Principal Financial Group 2023 Sustainability Report: Engaging Our Employees

Originally published in Principal Financial Group 2023 Sustainability Report

Attracting and retaining talent 

Our employees are our most valued asset. We take a comprehensive approach to attracting top talent and prioritize the health and wellness of our employees.

Our approach 

To deliver on our purpose, we must equip our teams with the best talent in the market. We do this by proactively reaching out to top talent for critical roles, collaborating with our marketing team to activate our employment brand on social media channels, and ensuring that we focus on hiring in early career roles that provide opportunities for development and growth.

We strive to bring out the best in our people by investing in what matters to them, which allows us to proactively engage and retain an inclusive workforce at Principal. Our employee value proposition underscores the components most important to our employees, including a tailored and flexible approach to life and work, opportunities for growth and development, and a sense of connection to our purpose.

Learn more about our careers at Principal

Increasing representation in our talent pool 

We believe every candidate should have an equal opportunity for their hopeful position and we promise a fair interview process to select the best-fit candidate. We deliver this promise by using DECIDE training to teach interviewers how to mitigate bias by using a consistent question structure for all candidates to deliver an unbiased interview.

Data helps us identify where we can increase representation for certain groups, how to increase representation throughout the hiring process, and how to target locations where we can find top talent. We also use targeted campaigns to increase diverse candidates in critical roles like women in information technology.

Our actions and performance in 2023 

In 2023, 34% of our U.S. hires were people of color. Globally, 51% of hires were female, 49% were males, and 0.45% were gender non- identifying or non-reporting.

In 2023, approximately 68% of new hires were in international locations, and 32% were in the U.S. The total number of new hires globally was 3,749.

Employee Engagement Index 

Our Engagement Index measures employee satisfaction across our global workforce. In 2023, we maintained a strong level of employee satisfaction and met our 2023 goal with a score of 79% and an 85% response rate. Our score indicates that across the questions that make up our Engagement Index, 79% were positive responses. We assess the results in a variety of ways, including by gender, to ensure we are creating an inclusive work environment and a consistent employee experience that aligns with our employee value proposition and core values.

In 2023 both our female and male employee base had 79% engagement, which is consistent with results in prior years. Our goal remains to reach an Engagement Index of 79% in 2024.

In the U.S., the response rate for our employees of color was an all-time high. In 2023, 74% of our employees of color participated, compared to 57% in 2021. And for the first time, our engagement index score for employees of color was 78%, which is comparable to the engagement index score of white employees at 77%.

Engagement Index

2023 performance: 79% 
2024 goal: 79%

• 2022 performance: 78%
• 2021 performance: 79%
• 2020 performance: 83%

When setting our annual goals, we take into careful consideration our historical engagement performance data, as well as internal and external trends we’ve observed over the past several years to inform our future goal. We also collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure our goals align with other enterprise and business level goals.

Additionally, we also use a scorecard to measure talent metrics across several categories—culture, talent attraction, employee retention, and leadership and development—to evaluate how we can provide a valuable and rewarding experience for our employees.

For example, we continued to advance our global mentoring program, including an expanded network, increased awareness of career opportunities, and increased retention to provide a meaningful leadership and development opportunity for our employees. We’ve found that current and past global mentoring program participants (both mentors and mentees) are approximately 50% less likely to terminate their employment with Principal compared to non-participants.¹

Overall, between 2022 and 2023, our global turnover improved from 21% to 17%, and our U.S. turnover improved from 13% to 10%.

For a full tenure breakdown see the appendix of the report.

What’s next 

In an effort to gain insights early and effectively, in June we introduced a fully automated, company-wide onboarding survey to our new global employees at their 14th, 60th, and 90th days at Principal. We’ll use employee insights to better understand what has attracted key talent, gaps to their initial productivity, overall satisfaction and lead indicators for under 90-day turnover. We will have more data and insights in 2024 to consider actions on identified themes.

When we look to 2024, we will continue to focus on delivering a personalized employee experience, with a focus on continuing to enhance onboarding, helping employees establish a network, and providing tailored development opportunities.

¹Based on available data since the beginning of the program in 2020.

To learn more, read the Principal Financial Group 2023 Sustainability Report.

Additional information on our commitments to advance inclusion, representation, accessibility, and equity within our workplace, business practices, and communities can be found in the 2023 Global Inclusion Report.

Insurance products issued by Principal National Life Insurance Co (except in NY) and Principal Life Insurance Company®. Plan administrative services offered by Principal Life. Principal Funds, Inc. is distributed by Principal Funds Distributor, Inc. Securities offered through Principal Securities, Inc., member SIPC and/or independent broker/dealers. Referenced companies are members of the Principal Financial Group®, Des Moines, IA 50392.​

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