profile updated Apr 15, 2008, 12:56 PM
For a conglomerate that specializes in insurance, risk management, underwriting, employee benefits, and human capital consulting, there's irony in Aon's name, which means "oneness" in Gaelic.
Then again, who better to know how risky managing people can be than an insurance company? Aon's HR consulting arm has some of the longest reach in the business, aiding mid-sized and large companies in designing and managing benefits programs. (There are some programs for the smaller business.) Because of the company's global reach, it is especially valuable in managing an international workforce where programs and plans need to meet corporate goals but are subject to local jurisdictional rules and challenges.
Aon's services extend to helping companies fashion a strategic recruitment program that includes assessment and skills testing, hiring success metrics, candidate pipeline development, and succession planning from that first step into management to the executive boardroom. There's an executive compensation unit, services for outsourcing, assistance in communicating with employees through Aon's Benefacts program, and specialized research and consulting to meet specific client demands.
Aon's experience with virtually all of the Fortune 500, most of the Fortune 1000, as well as hundreds of smaller companies in the U.S. and elsewhere, give the company a unique perspective into global talent management, especially in the benefits arena, which is a key company strength.
Keep in mind that the company does not provide all of the services directly. However, its outsourcing division will handle your recruitment, business process and benefits. Most of the other work is consultative, working with clients to help them develop a smart strategy or to analyze existing programs and systems to wring efficiencies out of them and identify strengths and weaknesses. Aon can manage insurance and benefits programs, and can recommend and monitor investment managers for retirement programs, and it will help a company use the tools it has to get the most out of them.
None of this comes cheaply. But then, Aon's clients aren't pennywise and pound foolish. Reviewing strategies, tactics and getting the benefit of consultants who have seen the best and worst of breed creates savings in the long haul.
At the end of 2007, Aon announced it would sell two insurance divisions for a combined price of $2.75 billion and use the money for a stock buyback program. The company's stock has been on the rise for more than a year as of late December 2007.News & Updates 
Products & Services
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Global Benefit Services
Intended for multinational companies that need to balance a corporate strategic vision with centralized controls against local flexibility and jurisdictional issues. Aon provides both a management program as well as the technology to enable HR professionals and decision makers to monitor and compare programs and ensure the maximum return both financial and in terms of employee attraction and retention. -
Human Resources Outsourcing
Services include business process outsourcing, benefits outsourcing and recruitment. -
Talent Selection, Development and Management
This is not one product but a variety of services aggregated under a single heading. The services include talent measurement and assessment to assist a company in identifying the kinds of workers to hire, then developing a program to hire them. There's also succession planning and implementation to develop a pipeline of candidates for progressively more responsible positions all the way up to the C-level. It offers training and skills development and even has a special program for call center performance.