Penn Mutual Reviews

3.8

70% would recommend to a friend

(272 total reviews)
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David O’Malley

77% approve of CEO

64% positive business outlook

Penn Mutual has an employee rating of 3.8 out of 5 stars, based on 272 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Penn Mutual employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Insurance industry (3.6 stars).

Reviews by job title

272 reviews
2.0
16 Nov 2017

Manager

Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Penn Mutual is a very philanthropic organization. They practice good corporate citizenship.

Cons

Penn Mutual has been making limited progress. Their move to be innovative is bringing some of their methods into the 2000s, not much past that though. The most recent innovations look slick when compared against the old technology that they use but it is still old news when compared to what is really going on in technology today. Company personnel is very "cliquey." You really have to position yourself with the right people to get ahead, or even keep your job. If you are looking for a job here be young and cheap, maybe you will get in.

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Penn Mutual Response
8y
Thank you for your feedback. We welcome the opportunity to address some of your comments. First and foremost, Penn Mutual does not tolerate discrimination, period! Our associates take pride in having created a longstanding culture of inclusion, openness and integrity. We have a robust ethics program which reinforces our values and provides various mechanisms for reporting concerns. Like all businesses, we consistently monitor the ongoing needs of our business and make personnel adjustments accordingly. At times we are expanding the number of associates for newly created positions. We have an internal job posting system which successfully helps to fill an average of 25% of our open positions a year with existing personnel. At other times it is necessary to reduce associates in certain areas. While it is never easy to eliminate positions held by associates who have made contributions to the organization, at times business conditions require us to do so. It is our practice to treat those impacted by position eliminations with dignity and provide financial assistance when transitioning out of the company. Finally, over the past several decades, Penn Mutual has invested in technology tools and a data architecture that has gained us external recognition for our innovation. We remain committed to ongoing investments to gain efficiencies in our operations.
1.0
10 Mar 2019

Not true to the brand

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Nice office, casual dress, good work/life balance

Cons

Internal politics lead to the unsaid rule that only the COO and CIO have good ideas at this company. Do not raise concerns with any of their pet projects, no matter how ill-conceived the project or it could cost you your job. Do not be surprised if your ideas are taken and passed off as their own while you’re scrutinized for that idea. Meanwhile, past mistakes of these executives are swept under the rug even though they cost policyholders millions of dollars. Nepotism between the long tenured people here is crippling the organization despite the good press they buy. Many long tenured people ascend into the AVP, VP and executive positions not because of their competence but by not questioning the status quo, being yes men and women and being in the clique. Behind the shiny office and the façade of corporate values, exists a company that is decades behind its public company competitors and executives (primarily only with experience at Penn Mutual) kill off anyone with outside opinions that challenge the status quo and anyone looking to bring the company into the 21st century to be competitive in the future. Their tactics the past couple years appears to many employees to be laying off a blend of younger people in with older women so to avoid the appearance of age / gender discrimination. Even worse, for a company that touts being a family company as one of their core values, is that they lay these people off around the holidays – around Thanksgiving / Christmas. While there is never a good time for a layoff, and the company provides limited financial assistance, companies aren’t hiring or interviewing people near the holidays so they’re putting these people at a huge disadvantage while they’re trying to pick themselves up off the ground. This is not consistent with the corporate values and I’ve never seen a company with corporate values as opposite as what is really behind the curtain…and I’ve worked on Wall Street! I would not recommend a manager, AVP or VP above to join this company. It’ll only be a temporary spot before you figure you were lied to about the ambitions of Penn Mutual or shown the door because you have ideas that could advance the companies goals and objectives but don’t fit with the right cliques that have formed over the past 20+ years and have a strangle hold on the company.

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Penn Mutual Response
7y
Concerns of all our associates are important to the leadership of Penn Mutual. We have many avenues within the organization to express these concerns. The decisions we make regarding our associates and related changes are never taken lightly. They are done so with the needs of the business in mind, and always balanced with respect. These decisions are not easy, but we can assure you they are free from discrimination of any kind. If you would like to discuss your concerns further we are here to help, and we encourage you to contact any leader in the organization or a Human Resources professional.
1.0
23 Jun 2018
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The organization gives back to the local community.

Cons

Penn Mutual is inconsistent with its own values. The values are written clear on paper but not in the way they are carried out by the most senior executive team members.

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Penn Mutual Response
7y
Thank you for your review and candid feedback. At Penn Mutual, our guiding principles apply to everyone in our company from interns on up through our Chairman and CEO. These principles include respecting one another, valuing diverse experiences and points of view, and connecting with the communities where we work and live. We believe our values differentiate us from other companies. We’re disappointed your experience has not met these standards and encourage you to contact Amy Williams, Assistant Vice President, Human Resources at 215.956.8084 if you would like to share more information regarding your experience.
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Glassdoor has 320 Penn Mutual reviews submitted anonymously by Penn Mutual employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Penn Mutual is right for you.