Human Resources: Increasing Number of Employers Favor Watson Wyatt’s Outsourcing Solutions

WASHINGTON, November 16, 2006 – When it comes to outsourcing HR technology,
more companies are embracing a selective approach rather than exclusively
relying on a single provider, Watson Wyatt Worldwide, a leading global
consulting firm, has found.

“Decisions about how best to use outsourcing are very specific for each
firm, depending on its needs and culture, but it’s clear that many
companies would rather not use one vendor for all their HR outsourcing
needs,” said Richard Hubbard, director of Watson Wyatt’s U.S. technology
and administration solutions practice.

Watson Wyatt research in 2005 showed that only 8 percent of U.S. companies
surveyed consolidated benefits administration and other HR activities with
a single vendor, and only 5 percent planned to do so by 2007.

Studies by two independent technology research firms, CedarCrestone and the
AberdeenGroup, confirm this shift. In its 2006 “Workforce Technologies and
Service Delivery Approaches Survey,” CedarCrestone finds a “strong move of
respondents toward selective outsourcing.” A 2006 report by the
AberdeenGroup says companies are struggling to make a business case for
total outsourcing because the return on investment has not been
substantiated.

At Watson Wyatt, with its strong focus on providing quality delivery, the
number of outsourcing projects in setup or delivery mode grew to 123 in
September 2006, up from 66 a year earlier. The firm now has nearly 200
employer clients and 5 million employee participants using its outsourcing
solutions.

“The demand for selective outsourcing solutions is increasing for a number
of reasons,” Hubbard said. “Such solutions not only maximize savings by
combining clients’ in-house capabilities with our own, they maximize
service. The up-to-date technologies that vendors provide allow employers
to offer a self-service, Web-based approach that helps employees better
understand and use their benefit programs.”

To learn more about Watson Wyatt’s selective outsourcing solutions, visit
Watson Wyatt on the Web at www.watsonwyatt.com.

About Watson Wyatt Worldwide

Watson Wyatt (NYSE: WW) is the trusted business partner to the world’s
leading organizations on people and financial issues. The firm’s global
services include: managing the cost and effectiveness of employee benefit
programs; developing attraction, retention and reward strategies; advising
pension plan sponsors and other institutions on optimal investment
strategies; providing strategic and financial advice to insurance and
financial services companies; and delivering related technology,
outsourcing and data services. Watson Wyatt has 6,000 associates in 30
countries and is located on the Web at www.watsonwyatt.com.

Contact

Ed Emerman, 609/452-5967, eemerman[at]eaglepr.com
Emily Rieger, 703/258-7634, emily.rieger[at]watsonwyatt.com

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