1) The main downside of Towers Watson is that the firm’s management is very US-centric and often has parochial attitudes towards other parts of the world. There is excessive actuarial focus, lack of business awareness and risk aversion among leadership.
2) Apart from support through professional actuarial examinations, there is little formal support for professional development. This puts a great deal of emphasis on individual consultants to develop themselves. For example, as the firm is organized by service line, it is dependent on individual motivation to develop any industry expertise necessary for projects independently. The firm’s leadership and management are not always supportive or understand the need for this, particularly if their own personal ambitions or industry understanding are weak.
3) As a senior consultant, there is no incentive or recognition for mentoring or developing junior consultants, except for internal motivations, such as sense of professional duty. Partly as a result of this, dual standards apply in some practices and offices, with local leaders giving noticeably better treatment to some individuals than others in terms of pay, projects, travel, special leave, etc. that is based on personal relationships rather than performance. This undermines trust among high-performers.
4) The insurance and actuarial practices are poorly integrated and have often been allowed to run as separate fiefdoms; consultants are visibly disconnected and often disinterested in collaborating, which can come across poorly to clients.
5) In common with other big firms, there are many mediocre consultants – some through lack of realised potential (due to a lack of planned training and development), and others through lack of willingness and talent (having realised that the firm will let them coast). However, this “dead wood” blocks career opportunities for the more committed and effective consultants – notably, some leaders take advantage of the comfortable working environment to have a good work-life balance without stretching themselves, but also block others from developing the business and potentially showing them up.
