Willis Group Reviews

Pros

Great office in London
Pockets of excellence in terms of people
Some very good initiatives being developed and launched
Good work-life balance

Cons

Ridiculous 'retention' scheme means that if you leave within 3 years of getting a bonus you have to pay a pro-rated amount back (i.e. leave after 18 months and pay back half). This is ridiculous when you consider that they typically pay well below average.

If you have a blackberry, you have to take out your own insurance or replace the phone out of your own pocket. They actually hold people to this. Seriously. I wouldn't mind this so much if the blackberry were a perk, but it's not.

Advice to Senior Management

Get rid of the retention bonus and pay in stocks and shares or something similar if you're worried about losing people. Or pay a decent salary. All retention does is breed discontent and keep underperformers who can't get a sign-on bonus elsewhere to cover their defecit.

Essentially, start treating people properly by not penny pinching.

Pros

Well run as a business with a proven track record of success.
The size of Willis allows movement amongst teams and roles with quick progression in terms of learning the business.

Great people to work with who are extremely knowledgeable.

Cons

Compensation, in particular, for young people is uncompetitive compared to the competition.

Advice to Senior Management

Recognition of young talent at an earlier stage to retain future leaders.

Pros

Good people work here. Great friends can be made. Willis tries to give time and money to the community and worked especially hard with the flood cleanup last year.

Cons

It is easy to get in and stay in a rut. Having a feeling like you are going nowhere can be very frustrating.

Pros

Willlis is a large consulting firm with name recognition in the industry.

Cons

Over work the Account Executives, Producers tend to take credit for work they don't do. Want to focus on large accounts, acquired HRH in the small-middle market segment, high turn over in HRH accounts. Bonus program requires a pay-back provision if you leave and don't complete 24 months after receiving that bonus. It's a perpetual ride of madness...HR lacks knowledge in many areas, the benefits program is very weak.

Advice to Senior Management

Get of your high horse

Pros

Great people in some areas with superb technical knowledge. Strong brand and market leverage. Excellent client portfolio. Recognised as top 3 firm in the industry. Looks good on the CV.

Cons

Stalinist/North Korean management style based on sweating the company assets which are mainly its people. Patronising internal communications filled with propaganda and Orwellian corporate speak. Group leadership focused entirely on increasing their already vast wealth whatever the cost to the normal employees. A sweatshop in the true sense of the word.

Advice to Senior Management

Retire and let the new younger generation (under 50 years old) take over.

Pros

I liked the fact that I was given a chance for advancement. I met great people throughout my years there.

Cons

Management is very poorly. Lack of communication between team leader and associate. Going above and beyond your job description is not recognized for example you can be doing excellent work, management will tell you that you are doing excellent but one mistake its over, they forget everything good you did in the past. They are very ungratefull and they don't appreciate your services.

Advice to Senior Management

Stop being back stabbers!

Pros

Great place to start in the insurance industry, but stay only 2 or 3 years and get out

Cons

Who you know will be your greatest asset

Advice to Senior Management

Say what you mean and mean what you say

Pros

Nice office with a very nice location. Usually you are surrounded by food chains flexible hours and paying on time.

Cons

Hiring process will be very bizarre. The HR located in a different place so all necessary information from them will be given only once via phone conference. Benefits are good only if you are visiting the doctor very often (very high deductible plan). Office equipment is very old and makes the life over there very though.

A Lack of communication between your counterparts.
Management with high expectations and Unprofessional team.
Poor management skills- since the moment you will be hired you will walk with "sword of Damocles" around your head. There is a good a chance that you will hear the word "termination" every single day.

There is no training time, you need to overcome challenges very quick otherwise they will show you the way to the closest exit.
People are not communicating with each other and I guess it is just because they are afraid to say something that will be used against them.

Defiantly not your right place to work for and it doesn’t matter in what position.

Pros

Great potential to make an amazing amount of money as a producer. Producer compensation schedule is fair. Good global network to lean on for larger clients. Corporate gives you industry leading tools to be successful. Good employee benefits, minus 401K (weak match).

Cons

One of the most toxic and unethical work environment's of any industry that I have seen. Management allows producers to be very unethical/ immoral and even partakes in the unethical/immoral behavior. There is definitely a corrupt, "good ole' boy" network that exists. Certain producers are handed clients because they are "pals" with management. People are always thought of last, profits and revenue are all anyone cares about. Producer's are told to do "whatever it takes" to close new business...even using unethical means to do so.

Advice to Senior Management

Invest in the future and next generation of insurance professionals. The workforce is aging and you are seeing a huge generational gap between employees. You tout the "Willis Cause" yet local offices are allowed to operate as some of the most immoral and unethical people in the insurance industry. You may be seeing producers hit their numbers consistently but the lack of professionalism and the unethical behavior will inevitably lead to your demise. If management really cared about anything other than revenue this would not be tolerated.

Pros

Some people there are very talented at what they do.

Cons

Manager are not very effective. Poor communication with employees.