Shanghai, Friday 20 March 2015 – Aon Hewitt, the global talent, retirement and health solutions business of Aon plc (NYSE: AON), announced today its list of the Best Employers - China 2015 in an Awards Ceremony & Learning Conference, in collaboration with LinkedIn, the professional social network.The agenda of the conference covered key market insights, benchmarks and case studies and a leaders panel that explored what Best Employers do better.

Aon Hewitt’s Best Employers study was first conducted in Asia in 2001. The purpose of the program is to gain insights into companies that are creating real competitive advantage through their people, to explore what makes a workplace of choice and to identify the Best Employers in the region.

The Aon Hewitt Best Employers program is the most comprehensive study of its kind in Asia Pacific. It is run in 12 markets: China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand. The study’s research methodology involves a rigorous process, conducted over a nine-month period that culminates in a solid, credible list of Best Employers.

Being recognized as an Aon Hewitt Best Employer means that:
- The organization inspires strong commitment and superior performance from its people;
- It drives business results through effective people practices; and,
- It manages its business in ways that build long-term success and sustainability.

“Best Employers clearly achieve better business results compared to market. We found that Best Employers in China achieve significant higher growth in their income profits when compared to market average, said Klaus Liu, Greater China Chief Executive Officer for Aon Hewitt Consulting “This makes becoming a Best Employer a business agenda and not just an HR agenda.”

David Yu, Vice President of LinkedIn China added: “This year LinkedIn is partnering with Aon Hewitt to present the Best Employers in China. For the very first time in the China market, internal and external data are taken into consideration in the independent judging process enhancing the richness of the methodology and the strength of results. LinkedIn is delighted to have participated as a judge in the Best Employers judging panel and provided additional insights into the employer’s brand and talent attractiveness of Best Employers participating companies”:

The following organizations were recognized as Best Employers in China (in alphabetical order):

In addition, Marriott International, Asia Pacific and The Ritz-Carlton Hotels and Resorts, Asia Pacific having received three or more Aon Hewitt Best Employers awards in the region this year, were also recognized as Regional Best Employers in Asia Pacific at the China awards ceremony.

The most noticeable trends that emerged in this year’s Best Employers – China 2015 research were:

Employee Engagement
- Best Employers engagement score at 88% is significantly higher than market average (63%).
- Rewards and Recognition (53%), Brand (47%) and Career opportunities (40%) are still the most important factors in driving employee engagement in China.

Compelling Employer Brand 
- The importance of the Employer Brand as a driver of engagement has increased 4 times  in the past 2 years, from 11% to 47%.
- Overall 50% of organizations have a clearly defined employer brand. However, only 14% of CEOs and HR are aligned on its nature.
- 87% of employees at Best Employers would recommend their company, compared to 64% at a participating company.

Peter Zhang, Country Leader for Performance & Rewards with Aon Hewitt in China, highlighted: “There is a significant gap between 83% employees at Best Employers believing their organization delivers on promises compared to only 60% of employees at participating organizations. Best Employers clearly walk the talk and fulfill their commitment. This goes to reinforce the value of their employer brand for China employers when it comes to attracting and engaging the best performing talent.”

Effective Leadership
- 50% Best Employers train their managers on career conversations, compared to 24% participant average.
- 88% of employees at Best Employers believe that senior leadership treat them as the organization’s most valued asset, compared to only 59% of employees at participating organizations.
- 50% Best Employers have career development goals integrated into their performance management process, compared to 29% at participant level.

High Performance Culture
- 80% Best Employers include the engagement scores of teams in their people manager performance ratings, compared to 40% participants.
- Only 57% of employees feel they receive appropriate recognition (beyond pay and benefits) for their contribution, compared to 83% at Best Employers.
- 88% of employees at Best Employers believe their organization offers excellent career opportunities to strong performers, compared to only 61% of employees at participating organizations.

High Employer Brand Impact
- LinkedIn’s big data measures the impact of employer brand from 2 key dimensions: reach and engagement. Reach reflects the network of talent who may be familiar with the employer. Engagement reflects the degree of interest in the employer among external talent.
- In the Best Employers evaluation, the brand reach of Best Employers is 114% higher than others, and their brand engagement is 135% higher.

While the Best Employers study recognizes organizations that display standards of excellence, the journey to get there is one that Aon Hewitt recommends for every organization to embark upon.

“For organizations that don’t make it to the Best Employers list, but are aspiring to become Best Employers, we want to reinforce that this is a journey. Becoming a Best Employer doesn’t happen overnight, said Peter Zhang, Country Leader for Performance & Rewards with Aon Hewitt in China. “It is possible for everyone to become a Best Employer, if you’ve articulated the destination you want to head to and have planned your journey wisely.”

Participation in the program brings a wide range of benefits for organizations, such as finding out how employees perceive and rate their employer, the reasons why they are attracted to certain employer brands, and the type of organizational culture they value sufficiently to “stay and strive”. The study also provides a benchmark against company competitors in the market. Participating organizations gain access to Aon Hewitt’s latest market research insights, along with the best and most innovative people practices of Best Employers.

To find out more about the Aon Hewitt Best Employers Asia 2015 Study, please visit http://www.bestemployersasia.com or The Aon Hewitt Best Employers China Website.

To find out more about the Aon Hewitt Best Employers – China 2015 Awards or to inquire about the next edition of the Best Employers program starting soon, please contact Leo Luo, Best Employers China Project Manager at leo.luo@aonhewitt.com .

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About Aon Hewitt
Aon Hewitt empowers organizations and individuals to secure a better future through innovative talent, retirement and health solutions. We advise, design and execute a wide range of solutions that enable clients to cultivate talent to drive organizational and personal performance and growth, navigate retirement risk while providing new levels of financial security, and redefine health solutions for greater choice, affordability and wellness.  Aon Hewitt is the global leader in human resource solutions, with over 30,000 professionals in 90 countries serving more than 20,000 clients worldwide.  For more information on Aon Hewitt, please visit www.aonhewitt.com.

About Aon
Aon plc (NYSE:AON) is a leading global provider of risk management, insurance and reinsurance brokerage, and human resources solutions and outsourcing services. Through its more than 65,000 colleagues worldwide, Aon unites to empower results for clients in over 120 countries via innovative and effective risk and people solutions and through industry-leading global resources and technical expertise. Aon has been named repeatedly as the world’s best broker, best insurance intermediary, reinsurance intermediary, captives manager and best employee benefits consulting firm by multiple industry sources. Visit www.aon.com for more information on Aon and www.aon.com/manchesterunited to learn about Aon’s global partnership and shirt sponsorship with Manchester United.

About LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com)
LinkedIn connects the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful and transforms the ways companies hire, market and sell. Our vision is to create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce through the ongoing development of world’s first Economic Graph. LinkedIn has more than 300 million members and employees in 30 offices around the world.

Media Contacts
Charlotte Li
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charlotte.li.2@aonhewitt.com

Romy Serfaty
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romy.serfaty@aonhewitt.com