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.

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.

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Article 12 mins

Navigating AI-Related Risks: A Guide for Directors and Officers

As AI evolves, directors and officers must maneuver through a complex landscape of regulatory and legal risks. Implementing best practices around the use of AI and robust governance-focused risk mitigation can help manage exposures.
Article 5 mins

Remote Work and Potential Employment Practices Liability Perils

Aon analyzes employee perception about return to office policies following the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as recent actions one organization took for alleged lack of remote employee productivity.
Article 7 mins

Specialist Insights: A Deep Dive into Effective Crisis Management and Evacuation Protocols

Graeme Hudson and Ghonche Alavi from Crisis24 discuss Crisis24’s approach to Political Evacuation and Threat Management with Cara LaTorre from the Financial Services Group at Aon.
Article 11 mins

Building a Future-Ready Workforce for the Professional Services Industry

The need to attract and retain high-quality talent in an environment of intense competition is at the forefront of professional services leaders’ minds.
Article 3 mins

Better Decisions in Trade, Technology, Weather and Workforce

From global supply chain risks to climate insecurity, organizations face challenges and complexities on a scale rarely seen before.
Article 3 mins

Risk Capital and Human Capital Perspectives

Risk Capital CEO Andy Marcell and Human Capital CEO Lambros Lambrou discuss how innovations in Risk Capital and Human Capital can help organizations boost resilience and navigate volatility.
Article 5 mins

Navigating Cybersecurity Risk Under New U.S. Rules

Rulemaking from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) highlights the importance of company transparency with investors and regulators around risk management and the impact of cyber events.
Article 9 mins

Top Risks Facing Professional Service Firms

Professional Service respondents to our Global Risk Management Survey (GRMS) ranked cyber attack or data breach and failure to attract or retain top talent as their two most critical risks.
Article 6 mins

Weight Loss Drugs: A Point of View for Professional Service Firms in the U.S., UK, and Canada

A drug class known as GLP-1 receptor agonists or simply “GLP-1s” (e.g., Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic) has been used for several years to help control type 2 diabetes.
Article 7 mins

Decision Fatigue: Greg Case on a Growing Business Challenge

Business leaders are facing a growing number of complex and interconnected risks, resulting in decision fatigue for many executives. Aon CEO Greg Case explains how leaders can take a proactive approach to difficult choices while investing in talent development and wellbeing.
Article 14 mins

Cutting Supply Chains: How to Achieve More Reward with Less Risk

Unexpected global changes have shaken supply chains, exposing the fragility of a complex system. While some businesses search for stability, others are harnessing the power of improved data, analytics and AI to strengthen their resilience and opportunities for growth.
Article 5 mins

5 Tips to Evaluate Future Skills Using Talent Assessments

In a constantly evolving business landscape, talent assessments can help organizations understand current and future skills gaps in their workforces.