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Principal Financial
3.4 of 5 109 reviews
www.principal.com Des Moines, IA 5000+ Employees

Principal Financial Reviews

Updated Jun 13, 2013
Principal Financial – Hong Kong – “Hong Kong Office”

All Employees Current Employees Only

3.4 109 reviews

                             

81% Approve of the CEO

Principal Financial President, CEO, and Director  Larry D. Zimpleman

Larry D. Zimpleman

(69 ratings)

74% of employees recommend this company to a friend
109 Employee Reviews
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Great culture and company. Industry leader and well respected.

Group Benefits (Current Employee)

I have been working at Principal Financial full-time for more than 3 years

ProsBenefits are robust, PTO best in industry, pension still available, and vested after 3 years. Even better opportunities in Des Moines. Great home office campus. Great company to settle into.

ConsSatellite office has limited advancement opportunity. Compensation could be slightly higher for internal candidates.

Advice to Senior ManagementKeep it up!

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

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  • Work/Life Balance
         
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Great company and culture

Group Benefits (Current Employee)

I have been working at Principal Financial full-time for more than 3 years

Prosbenefits, PTO, Work life balance, Culture, Salary

ConsNot a lot of advance opportunity outside of Des Moines.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

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Great Company

Loan Foreclosure Representative (Current Employee)
Des Moines, IA

I have been working at Principal Financial full-time for more than 3 years

ProsGreat company to work for Great benefits wish I had never left.

ConsIt is a growing company and if size matters, you might get caught up in a corporate setting that loses its personal touch

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

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Below average salary and benefits

Senior IT Analyst (Current Employee)
Des Moines, IA

I have been working at Principal Financial full-time

ProsPeople are nice and the work isn't hard.

ConsWelcome to the land of COBOL and the 2% raise. Principal has always paid below market, but at least it used to have good benefits. In the past few years everything got stingier. If you have technical skills, look elsewhere.

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satisfactory, although a bit boring, corporate experience

Graphic Designer (Current Employee)
Des Moines, IA

I have been working at Principal Financial for more than 8 years

Prospeople are authentic and the work environment is healthy

Conscompensation can be an issue. HR always wants to fall a bit below the curve.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

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Started good, ended bad.....

Business Analyst (Former Employee)
Des Moines, IA

I worked at Principal Financial full-time for more than 7 years

ProsI did go through a training program and I appreciate that. Okay benefits, low wages.

ConsNo hope for advancement unless you are in good with the management team. The pay is low and they wont let you apply for jobs within the company that are more than one notch above where you are currently at. It is not a family friendly place if you are one of the many low level employees. It apparently is family friendly if you are a high level employee, and get all kinds of perks. Middle managers think they are God....It was only after I left and was at another job that I realized how suffocated I was at PFG.

Advice to Senior ManagementNothing... it is what it is.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

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Great company, if you happen to be in the right clique...

Sales/Service (Current Employee)

I have been working at Principal Financial full-time for more than 10 years

ProsPrincipal used to be a great place to work. They had great benefits and promoted their culture as a positive reason to remain with the company. This was back when they regularly were named one of Forbes "Best Places To Work", in the mid 2000's.

ConsThere's a reason Principal is no longer named on the Forbes list. The atmosphere has really been degraded since 2008. Mid-management has gotten weaker and weaker, while upper management has become more focused on moving the stock price. This has led to a dilemma for many employees: do the right thing for the client and face a backlash from management or toe the company line and leave your professional integrity at the door. Their compensation package tells you all you need to know...

Advice to Senior ManagementClean up the "good old boy (and girl)" network in middle management. It's a joke that certain employees are still employed, while great people are leaving out of frustration.

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good people, ethical company

Account Executive II (Current Employee)
Chicago, IL

I have been working at Principal Financial full-time for more than 8 years

ProsRoom for development and growth within the organization

Conshave to play politics at times

Advice to Senior Managementalign incentives with organizational goals then give more autonomy

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

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Compensation

IT Applications Analyst Senior (Former Employee)
Des Moines, IA

I worked at Principal Financial full-time for more than 10 years

ProsGreat benefits. Work cuulture is one of the best.

ConsLow salaries. Not close to market.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

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Overall good ethical company

Client Transactions (Current Employee)
Raleigh, NC

I have been working at Principal Financial full-time

ProsGood benefits, work/life benefits, concern for individual

ConsLimited advancement potential in my area

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

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