Home Depot

4550 Verona Rd.

Madison, WI53711

Matt Spencer (HR Manager)

(608)-276-7922

Background Information:

Home Depot is the world’s largest home improvement retailer. Overall they are the second largest retailer in the United States, and the third largest in the world. Even more impressive is the fact that they are the youngest retailer in the Fortune 50. Home Depot is also very familiar with awards similar to the Good Samaritan Award as they won the ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year Award for their leadership in reducing greenhouse gas emissions through their advertisements of energy-efficient solutions. The Madison West Home Depot is one of many stores in the country who pride themselves on building a good community. The store was founded in 2000, and the success of the west side store led them to build another store on the Far East side. Home Depot is a home improvement retail store that focuses on: kitchen, bath, appliances, doors and windows, electronics, flooring, outdoors, paint, and tools and hardware. The west side store employs nearly 200 employees varying from the ages of 18 to their mid sixties. This store puts a special emphasis on aiding those from the older adult community in a variety of ways listed below.

Home Depot

  • Hires older adults who left their jobs and then locates them in departments that are most similar with their previous duties
  • Offers good benefits to older adults who are interested in jobs
  • Prides itself on repairing older adults’ homes to ensure safety and to make better equipped for any possible emergency
  • Offers how-to-clinics to train older adults interested in doing their own home improvement project

Story:

Home Depot prides itself on placing older adults from the community into jobs that fit their likes and knowledge base. An older gentleman who had been a paint contractor his entire life but had recently handed off all of his painting duties to his younger painters because of health problems came into Matt’s store a few weeks ago. He knew he couldn’t handle the day-to-day painting duties, but he wanted to share his knowledge with other prospective painters. So Matt hired the man, and since then he has been spreading his knowledge of paint to everyone willing to strike up a conversation with him. But he also has been enjoying his job and every time he runs into Matt he says hi and tells him how much he loves his new job at the Home Depot.

Reported by Blake Guyer, EdgewoodCollege, March 2008 for Professor Denis Collins