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Securian Stands Out in Upper Midwest as a 'Best Place to Work in IT'

ST. PAUL, Minn., July 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Information technology and math graduates in the Upper Midwest will put Securian Financial Group high on their list of employers to consider. According to COMPUTERWORLD, Securian is one of only five companies in a six-state region that are on the magazine's 2008 list of the nation's "100 Best Places to Work in IT." Despite being one of the smaller companies on the list, Securian (2,500 employees) was ranked eleventh overall, higher than many larger companies.

There's nothing new in that: Securian has appeared on the list every year since 1996. The company's chief information officer, Senior Vice President Jean Delaney Nelson, says it's because Securian is a great place to work.

"It is a reflection of the company as a whole as well as our IT hiring and employment practices," said Delaney Nelson. "We strive throughout the enterprise to create a stimulating work environment that provides lots of opportunity and variety."

The COMPUTERWORLD rankings show Securian to be superior in many aspects of IT employment. It received the highest ranking of the eleven insurance companies on the list. In addition to ranking eleventh overall, it ranked:

    -- seventh in percentage of women managers (48%)
    -- fourteenth in the percentage of IT staff promoted annually (16%)
    -- seventh in the average number of IT training days per year (13)

"We work to ensure that our training is cost-effective but meaningful," said Delaney Nelson. "We create many customized programs that teach our associates what they need to know to perform well in Securian's IT and business environment. It works well for us."

Securian's low annual IT turnover rate (6%) also was spotlighted in the COMPUTERWORLD coverage.

Once again, this year's process included a random survey of each candidate's IT employees. Topics covered included satisfaction with training and development programs, base salary, bonuses, health benefits and work-life balance. Employees were also asked to rate morale in their departments, the importance of various benefits, and their level of agreement with a variety of statements, covering topics from career growth to management's fair and equal treatment of associates. Approximately half of the score was based on employee responses.

Securian Financial Group helps provide financial security for individuals and businesses in the form of insurance, retirement plans and investments. Affiliates include Minnesota Life Insurance Co., Advantus Capital Management, and Allied Solutions, LLC. Securian has nearly $680 billion of life insurance in force, $30 billion in assets under management as of January 31, 2008, and a work force of 3,400 employees nationwide and 2,500 inSt. Paul. Securian serves more than 9,000,000 individuals in the U.S.

To download a high-resolution photo of Jean Delaney Nelson, visit http://www.securian.com/About/mediaroom/download_center/download_portraits.asp

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http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articl

eId=9099638&intsrc=hm_ts_head

http://www.securian.com

SOURCE Securian Financial Group

Tags: ,CPR,ECM,FIN,INS,ITE,NET,STW,WRK,PUB,AWD,PER,SVY,MN-Securian-BestWork

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