Survival guide 2010: moving in rough terrain

Last year was all about managing costs and keeping commercially active as the UK continued to tunnel deeper into recession. Now that the ground has levelled and we have started the long journey back to the light, it seems the right time to assess how successful brokers' tactics have been and if they did enough in 2009 to see them through the challenges that 2010 will present.

Looking back over the course of the last year, brokers were keen to keep costs to a minimum; many firms were forced to make redundancies, implement pay freezes or encourage staff towards unpaid holidays, reduced working hours or sabbaticals.

Broker Swinton announced at the tail of 2009 that it was freezing pay levels for its 5,000 staff while others sought to take similarly bold moves throughout the year.

In a bid to cut costs without losing staff, Willis introduced a human resources initiative to offer more flexibility to employees while effectively cutting their wages.

The Willis Choice scheme has been subject to massive take-up, as Chris Lee-Smith, change and strategy director at Willis UK & Ireland, explains: "Willis Choice, which is an option we offer to our staff for flexible working hours, has had a very good response across the company and it has a very good take-up rate. It allows options around flexible working, including periods of sabbatical, taking one day off a week or taking unpaid holidays."