that represent a wide range of professional, cultural and religious affinities and interests. CRGs are open to all colleagues and provide opportunities to connect, network and drive business value. 

• More than 29K colleagues participate in our 17 CRGs 

In 2024, we deepened our engagement with Disability:IN, a leading nonprofit resource for business disability inclusion. Driven by our CapAbilities CRG, CVS Health teams participated in several Disability:IN initiatives and working groups focused on leadership development, talent acquisition, CRG best practices, mentorship and education on disability inclusion.

Veterans and transitioning service members bring invaluable skills and experience to CVS Health. Since 2016, we’ve hired 26,000 veterans and 19,000 military spouses. Learn more about our workforce initiatives in Healthy Community.

We provide training, learning and development for over 100,000 colleagues each year, including over 100 role-specific training curricula. We have also developed customized programming to support our hiring and onboarding of more than 150,000 colleagues annually — including for hourly and professional colleagues, executive colleagues, early-in-career colleagues and interns. 

• $200M invested in training enhancements 

• ~16M hours of learning and development courses completed by colleagues

• 4K colleagues cross-trained for new roles 

Each year, we hire more than 30,000 new pharmacy technicians who collectively fill approximately 2 billion patient prescriptions across more than 9,000 CVS Pharmacy locations. Launched in 2023, our redesigned pharmacy technician training program supports new hires with training that prepares them to be successful in their role and provide a consistent patient experience. As a result of this new training, we have decreased the time it takes for new colleagues to feel ready to support their pharmacy teams and reduced new hire technician turnover by 55% — equivalent to a $27.8 million return on investment year-over-year.

A redesigned training curriculum for new front store colleagues provides them with the knowledge and skills to manage and operate the front store of CVS Pharmacy locations. The redesigned program  has driven high Net Promoter Score for new front store colleagues, as well as significant reductions in colleague turnover. 

Advancements in artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data and cloud computing are redefining how businesses operate and engage with customers, especially in the health care industry. As technology continues to evolve, so does the demand for skilled technology professionals. To accelerate our vision for transforming health care, in 2024 we launched a self-service “Continuous Learning Academy,” making it simple for colleagues to obtain the learning and development opportunities needed to be at the forefront of emerging technologies and capabilities.

Our leadership development programs focus on accelerating the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to be a successful leader at CVS Health. Rotational opportunities are designed to support career growth of recent graduates through meaningful assignments and on-the-job experience, mentorship and networking opportunities, and exposure to multiple departments and business units. Each year, we hire approximately 100 new colleagues through these programs, including in finance, management, human resources, innovation and technology, marketing, sales and more. 

Our university relations team supports more than 10,000 students each year in internships, externships and student mentor programs across our operations. In 2024, we hired over 1,000 pharmacists, 200 corporate colleagues and 50 retail colleagues from our pool of former interns.    

Our career mentorship program aims to provide CVS Health colleagues with opportunities to enhance their skills, receive advice from senior leadership and grow their professional networks. We also pair students with CVS Health colleagues through virtual mentorships, supporting our work to build a strong talent pipeline for future internships.  

• In 2024, we increased the number of mentoring relationships by 25% and the number of vice presidents or above serving as mentors by 38%.  

• 75% of mentees felt their in-role performance had improved as a result of their mentor relationship, and 80% of mentors felt their leadership and coaching skills had improved.  

• 350+ students were paired with a CVS Health mentor in 2024.

In 2024, we piloted a neurodiversity hiring experience within our digital, data, analytics and technology organization, using a skill-based, altered interview that allows qualified candidates who identify as neurodiverse to demonstrate their unique skills. The goal of the program is to have an equitable and accessible hiring experience where neurodiversity inclusion is a key component of the hiring process. In collaboration with our CapAbilities colleague resource group, we trained approximately 750  CVS Health colleagues on neurodiversity in the workplace. 

We’re proud to help our colleagues continue their education and pursue job-related degree and non-degree programs, or high school diplomas. Our Tuition Assistance Program offers tools and reimbursements to support colleagues in reaching their educational goals. Learn more about our offerings.  

