Matthew
University: University of Huddersfield
Degree: BA Human Resource Managements (Hons)
Joined Aon: 2010
Graduate Scheme: Benefit Solutions
Current job title: Associate Consultant
Matthew’s Profile
Financial Benefits Advisory
My current role at the moment, I’m working in the Pensions team, which is defined contribution. What that means is that employers are contributing into their pension and it’s being invested into certain funds within the market. The main things that I deal with tend to be market reviews; so we go out to the market and we understand what the terms are that we can gather from the market, what the client is looking for, so they can get the best deal for their employers and their members. Typically, other things I get involved in would be to understand that the information that is coming through from the market is accurate and correct so that when we are speaking to our clients we can speak knowledgably about the terms and about the information that they have.
My first impression when I joined the company was that everyone seemed to be very friendly, very sociable. The atmosphere was very supportive. Anything that I found of interest that I wanted to be involved in, everyone was encouraging and pushed me to get involved in those things. From the social side there were always events going on, always things to be involved in. Everyone at Aon has always been very supportive and very happy to speak to me and give me the opportunity where possible and to get involved in as many things as possible.
When I was first looking at the different organisations to apply for, Aon particularly interested me because of the areas they typically involved themselves in; employer benefits. When I joined there was far more scope to be involved than I had initially anticipated. Putting yourself forward, the opportunities come flooding in and it’s absolutely a mantra about “you work hard and you play hard here”. It’s a very sociable place to be but also, if you want to, there’s lots of things to get involved in that side of that. It sounds like a bit of a cliché but it is absolutely true here. What you put in you will always get out.
The main things I’ve learned at Aon; I felt when I first joined, and it is probably similar to a lot of people who were in my position when they were first looking after university for placements, is that I didn’t necessarily understand a lot about the office environment and much about business etiquette and after being here you very quickly learn to adapt and very quickly learn about how things are run in an office and how it’s so different to what life is like being at school and in university. You have to learn to adapt quite quickly to it, and people are always there to help you if you do need it, so it’s not a pressured environment but it’s important to adapt quickly.
And then probably the second thing is the wealth of knowledge that is available to Aon so, the areas I’ve worked in have been, I’m working at the moment in defined contribution pensions, that’s the Pensions area, I’ve been working in life insurance so that’s what we would call the Risk Area and I’ve also been working in the Health Care area which is involved in private medical insurance. So I’ve worked in all those three areas and having worked in those areas I’ve picked up so much knowledge and information from the people I’ve worked with that I think taking that away with me is so powerful. I think you’d struggle to find that in many other organisations and it’s probably down to the way that the graduate scheme is structured on such a basis of being on a rotation. It’s been really useful and beneficial for me.
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Rebekah
- University: University of Bristol
- Degree: Politics
- Joined Aon: 2009
- Graduate Scheme: Benefits Solutions
- Current job title: Associate Consultant
Why did you join Aon?
When I was looking at potential careers, so many firms were cutting back on their graduate schemes, but Aon was continuing to invest in theirs. I liked the fact that the Programme was rotational, offering first-year pillars in Defined Contribution Pensions, Risk Benefits and Healthcare Consulting. Aon also promised client exposure from day one, which was great for building up technical experience and honing my relationship-building skills.
What does a typical day involve for you?
I’m normally in around 8.15am to catch up on emails from the previous day and plan the day ahead. I wouldn’t say there’s a typical day, but my main job is to provide consultation around the design, implementation and maintenance of employee benefits packages. This means I’m constantly engaging with clients who need me to answer queries or solving claims or administrative issues.
My role involves writing reports a few times a week, which is really interesting. No two clients’ needs are the same, so each report is bespoke and a great way to learn about your client and how different areas of the business fit together. When I contribute to a report, I’m always asked by the Lead Consultant to help present the final copy to the client. I normally also attend one or two client meetings a week; again, the agendas are always different so you gain exposure to different consultant styles.
In the first year of the Graduate Programme, all Aon graduates take part in a Graduate Project. Although this took a lot of time to complete, the outcome was worth it. My team’s project has been one of two that has been sponsored by the senior management team at Aon, and I continue to work on this whenever I have a new lead or find a valuable piece of research. There really are many opportunities at Aon. I wanted to learn more about how we get new business – and now I’m an active member in the new business process, which is a great way to test your negotiation skills.
At around 5.30pm I start to wind down for the day. Quite often the team members from all three pillars will go out for a drink after work, so your organisational skills come in handy!
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Uma
- University: University of Sheffield
- Degree: Business and Information Management
- Joined Aon: 2005
- Current job title: Consultant
My Aon Experience
Aon has always been held in high regard in insurance broking and consulting, and as a global company, I could see lots of room for me to grow. My first couple of years were spent working on two Senior Consultants’ portfolios. My hard work meant I was promoted to Associate Consultant, which involved managing my own client portfolio and my confidence rocketed.
I quickly progressed to a Consultant and Client Developer in the London-based Healthcare and Risk team, and now manage around 35-40 clients ranging from small to large corporate schemes. As well as the day-to-day management of each client - and providing advice and consultancy on health and risk employee benefits - I’m responsible for identifying revenue-generating opportunities for other parts of Benefits Solutions. Beyond this, I recently began working on Group Risk benefits, which has given me a separate client portfolio.
I’ve learned so much in my time here. Of course, my knowledge of employee benefits and what products are available to clients has grown and grown. But I’ve also learned a huge amount about working with clients - how to manage client relationships effectively, listen to clients and proactively identify other ways our services can be of benefit. And I’ve also discovered the benefit of teamwork - how, by sharing ideas and successes, we can all learn from each other.