The Principal Financial Group Announces 2004 Winners of The Principal 10 Best Companies for Employee Financial Security Program
October 14, 2004 (Des Moines, Iowa) - The Principal Financial Group® today announced the 2004 winners of The Principal® 10 Best Companies for Employee Financial Security. The program, now in its third year, honors growing businesses (five to 1,000 employees) that excel in selecting, managing and providing a benefits program that ensures employees' long-term financial security. Nearly 800 companies were nominated.
"The Principal 10 Best winners have all succeeded in building great benefit programs in ways that ultimately boost their bottom line, while also making sure their employees appreciate the value of those benefits," said Renee Schaaf, vice president at the Principal Financial Group. "Our independent blue ribbon panel of judges was really impressed by the winners' commitment to superior benefits that would compete easily against even the largest of companies."
In particular, The Principal 10 Best winners demonstrated innovative ways to provide affordable health care coverage to their employees. "In these days of escalating health care premiums, the winning companies have kept costs down while not sacrificing quality. They provide plenty of valuable lessons for other growing businesses in how to make their employees become better consumers of health care," said Schaaf.
The Principal 10 Best Companies for Employee Financial Security recognizes the importance of small and medium-sized businesses (five - 1000 employees), which according to the Small Business Administration and Census Bureau, make up over 99 percent of all U.S. businesses. Small companies (<500 employees) employ around half of all private sector American workers, and have generated 60-80% of net new jobs annually over the last decade.
"The Principal 10 Best winners remind other small businesses that employees are their most valuable resource, and by having a great benefits program they can maximize the value of that resource," added Schaaf. "Of course, good benefits come at a cost, but these 10 outstanding companies all maintain that by having a good benefits program, they actually reduce overall costs to their business by reducing turnover and increasing productivity. That's why we think they are all great role models for other small and medium sized businesses."
Winning companies come from an array of industries ranging from manufacturing to financial services; and range in size from 15 to over 500 employees.
The Principal 10 Best Companies are: American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc., Linthicum Heights, MD; American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, Bethesda, MD; Clipper Belt Lacer Company, Grand Rapids, MI; Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, Inc., Washington, DC; ELTECH Systems Corporation, Chardon, OH; First National Bank of Greencastle, Greencastle, PA; Leupold & Stevens, Inc., Beaverton, OR; Pharmacists Mutual Insurance Company, Algona, IA; RATHBUN INSURANCE AGENCY, Lansing, MI; and USA Federal Credit Union, Auburn Hills, MI.
A distinguished judging panel of business leaders and employee benefit experts worked with the Mathew Greenwald & Associates, a premier market research company, to choose the winners based on how companies select, manage and provide benefits and other programs that contribute to their employees' financial security.
The program judges included: Dallas L. Salisbury, president and CEO, Employee Benefit Research Institute; David Wray, president, Profit Sharing/401(k) Council of America; Howard Wolosky, executive editor, The Practical Accountant; Deborah J. Lucas, PhD., Household International professor of finance, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University; Nevin E. Adams, editor-in-chief, Plan Sponsor Magazine; Charlie Tharp Ph.D., professor human resource management, School of Management and Labor Relations, Rutgers University; Susan Bjork , HR director, Lancet Software, Inc., The Principal 10 Best Companies-2003 winner; Todd Surline, vice president of human relations, MSU Federal Credit Union, The Principal 10 Best Companies-2003 winner.
Companies were evaluated based on benefits the judges deemed most important in contributing to employee long-term financial security. Those benefits included retirement plans; strong medical coverage, including significant premium subsidies by employers; long-term disability options; group life insurance; accidental death and dismemberment coverage; medical and retirement packages for part-time employees; and effective communication methods to help employees maximize the benefit options. Judges selected winning companies based on the breadth of their benefits offerings - how well they cover major life events such as retirement and disability; and the depth of their benefits offerings - how much the company contributes in terms of matches or premiums. The judges also considered the overall commitment to employee financial security as demonstrated by how the company aligns its benefits to the specific needs of its employees and how the company helps employees understand and utilize their benefits.
The Principal 10 Best Companies for Employee Financial Security is a nationwide program that searches for and recognizes small and medium-size companies that excel in providing for employee financial security. Entries for the 2004 search were accepted from Feb. 1, 2004, through May 1, 2004. The program was open to any company with between five to 1,000 employees. To qualify, all entrants must have been based in the United States and have provided a broad range of employee benefits for at least five years. Qualifying companies must have, at a minimum, offered "traditional" employee benefits, such as those relating to retirement, health, life or disability. No entry fee was required, and employees of The Principal were not eligible to enter. A summary of best practices gleaned from the program will be available in January 2005, and entry forms for the 2005 recognition program will be available in February 2005. For more information, visit The Principal Web site at www.principal.com.
About The Principal Financial Group
The Principal Financial Group® (The Principal)®1 is a leader in offering businesses, individuals and institutional clients a wide range of financial products and services, including retirement and investment services, life and health insurance and banking through its diverse family of financial services companies. A member of the Fortune 500, the Principal Financial Group has $152.1 billion in assets under management2 and serves some 14.6 million customers worldwide from offices in Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America and the United States. Principal Financial Group, Inc. is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol PFG. For more information, visit www.principal.com.
1) "The Principal Financial Group®" and "The Principal®" are registered service marks of Principal Financial Services, Inc., a member of the Principal Financial Group.
2) As of June 30, 2004.
