Plenty is happening at Towers Perrin these days. At the end of June, the firm announced that it would merge with Watson Wyatt to become Towers Watson, a $3.5 billion human resources firm in what is one of the profession's largest mergers to date. Mark Mactas, the former CEO of Towers Perrin, will become president of the new Towers Watson.
Oh, and by the way, for the first time in the firm's history, Towers Perrin made the Best Firms to Work For list. That's quite an accomplishment considering all that must have been going on behind the scenes.
However, the Best Firms to Work For survey was conducted before Towers Perrin announced it would become part of Towers Watson, and the results for Towers Perrin were driven by the answers given only by Towers Perrin consultants.
On the survey, Compensation/Benefits, Culture, Career Development and Work/Life Balance were the areas where the firm excelled.
"I think it speaks to a number of general tenets by which we try to operate the firm and also a firm-wide culture in which people really help and support one another," Mactas says. "Regarding culture, we think first about mission and values. The values part we describe under the headings of integrity, respect, and professionalism."
As far as Work/Life Balance, Mactas says the firm strives for high performance, but respects each person's right to strike a balance between work and personal time. "We don't pass judgment on that, and we'll be incredibly flexible to people's needs," Mactas says. "And in addition, we recognize and reward their contribution at Towers Perrin."
Of course, the big question now is—can a firm that's merging with another firm—and essentially doubling in size—keep the culture that makes it such a special place to work intact?
"Any time you have a merger of this sort, people raise questions about culture," Mactas says. "We are a people-intensive organization, so culture is a very important dimension of what the ultimate success of the organization will be. We wouldn't have gone ahead with discussions with Watson Wyatt if we didn't have a solid foundation of common values. We've got that and that was when the discussions really got traction."
Mactas does admit, however, it won't be easy. "We recognize there will be differences in how the two firms operate, but what we need to do is take the best of each of our respective cultures and foster the right cultural attributes for the new Towers Watson," he says. "I'm sure those attributes will be based on our shared values, integrity, respect, professionalism, teamwork and a client-first mentality. Those are things that both organizations share, and we'll try to build on them as we build what will be the right culture for Towers Watson."
—Joe Kornik
| PRACTICE SPOTLIGHT Risk and Financial Services Even though it's been a rough stretch for Financial Services, that segment of Towers Perrin helped lead the firm to its first-ever appearance on the Best Firms to Work For list. "I think our business segment—in fact, all of Towers Perrin—is a great place to work because we combine an intense focus on our clients with a broad commitment to providing the professional development, tools and resources that our employees need to do their best work," says Patricia Guinn, managing director of the Risk and Financial Services segment of Towers Perrin. "Our consultants take immense pride in working for the insurance industry's leading risk specialist and delivering innovative services and solutions to our valued clients." Guinn says the segment's success is due, in part, to tremendous buy-in to the strategies the firm is pursuing. There is a clear understanding of what we expect and how we measure and reward performance. People are encouraged to work hard and do their best," she says. "Having committed, engaged professionals doesn't come easily at any firm, and it's a great privilege for me to lead and work with the people I do." |
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