Principal Financial Reviews

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

Pros – Benefits 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.

Cons – Satellite office has limited advancement opportunity. Compensation could be slightly higher for internal candidates.

Advice to Senior Management – Keep it up!

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

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

Pros – benefits, PTO, Work life balance, Culture, Salary

Cons – Not 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

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

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

Cons – It 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

I have been working at Principal Financial full-time

Pros – People are nice and the work isn't hard.

Cons – Welcome 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.

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

Pros – people are authentic and the work environment is healthy

Cons – compensation 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

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

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

Cons – No 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 Management – Nothing... it is what it is.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

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

Pros – Principal 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.

Cons – There'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 Management – Clean 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.

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

Pros – Room for development and growth within the organization

Cons – have to play politics at times

Advice to Senior Management – align 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

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

Pros – Great benefits. Work cuulture is one of the best.

Cons – Low salaries. Not close to market.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

I have been working at Principal Financial full-time

Pros – Good benefits, work/life benefits, concern for individual

Cons – Limited advancement potential in my area

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