March 2017

46 APAC / March 2017 , Kate Bravery is Partner and Global Solutions Leader at Mercer. She talks to us about the firm, it’s strategy and what it hopes to achieve in the coming 12months. Have Mercy! At Mercer, our motto is Make Tomorrow, Today. In today’s rapidly-changing world, this purpose has never been more important than it is today. “Companies the world over are looking to create a sustainable competitive advantage in a rapidly changing world. And in a world where access to markets, captive asset base and technology are quickly becoming hygiene factors, human capital will emerge as the only form of differentiation or strategic advantage. We anticipate that in the era of the individual, the need for organizations to have transparency in their career paths and pay arrangements along with increased flexibility will be critical to their value proposition. Re-designing organizations to be agile and responsive, redesigning talent strategies to match people to jobs and move jobs to people will also increase as talent makes choices on their future, especially in growth economies. Our work in enhancing the health, wealth and careers of this most vital asset will therefore continue to make a difference in the digital future,’’ Kate Bravery says. The firm recently restructured to ensure that every local office is empowered to make decisions that are right for their clients. Mercer has made a concerted effort to build innovation and decision making locally. “This is very exciting for us,” enthuses Kate. “Local consulting is backed up by an international team of experts and we have invested in technology to allow the best thought leadership, consulting tools and collaborators to be in easy reach of any consultant. Our dynamic approach to staffing coupled with real-time access to the entire repository of our intellectual capital has empowered our consultants to deliver best-in-class solutions to our clients regardless of which part of the world they may be based in.” In line with its culture of innovation, Mercer has been quick to bring in the latest technologies to empower its consultants and enhance the customer experience for clients. The firm has made significant investments in automation and upskilling of our own talent. “We have even set-up innovation hubs around the world to undertake development of new innovative technology- enabled solutions using Design Thinking and Rapid Prototyping frameworks. We couple this with being on the pulse of emerging trends and how clients from around the globe are solving this. Mercer Talent Trends has been a resource for consultants and clients alike. We partner with the World Economic Forum among others, to develop global research such as the ‘Future of Jobs’ and what employers and employees need to be doing to prepare for the demands of the future economy. We have a new study coming out on developing a Thriving workforce and this shows real differences in the wants and needs in AsiaPac.” A strong and dedicated workforce is key in ensuring Mercer’s success, and Kate explains that the rich multitude of perspectives that the firm’s 21,000 colleagues bring to the table is the driving force to differentiating from the competition. “Our culture to investing in developing our people by way of focusing on current and future issues of our clients, and giving our consultants real-time access to the best tools, intellectual capital and technology, allows them to bring the best of Mercer to help our clients. Our teams on the ground are an optimum mix of deep subject-matter experts and consultants with rich local business and functional experience. This enables us to have a dynamic staffing model to best suit the changing needs of our clients across the region.” Mercer makes a difference in the lives of more than 110 million people every day by advancing their health, wealth and careers. The firm is in the business of creating more secure and rewarding futures for clients and their employees — whether it’s designing affordable health plans, assuring income for retirement or aligning workers with workforce needs. “Using analysis and insights as catalysts for change, we anticipate and understand the individual impact of business decisions, now and in the future. We see people’s current and future needs through a lens of innovation, and our holistic view, specialised expertise, and deep analytical rigor underpin each and every idea and solution we offer. Mercer is uniquely qualified to help organisations design and execute sophisticated workforce strategies, whether it’s for a multinational organisation or a local company attempting to grow within its market. We provide rigorous analytics, and data-driven insights that help organisations make fact-based decisions.” “Mercer’s predictions for the workforce trends influencing the world at work will be out in March 2017 and a new solution set to support building a Thriving workforce will be here May 2017. Watch this space!” K Company: MERCER Name: Kate Bravery Email: [email protected] Web Address: www.mercer.com Address: 26f, Central Plaza, Harbour Road, Wan Chai, HK Telephone: +852 98 607 003 1701AP18