The Judges Talk about The Principal 10 Best Winners

"I would say that the biggest surprise this year was that there weren't any significant surprises. One could have imagined a significant shift in how companies thought about benefits. The fact that there wasn't a real shift in direction was a positive surprise: these companies are simply not cutting back benefits as a way to reduce costs. I think that's probably good for all of us."
— Timothy Welsh, Director, McKinsey & Company

"I was impressed that the companies' commitment to healthcare programs remains as high as it is in these times. It's clearly very expensive for these companies to provide the healthcare programs that they are offering their employees. That would be an easy place to cut back and they have not done so."
— David Wray, President, The Profit Sharing/401k Council of America (PSCA)

"The winners have made a tremendous contribution to their wellness programs and wellness education which demonstrates a sincere commitment to the financial security to their employees."
— John McClain, Vice President, Human Resources NORCAL Mutual Insurance Co., a 2008 The Principal 10 Best Companies winner

"I thought it was very significant these winners have a strong commitment to benefit communications. They do it in a variety of different ways and multiple times. Most are focusing on one-on-one meetings, especially for retirement benefits, where it's needed most."
— Angelo M. Nardi, CEBS, Executive Vice President, Gallagher Benefits Services, Inc.

"The thing that probably stood out the most to me was a commitment to wellness. I think what we've seen over time is that wellness programs really do make a difference. Companies and employees who make a commitment to wellness actually do see a reduction in their overall medical costs. And, you see that borne out in The Principal 10 Best."
— Nevin Adams, Editor-in-Chief, PLANSPONSOR Magazine and PLANSPONSOR.com

"A fair percentage of our winners are still maintaining an active defined benefit plan. I was extremely impressed and pleased to see that. Those bubbled to the top as a strong employer when we looked at the entrants. The winners are also making strong contributions to their other retirement programs, not only in matching, but in profit sharing."
— Connie Rank-Smith, SPHR, CEBS, CMS, Vice President of Human Resources, Jewelers Mutual Insurance, The Principal 10 Best Companies--2008 winner.

"It's clear that these companies are staying the course. They are making other adjustments as they go forward. I did not see that these companies had lowered their commitment to employee benefits from past winners. Certainly this is a difficult period, but within a few years the economy will turn. And it's critical that these companies have a core of highly committed employees to take advantage of the opportunities that will soon be there."
— David Wray, President, The Profit Sharing/401k Council of America (PSCA)

"One of the things that impressed us about the winners is they have not only maintained benefit levels, but they've also in some cases increased them. One of the winners that had applied before explicitly made the effort to how can we make it better so we're a winner this year?"
— Corey Rosen, Executive Director & founder, National Center for Employee Ownership

"The one thing that stands out to me is the stability of the financial commitment to their employee benefits. In a time that you would think companies would be cutting benefits, these winners were the opposite. And they were making a sincere commitment to their benefits for the long term."
— John McClain, Vice President, Human Resources NORCAL Mutual Insurance Co., a 2008 The Principal 10 Best Companies winner

"What we were really intrigued by this year was the fact that these best companies stayed the course. And, they didn't cut back when it would have been so easy to do that. In fact, many of them added innovative approaches. And, that was quite remarkable given the economic environment."
— Timothy Welsh, Director, McKinsey & Company

"One of the repeated comments we read in the applications is that management is committed. They have told their employees 'We are committed to not cutting benefits.' That really shows the commitment of these companies to the long term financial security of employees. There was even one company where management forewent their bonuses to ensure that the employee benefit programs did not suffer. That was extremely impressive."
— Connie Rank-Smith, SPHR, CEBS, CMS, Vice President Human Resources Jewelers Mutual Insurance, a 2008 The Principal 10 Best Companies winner.

"It's easy to treat people well during the good times. But if you treat employees well during the bad times that's the mark of a truly great employer."
— Nevin Adams, Editor-in-Chief, PLANSPONSOR Magazine and PLANSPONSOR.com

"These companies have low turnover relative to their industry. When you don't have constant replacement and training costs you build up a lot of intellectual capital in your company. You have people who have the skills and have the commitment who say 'hey we can save costs doing this; we can create new revenue doing that.' When you have that kind of ability you're in much better position to cope with this economy."
— Corey Rosen, Executive Director & founder, National Center for Employee Ownership

"I was very impressed with the breadth and scope of the winners' benefit offerings, especially given the very uncertain times that we have right now."
— Angelo M. Nardi, CEBS, Executive Vice President, Gallagher Benefits Services, Inc.

"What we were particularly impressed by is how all of the 10 Best really were able to maintain extraordinary benefits programs even in the midst of financial difficulties. This showed a remarkable commitment to their employees, and all the research suggests that kind of commitment to employees is really going pay off in productivity and other benefits over time."
— Timothy Welsh, Director, McKinsey & Company

"We saw it time and again in the winners. It's a consistent commitment to these kinds of programs as a company and corporate philosophy. This is about how they want to treat their workers. The word family came up a lot. Granted a lot of these are small to mid size employers and it's easier to talk about family when you're not a megalithic entity. But, the fact of the matter is, these people really mean it. And, they're putting their money where their mouth is."
— Nevin Adams, Editor-in-Chief, PLANSPONSOR Magazine and PLANSPONSOR.com