WTW Willis
Fuelling innovation and business resilience to better serve customers
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As businesses grapple with economic uncertainty and geopolitical instability, resilience is more important than ever. Since 1828, WTW Willis (WTW), a global advisory and broking company, has been helping businesses manage people, risk, and capital. To navigate the ever-changing global landscape, WTW must continually reinvent itself.
We worked with the WTW Nordic teams to align and streamline operations, drive efficiencies, and improve the way it harnesses technology, innovation, and data to better serve customers across the region.
To live and breathe an innovation mindset, we must constantly evolve. We looked to PA to help us capitalise on our data and lay the operational foundations for continual improvement.”
Overhauling operations to enhance data capabilities
From market research to customer preferences, data informs every aspect of WTW’s business. Its workforce, made up of experts including insurance brokers, actuaries, and risk managers, relies on accurate, timely data to deliver solutions and strategies for clients.
Today, with the company serving 140 countries and markets, a smart, streamlined approach that leverages data insights to serve customers is vital. WTW saw an opportunity to better align its Nordic region – including teams working in Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark – to ensure it was working in the most efficient way to spearhead innovation, bolster resilience, and prepare to use AI tools. With previous experience supporting WTW to deliver improved efficiency in the Nordics, we were a natural partner.
Balancing regional challenges with global priorities
Creating alignment across a global organisation requires a balanced approach that considers local market trends and operational challenges. Our team, with expertise in business transformation, financial modelling, operating model design, AI strategy, and data analysis, embedded themselves into the organisation, both with the local teams on the ground and the global senior leaders.
We analysed every facet of WTW’s operations in the region and found that many of the brokers were spending their time doing manual, administrative tasks that prevented them from applying their expertise to more client-facing activities. We also found that the IT systems were not aiding the sharing and harnessing of data between regions and were not optimizing the customer experience.
Making the case for change with a clear path forward
With an in-depth view of the status quo, we created a strong case for change. By enhancing WTW’s operations with a new organisational structure, modernised IT systems, and the ability to better harness innovation and new technologies, we would not only future-proof the organisation but also deliver millions of pounds in annual savings.
Our team developed a business case with WTW leadership that scoped the opportunity in full, outlining the challenges, a practical path forward, and the impact it would have on the organisation.
While our business case felt ambitious, it was grounded in robust analysis and valuable findings. We were able to demonstrate improved profitability of WTW’s business, ensuring the merit of transformation was clear.”
Setting a transformation in motion with a human touch
Over the next 12 months, we brought the business case to life, supporting WTW with every aspect of the large-scale implementation to ensure it had a lasting impact. We began by defining a new operating model that would ensure the right people were handling the right types of work. Our operating design experts created a new operations hub, providing the region with its first dedicated operations team.
Alongside this, we introduced new technology to improve ways of working. For example, we managed the launch of the WTW Broking Platform – a tool that provides the organisation with a uniform approach to handling unstructured data, turning it into valuable insights – across the Nordic region. This was crucial to have better quality structured data to set the stage for greater use of AI tools going forward. We also helped design a new document management system that provides digital self-service options for customers to use.
Having established a deep sense of trust with the WTW teams from the outset, once we started configuring and implementing new systems and ways of working, we were poised to take a collaborative approach, refining processes to suit their needs and ultimately driving adoption.”
Pioneering new digital-led solutions to better service clients
Today, WTW is reaping the benefits of smoother, more efficient operations combined with access to quality data, allowing it to spot opportunities to better service clients, and explore new revenue streams.
At a time of rapidly evolving and disruptive technology enabled options for carriers and brokers, getting the fundamentals right has become ever more paramount. WTW have taken great strides in modernising its core platforms and making the needed change to the Broker and client experience and the overall efficiency across the pre- and post-bind process.”
Importantly, our work in Sweden, Finland, and Norway is a success story for change – one that provides a blueprint for WTW as it continues to drive alignment globally and propel businesses forward with its digital-led solutions.
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