I joined Willis Towers Watson as a senior advisor in pensions valuations in May 2018. It’s been almost three years since I joined the company and I must say that my journey to becoming a subject matter expert in this area has been enriching and fulfilling.

I had a background in insurance and with adequate assistance and training, I soon acquired the knowledge and expertise required for my role. The continuous support and excellent training provided by my senior colleagues have helped me channel my strengths and skills.

My role as a senior advisor involves the management of pension schemes for multiple clients. I ensure that new and existing members’ pensions are accurately maintained and serviced. I also juggle between calculating pensions and forecasts, and preparing quotations, in addition to processing pension contributions while maintaining service level agreements.

Initially, understanding the finer details of pensions in the U.K. market was a challenge, given that my past professional experience was primarily in the U.K. insurance domain. I vividly remember the difficulties I faced when I worked on the transition of a new client account. Since I was new to the team, I was aware that this assignment would be particularly challenging. However, my senior colleagues and team gave me opportunities to learn, expand my knowledge on the subject and gradually become an expert. This equipped me with the skills and confidence I needed to take up the project again in April 2020. I worked closely with the team to ensure that the transition was smooth, despite working remotely. The client was extremely happy with how the requirements were met, which would not have been possible without the support of my team.

The recent shift to work from home due to the global pandemic has been almost overwhelming being a mother of a young child. My team has always been helpful and especially flexible with my work hours, allowing me to accommodate my daughter’s online school routine and daily activities. This has helped me establish a healthy work-life balance.

I have been able to achieve several milestones during my time at Willis Towers Watson but there is one that I will always cherish. It was when our team received the ‘Best Team Award’, for our efforts on a key account of the company. Apart from this, I have also received three awards for outstanding work that I am grateful for.

The culture of a company can be inspiring, and this is something I have experienced since day one at Willis Towers Watson. The inclusive work environment has empowered me to focus on my career goals and grow professionally.
I value the transparency within the company, along with the flexible work environment that allows me to seamlessly balance work and personal life.

I’ve had the opportunity to work with talented, smart colleagues that are always respectful and go out of their way to support each other. The core values like teamwork, integrity and excellence are upheld by all of the colleagues and across every level of the company.

Yes, the thing that surprised me the most was the empathy that was shown by the senior colleagues during challenging times. Their actions confirm that the company’s values are not just on paper but are put into practice every single day. They make it a point to lead by example and inspire the team by making them feel heard, supported, and valued.

I want to ensure that I can learn and expand my knowledge and expertise to achieve quality results. In the future, I would like to develop my skills further to help my professional growth within the company.

Working at Willis Towers Watson provides opportunities that will encourage you to strive for excellence and step closer to achieving your career goals. You will get the chance to grow both personally and professionally while truly living the shared values of integrity and teamwork. The organization and its colleagues are very supportive, and they encourage you to focus on your physical and mental wellbeing, which will help you stay motivated.

I came on board as an account director, where I served as a client advocate across the largest brokerage accounts the company managed in New Zealand. I worked together with the broking teams in London, Singapore and Australia to put together complex insurance programs that were tailor-made for some of these clients. Within this role, I was also involved in establishing the Risk Solutions practice in New Zealand, together with a national client service manager role to create “best practice” service standards for clients across New Zealand.

After I gave birth to twin boys in 2008, I wanted to reassess working five days a week. Thankfully, the company was amenable to me working part time, and keeping my key accounts and maintaining the strong relationship with clients I had established. I took a leave of absence in 2010, and then returned to Willis Towers Watson working on a project basis. In 2015, I assumed my current role as head of Operations, where I am accountable for the execution of the Operations strategy within the New Zealand business. I have three boys now and still work on a part-time basis, which affords me a positive work/life balance.

My role is to lead the Operations strategy for New Zealand which reflects the international objectives to deliver value to both the business and our clients. I work in partnership with both the Australian Operations team and our support team in Mumbai to achieve optimum service delivery for our processes. My days are varied but I usually have Skype meetings with key stakeholders, cross-geographies, as well as weekly huddles with my team to check in on workload and prioritization, and work through any challenges we may have — engaging in problem solving and coaching where necessary.

Working across various geographies requires a different way of communicating; however, Skype is a key tool to overcoming this issue, especially if there is more than one country to align for meetings. The Operations role in New Zealand was a newly created position at the time I was appointed and there wasn’t a framework I could reference. However, this has given me the opportunity to access my background in broking to approach the role with “fresh eyes” and identify opportunities within the business to improve efficiencies and help define the role.

Having been with Willis Towers Watson for 12 years to date, I have watched the company change and evolve over time. I have been involved in client advocacy, change management and leadership training. I also participated in the Operational Development Program, which was a three-day introduction to the fundamental principles of operational excellence. As part of this program, I had to submit a portfolio to the Institute of Leadership and Management, which resulted in an accreditation. The post-course coaching was invaluable, and I use the tools I learned in this course every day in some form.

I am most proud of the fact that my career and the opportunities here have given me the flexibility to work reduced hours in an effort to balance my role as a mum with the work I do at Willis Towers Watson. In a more traditionally male centric industry such as insurance, I was one of the first women to design a work/life balance that worked for both me and the company. Now, across the company, there are a number of “nontraditional” work arrangements that are in line with how people work today, with the flexibility and agility to get the job done. It’s been a win/win for both.

The culture is one of the standouts for me at Willis Towers Watson, as the term “one team” is really practiced within the organization, to the benefit of our clients. It really is “glocal” at Willis Towers Watson.

I love working for a company that has global reach and allows me to tap into the experience and resources that come with this benefit. The colleagues that I work with, both in New Zealand and overseas, make my day-to-day experiences really enjoyable and challenge me in different ways. In addition, as my role is a national one, I work with everyone across the business and the rewards for being able to help someone else, even if it’s just a “quick win,” make my job really worthwhile.

I found the degree of teamwork and client commitment to be top priority — whether I was working with London, Singapore, Australia or a local team — the client was the key focus, regardless of geography or business unit.

The ability to make a difference is really important to me, both from the perspective of a woman in the insurance industry, a working mother and a member of the leadership team in New Zealand. Part of my role is to drive change that will make our organization more efficient and effective in what we do, which, in turn, will directly impact the work/life balance for my colleagues.