What the Judges Say About The Principal 10 Best Evaluation Process
Together with Mathew Greenwald & Associates, a premier market research company, an independent panel of judges study the entries to The Principal 10 Best Companies for Employee Financial Security before selecting the top 10. The process is rigorous and competition is intense.
View comments from the judges about the process and the value of the program:
- Nevin Adams, editor in chief - Plan Sponsor Magazine, Plansponsor.com
- Dan McCarthy FSA, MAAA Consulting Actuary Milliman USA
- Debbie Jaudon, director of human resources, Argon ST, winner The Principal 10 Best Companies-2006
- CJ McKoy, director—human resources and corporate learning, ITA Group, Inc. winner The Principal 10 Best Companies-2006
- Corey Rosen, executive director, National Center for Employee Ownership
- Dallas Salisbury, president and CEO, Employee Benefit Research Institute
- Tim Welsh, director, McKinsey & Company
- David Wray, president of the Profit Sharing/401(k) Council of America (PSCA)
View comments from evaluation facilitator, Mathew Greenwald, president and CEO, Mathew Greenwald & Associates, Inc.
Nevin Adams, Editor in Chief - Plan Sponsor Magazine, Plansponsor.com
Watch Nevin Adams' comments on evaluating the entrants - Part One (2.3 MB)
Watch Nevin Adams' comments on evaluating the entrants - Part Two (1.6 MB)
Watch Nevin Adams' comments on evaluating the entrants - Part Three (781 KB)
Read the Comments
Part One—"It's always, it's always tough, because, frankly, when we're dealing with this information, you know, we're dealing with employers who are already sort of head and shoulders above what many people offer. We're taking a big group of PLANSPONSORS and are trying to filter those programs down through a rigorous rating system to get them down to a manageable number. And then, we have to take that manageable number and carve it down to the 10 best, in every sense of the word the 10 best. I'm just glad we don't have to pick one best, okay? (laugh) Ten best is hard enough."
Part Two—I think the process, the program is a great thing. It's, this is the fourth year I've been associated with it. It's been an honor to be associated with it every year. The last two years, in our magazine, we've taken the time to recognize what these 10 employers have done. We've drawn our own sort of best practices from the list, if you will. It's been an honor for us to be able to showcase what these employers are doing and hold it up before an audience of their peers."
Part Three—"Because I think what they're doing is so important, and I think what Principal is doing, in terms of sponsoring this program and giving these employers a chance to shine, is incredibly important."
Dan McCarthy FSA, MAAA Consulting Actuary Milliman USA
Watch Dan McCarthy's comments on evaluating the entrants (1.5 MB)
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"Well, the judging process is always different from year to year because it affects the, or it's affected by, rather, the personalities of the judges. And we had three people this year who were first time judges, but that gives it a freshness. The thing that's important is that it's not just a score keeping, it's an honest effort to really look beyond the numbers, to say, who's doing the good job here?"
Debbie Jaudon, Director of Human Resources, Argon ST, winner The Principal 10 Best Companies-2006
Watch Debbie Jaudon's comments on evaluating the entrants (3.3 MB)
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"First of all, I was very honored to be part of the process. And I really do appreciate, first of all, being a winner of last year, and then being a part of the process this year. They do a great job. I was amazed at first of all, how many great companies there are. And the variety of benefits and the creativity of some of the wellness program, the things that we saw was a very exciting and informative for me as a participant. The ability to get through all of these companies with such great benefits in one day was a tribute to the process. And people have different ideas on what's valuable and what's less valuable. But in the end, I think the process worked, and some great companies were chosen, and, for great reasons. And so I was extremely impressed with it."
CJ McKoy, Director—Human Resources and Corporate Learning, ITA Group, Inc. winner The Principal 10 Best Companies-2006
Watch CJ McKoy's comments on evaluating the entrants (1.5 MB)
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"I think it's really important for the employees to hear that an independent panel of judges has chosen their company as a top 10 company. It's one thing to hear that from company executives or from your manager or even from your friends when you're comparing benefits. But to have a national recognition, that really puts it over the top and puts things into perspective."
Corey Rosen, executive director, National Center for Employee Ownership
View video testimonial (1.6 MB) by Corey Rosen.
"It's a terrific judging process. And I think the thing that makes it so good is that the quality of the people involved is extraordinarily high. They’re spending a lot of time going through these applications. And I know that the discussion we’ve had have been both extremely engaging and I think very insightful as to what makes a great company for financial security."
Dallas Salisbury, president and CEO, Employee Benefit Research Institute
Watch Dallas Salisbury's comments on evaluating the entrants (2.6 MB)
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"And it becomes an extraordinarily interactive process with that group, and that has enough depth of experience to really evaluate thoroughly what the employer is doing… the companies that win can know that they actually have been through a solid objective process, and if they've won, they know they won for the right reasons."
Tim Welsh, director, McKinsey & Company
Watch Tim Welsh's comments on evaluating the entrants (1.3 MB)
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"It's quite excruciating because what you find is that many companies have really interesting things that they're doing for their employees and to try to select just 10 out of that is a quite arduous process as you might imagine, but it really does highlight the 10 that were chosen are really exemplary."
David Wray, president of the Profit Sharing/401(k) Council of America (PSCA)
Watch David Wray's comments on evaluating the entrants - Part One (3.4 MB)
Watch David Wray's comments on evaluating the entrants - Part Two (1.5 MB)
Read the Comments
Part One—"The judging process is fascinating when you think about a process that you have to take over 200 companies and reduce it down to 10 winners. The, the, the preparation for the judging is excellent. We have a good deal of information provided to us in a very manageable form, so that we can sort of do our homework before we come to the meeting. And then, the judges themselves are, have worked together very, very well."
Part Two—"They come from a wide variety of interests, bringing a lot of different approaches to the process. And when you look at the outcome, it’s clear that judgment of the judges has really been what defines the winners, not some arbitrary point system. It's, it's really a fascinating process and I, and I think a very good one."
Mathew Greenwald, president and CEO, Mathew Greenwald & Associates, Inc.
Watch Mathew Greenwald's comments on evaluating the entrants - Part One (1.5 MB)
Watch Mathew Greenwald's comments on evaluating the entrants - Part Two (1.7 MB)
Read the Comments
Part One—"The process is clearly objective. But one of the things that ensures that is while the judges know a great deal of detail about the programs of the applicants, they don’t know the name of the applicants until the 10 winners are finally selected. Then, they're, the name of the company is revealed.
"And of all the different kinds of processes that you're involved in and you facilitate, how would you describe this or rank this in terms of quality, objectivity and integrity?" asked Terri Hale, Senior Media Relations Officer at The Principal Financial Group.
Part Two—"I facilitate a lot of groups. And the group that has impressed me the most, clearly are the judges of this 10 Best program. Because these tend to be leaders and decision makers, and people with a great deal of expertise who tend to get their way. But somehow they're able to work together extremely well, make the compromises when necessary, be strong in their opinion, but also know how to work in a group."
