Web Reviews - Find benefits advice online.
Need information on pensions and employee benefit consultants? Philip
This week we look at the sites of five pension and employee benefit consultants. We found plenty of information, but it was not always easy to get to the UK-specific parts of the sites.
www.hewitt.com
It takes a couple of clicks to find Hewitt Associates’ UK site (hewitt.co.uk being the site for an international salvage company), but once there it gives useful information on services available. If you think you don’t need help with your people, it’s worth casting an eye over the ‘business issues’ page. Here you’ll find views on topics such as corporate restructuring, financial resource management and rewards packages. There is a ‘brochureware’ feel to the site and the management speak can be overpowering. But overall it gives a good digestable round-up of what’s on offer. 6/10
www.bandw.co.uk
Bacon & Woodrow, one of the UK’s top actuaries and consultants, has just decided to split in two, one half heading off to Deloitte & Touche, the other to Hewitt. But the website still exists. The most helpful part of the site is ‘OnLine!’, the guided tour neatly demonstrating some of the features available from the online service. The HR information might not seem relevant to accountants at first glance, but there are some of you out there that will be looking after pension schemes, so it’s worth a look just for that. It is easy to navigate and clearly set out. Both Hewitt and D&T could learn from it. 7/10
www.watsonwyatt.co.uk
This is a worldwide organisation so the UK address takes you to a European page, albeit with a UK slant. Focused on pensions, the aim is to help bring together people and financial management. The data services, best practice reports and featured research provide expert insights and make the site more than a corporate advert. Access to the company’s magazines and newsletters is easy. Currently pushing ‘Competencies and the Competitive Edge’ research looking at ‘corporate strategies for creating competitive advantage through people’, is more interesting than it sounds. 6/10
www.wmmercer.com
William M Mercer’s global site linked easily to the UK. Once there the viewer can quickly pick out the information required on most ‘human resource solutions’, claiming that the consultancy can provide advice on pre and post retirement security, motivation and reward to enhance employee and company performance. The site is clean, well laid out and no problem to get around. Its resource centre gives details of hot topics, surveys and newsletters, especially in the pensions field. Plenty of thought has gone into a simple design. 8/10
www.towers.com
Again, the address for Towers Perrin zaps you through to a global space which could look better and give you a clearer idea of where you are.
Resources & Whitepapers
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It has an American feel to it, and there is plenty of information but no sensible contact points. The 2000 World Total Remuneration survey might be worth a read if only to compare your salary against accountants in Argentina. The site is not easy to get around and the design is uninspiring. 5/10