WTW to go on 'aggressive' hiring spree to replace top talent lost during Aon deal

Broking giant  Willis Towers Watson has acknowledged that it saw some key departures during the integration of its now scrapped $30 billion merger deal with  Aon, and revealed its plans to start hiring again, with a seemingly "aggressive" effort to attract new employees in what its chief executive John Haley (pictured) described as a "hot talent market".

Haley admitted that the company has "lost some valuable colleagues" while it was in the process of merger with Aon due to the uncertainties involved, but argued that its client retention rates have remained at the same level as prior years and its top leadership ranks have remained intact.

"We are disappointed that we've lost some valued colleagues in what has become a hot talent market," he said during the company's second quarter earnings call. "While we were in the process of the merger, it was harder to hire new people, to bring them on because of the uncertainty of exactly how they would fit into the new organisation."

Haley confirmed that a hiring spree is going to be in full effect in the upcoming months in order to replace the lost talent and fill new positions as the company moves forward independently.

"I think what we're going to be doing now is going out aggressively recruiting and looking to replace some of the talent we've lost," he said.

Answering questions from analysts, Haley stated that WTW and Aon have no particular agreements in place regarding recruiting and hiring each other's talent, however there are limitations on the use of confidential information that the two firms have exchanged during the integration period.

Haley announced that the company will be taking some "strategic actions" over the next couple of months, some of them will be revealed on its upcoming Investor Day on September 9.

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