Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America (Allianz Life) yesterday announced that it has been named to FORTUNE magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work For" list for the second straight year, ranking 59th on the list. In the 2013 edition, FORTUNE highlighted Allianz Life's commitment to employee development as one of the hallmark's of a good employer. Based in Minneapolis, Allianz Life is a leading provider of retirement income and protection solutions, including fixed and variable annuities and life insurance for individuals, and employs more than 1,700 people at its corporate campus.
"As one of only two Minnesota companies selected, we're honored to repeat on the prestigious FORTUNE 100 list," said Allianz Life President and CEO Walter White. "This achievement is the result of the passion and dedication of our employees, who strive for excellence as we help Americans reach their financial and retirement goals. Our culture of innovation and collective drive to be the best make Allianz Life a great place to work and positive part of the community."
In addition to the recognition from FORTUNE, Allianz Life received the Minneapolis Star Tribune Top Workplace award (June 2012) and the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal Best Places to Work award (August 2012). Allianz Life continues to offer a number of employee development and leadership opportunities such as My Career, an online library of employee development resources and OPEX, an Allianz Group-wide quality and change management approach from parent company, Allianz SE. Allianz Life launched additional employee-focused workplace enhancements in 2012, including the Women's Leadership Exchange, a new and powerful multi-level mentoring and coaching model for the development of women leaders.
"Employee development and recognition is one of our five business priorities," said Chief Human Resources Officer Suzanne Zeller. "We will continue to help employees focus on their personal and professional growth and reward them for their contributions."
To pick the 100 Best Companies to Work For, FORTUNE partners with the Great Place to Work Institute to conduct the most extensive employee survey in corporate America; 259 firms participated in this year's survey. More than 277,000 employees at those companies responded to a survey created by the institute, a global research and consulting firm operating in 45 countries around the world. Two-thirds of a company's score is based on the results of the institute's Trust Index survey, which is sent to a random sample of employees from each company. The survey asks questions related to their attitudes about management's credibility, job satisfaction, and camaraderie. The other third is based on responses to the institute's Culture Audit, which includes detailed questions about pay and benefit programs and a series of open-ended questions about hiring practices, methods of internal communication, training, recognition programs, and diversity efforts. Any company that is at least five years old and has more than 1,000 U.S. employees is eligible.