To support the next generation of students with the financial assistance and hands-on experience necessary to further their careers, in 2024 we introduced an enhanced PharmD tuition assistance program for eligible CVS Pharmacy® interns. More than 400 PharmD graduates who were interning with CVS Pharmacy as of April 2024 applied for up to $20,000 toward their final year of tuition. We later expanded the program to CVS Pharmacy interns who are in their final two years of pharmacy education, with $20,000 available for each year while working as an intern for CVS Pharmacy. To date, more than 700 participants have received more than $10 million collectively in tuition assistance through the program.  

With decades of recognized leadership, our workforce programming helps eliminate barriers to employment, equipping individuals with the skills, experience and opportunities needed to succeed in today’s job market. Starting from a core foundation of trust, aligned values and a united mission, we work with dedicated community partners to customize our workforce development hubs to the specific needs of each community. 

In addition to respecting human rights by preventing and mitigating adverse impacts of our business, we also promote human rights by taking actions that proactively contribute to the enjoyment of human rights. We do this by conducting proactive due diligence and complying with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP). 

Our Human Rights Policy was approved by executive leadership, and oversight and responsibility for implementation of the policy rests with a cross-functional team, including members representing compliance, legal, procurement and human resources. Through engagement with leading nongovernmental, advocacy and supply chain organizations and experts, we stay apprised of developments and emerging risks in the area of human rights and review and adjust our actions accordingly. 

Since 2016, we have collaborated with experts at Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) to conduct regular human rights impact assessments and gap analyses informed by the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. More details are available in the Appendix. 

We conduct human rights due diligence by identifying adverse impacts through human rights impact assessments, meaningful engagement with stakeholders across our value chain, and measuring and reporting on our findings and performance.  

We promote various channels for reporting human rights concerns and work closely and collaboratively with stakeholders to understand and address concerns. 

Our process for intake and review of concerns is detailed in the Appendix.

We recognize that our colleagues are our greatest asset, and our business is most successful when they are treated with dignity and respect. We are committed to providing a positive, rewarding and safe work environment for every CVS Health colleague. Several resources are provided to colleagues to support our commitment, including information related to their legal rights as a CVS Health employee, policies in place to support a safe work environment, and expectations for conducting business ethically and responsibly.  

Learn more about colleague training, resources and policies related to human rights in the Appendix. 

As part of our work to build a world of health around every consumer, we are committed to respecting and promoting our patients’ and customers’ human rights. This includes their rights as patients of CVS Health care providers, protection of their privacy and data, the integrity of our products and our commitment to responsible marketing practices.

Through customer survey mechanisms, we work to gather the voice of the consumer in informing related policies and practices. 

Learn more about customer resources and policies related to human rights in the Appendix.

Where we are directly linked to human rights impacts through our business relationships, we seek ways to positively influence the human rights actions of our business partners, including our suppliers. We require suppliers and their factories to provide fair and safe working conditions for all workers and to treat their employees with dignity and respect.

A live virtual training for suppliers regarding our program requirements drew over 250 attendees in 2024. Over 1,000 suppliers and factories also participated in our e-Learning modules. In 2025, an updated e-learning module will target key findings from our social compliance factory audits.

To ensure factories are meeting local laws and international standards as it relates to human rights concerns, audits are conducted by our independent third-party audit firm partner, UL, through our Ethical Sourcing & CTPAT Compliance Program. The Ethical Sourcing & CTPAT Compliance Program focuses on human rights related areas such as child labor, forced labor, wages and benefits, and health and safety.

Audits are required for factories where CVS Health is the importer of record (direct import) as well as factories producing our store brands located outside the U.S. and Canada. Factories are required to undergo a pre-qualification audit and then a routine audit every 6-12 months, depending on performance. Audit reports are provided to the supplier and factory, which are required to submit a corrective action and preventative action plan for each audit finding. In 2024, we conducted over 800 audits. This includes in the U.S., where we began requiring audits in 2023 and expanded requirements in 2024. 

More information on these audits and policies that relate to human rights in our supply chain is available in the Appendix.