The Principal Financial Group Ranks 21st on the FORTUNE "100 Best Companies to Work For"
January 30, 2008 (Des Moines, Iowa) — The Principal Financial Group® ranks 21st on FORTUNE magazine's 2008 list of the "100 Best Companies to Work For" (up from number 77 in 2007). This is the sixth consecutive year The Principal® has placed on the prestigious list of employers.
"This ranking is an incredible recognition of the work environment we enjoy at The Principal, and we are honored to again make the list," said J. Barry Griswell, Principal Financial Group chairman and CEO. "Each employee contributes to making The Principal a great place for great people to do great work; we absolutely take that to heart. Our employees have tremendous pride in saying we're a part of The Principal, and that we work for a FORTUNE 100 Best company."
The Principal was noted for its high number of women in the workforce (67%), including those at senior leadership levels. In fact, FORTUNE features The Principal in the Feb. 3 article, "In the land of women." According to the article, "Lots of companies fret about keeping women in the workforce. (The) Principal Financial (Group) has figured out how to do it." Nearly two-thirds of the company's 13,438 U.S.-based employees are women. They hold 50 percent of the 1,700 most senior positions, and five of the 14 directors (35%) are female — more than double the industry average.
"All employees bring something unique to the company, which helps us serve our customers and understand their financial needs," noted Jim DeVries, senior vice president of Human Resources for The Principal. "It's this diversity of culture, age, experience, skill, education, ability and perspective that contributes to making The Principal a great employer, and a great company."
The Principal is the only company on this year's FORTUNE 100 list based in Iowa.
About the FORTUNE "100 Best Companies to Work For"
The "100 Best Companies to Work For" list is based on two criteria: an evaluation of the policies and culture of each company and the opinions of the company's employees. Two-thirds of the total score comes from responses to a random employee survey, measuring such things as employee attitudes toward management, job satisfaction, and camaraderie within the organization. The remaining one-third of the score is based on an evaluation of each company's demographic makeup, pay and benefits programs, and culture. Companies are scored in four areas: credibility (communication to employees), respect (opportunities and benefits), fairness (compensation, diversity), and pride/camaraderie (philanthropy, celebrations). The complete list and related stories will appear in the Feb. 4 issue of FORTUNE, available on newsstands Jan. 28 and at www.fortune.com beginning Jan. 22.
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 $306 billion in assets under management2 and serves some 18.3 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 September 30, 2007.
