Professional and Business Services

Industry Overview

Professional and Business Services

Navigating Emerging Risks and Workforce Challenges to Find Growth

No matter your area of expertise—whether you are an accountant, architect, engineer, real estate agent or strategy consultant—all elements of the professional and business services industry face increasingly complex brand, growth, operational, reputational and workforce risks.

For example, professional and business services firms are particularly vulnerable to cyber attacks due to the large volumes of sensitive client data they hold, under growing pressure to address a wide range of legal and regulatory requirements plus environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues, and must explore new ways to attract and retain an increasingly mobile workforce in a post-pandemic world, all while navigating rapid digital advances and new geopolitical tensions.

At Aon, our teams have deep experience across all segments of the professional and business services industry, and we partner with clients to identify and implement sophisticated risk mitigation strategies, drive growth through novel applications of data and analytics, and create sustainable people strategies that improve employee engagement, health and wellbeing.

Top 5 Current Risks

According to our latest Global Risk Management Survey, the biggest risks facing the Professional and Business Services industry include:

  • 01

    Cyber Attack or Data Breach

    Cyber attacks are, and will remain, a top risk across all geographies and industry sectors. All leaders need a cyber game plan.

  • 02

    Failure to Attract or Retain Top Talent

    Companies excel when they have the best possible talent in each role, from the C-suite to the front line. An inability to fill these slots and retain top-performing employees can have serious repercussions.

  • 03

    Damage to Brand or Reputation

    The fallout from a reputation crisis can be far greater than any short-term earnings losses, with some companies losing significant shareholder value.

  • 04

    Economic Slowdown or Slow Recovery

    Global economic uncertainty is being fueled by geopolitical volatility and unpredictable inflation and interest rates.

  • 05

    Failure to Innovate or Meet Customer Needs

    Fueled by the rapid digitalization of daily life, no industry is immune to changing consumer behaviors and expectations.

Article

Strengthening the People Dimension of ESG

Human resources leaders are at the center of activating ESG initiatives in the workplace. This has a critical impact on protecting a firm's greatest asset - its people.

Learn More

Aon's Better Being Podcast

Our Better Being podcast series, hosted by Aon Chief Wellbeing Officer Rachel Fellowes, explores wellbeing strategies and resilience. This season we cover human sustainability, kindness in the workplace, how to measure wellbeing, managing grief and more.

Cyber Labs

Stay in the loop on today's most pressing cyber security matters.

Cyber Resilience

Our Cyber Resilience collection gives you access to Aon’s latest insights on the evolving landscape of cyber threats and risk mitigation measures. Reach out to our experts to discuss how to make the right decisions to strengthen your organization’s cyber resilience.

Employee Wellbeing

Our Employee Wellbeing collection gives you access to the latest insights from Aon's human capital team. You can also reach out to the team at any time for assistance with your employee wellbeing needs.

Environmental, Social and Governance Insights

Explore Aon's latest environmental social and governance (ESG) insights.

Q4 2023 Global Insurance Market Insights

Our Global Insurance Market Insights highlight insurance market trends across pricing, capacity, underwriting, limits, deductibles and coverages.

Regional Results

How do the top risks on business leaders’ minds differ by region and how can these risks be mitigated? Explore the regional results to learn more.

Human Capital Analytics

Our Human Capital Analytics collection gives you access to the latest insights from Aon's human capital team. Contact us to learn how Aon’s analytics capabilities helps organizations make better workforce decisions.

Insights for HR

Explore our hand-picked insights for human resources professionals.

Workforce

Our Workforce Collection provides access to the latest insights from Aon’s Human Capital team on topics ranging from health and benefits, retirement and talent practices. You can reach out to our team at any time to learn how we can help address emerging workforce challenges.

Mergers and Acquisitions

Our Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) collection gives you access to the latest insights from Aon's thought leaders to help dealmakers make better decisions. Explore our latest insights and reach out to the team at any time for assistance with transaction challenges and opportunities.

Navigating Volatility

How do businesses navigate their way through new forms of volatility and make decisions that protect and grow their organizations?

Parametric Insurance

Our Parametric Insurance Collection provides ways your organization can benefit from this simple, straightforward and fast-paying risk transfer solution. Reach out to learn how we can help you make better decisions to manage your catastrophe exposures and near-term volatility.

Property Risk Management

Our Property Risk Management collection gives you access to the latest insights from Aon's thought leaders to help organizations make better decisions. Explore our latest insights to learn how your organization can benefit from property risk management.

Technology

Our Technology Collection provides access to the latest insights from Aon's thought leaders on navigating the evolving risks and opportunities of technology. Reach out to the team to learn how we can help you use technology to make better decisions for the future.

Top 10 Global Risks

Trade, technology, weather and workforce stability are the central forces in today’s risk landscape.

Trade

Our Trade Collection gives you access to the latest insights from Aon's thought leaders on navigating the evolving risks and opportunities for international business. Reach out to our team to understand how to make better decisions around macro trends and why they matter to businesses.

Weather

With a changing climate, organizations in all sectors will need to protect their people and physical assets, reduce their carbon footprint, and invest in new solutions to thrive. Our Weather Collection provides you with critical insights to be prepared.

Workforce Resilience

Our Workforce Resilience collection gives you access to the latest insights from Aon's Human Capital team. You can reach out to the team at any time for questions about how we can assess gaps and help build a more resilience workforce.

More Insights

View All Insights
View All Insights
How Aon Can Help
View All Capabilities
Subscribe CTA Banner