AOC Aon Corp.

Tech Companies Return to Normal Hiring, But Overall Attrition Still Falls Slightly in the Last Four Quarters, According to Latest Radford Study SAN JOSE, Calif., July 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Radford Surveys + Consulting, a San-Jose based business unit of Aon Consulting that provides market-leading compensation and benefits surveys and consulting to the technology and life sciences industries, today announced the results of its Q2 Quarterly Summary of Industry Trends (QSIT) Survey of technology companies. This quarter's study, which included 558 tech companies, represents a comprehensive review of trends, practices and developments in several recurring areas, including base salary increase trends, expense controls, hiring and turnover. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20041215/CGW049LOGO ) The report revealed that voluntary turnover dropped slightly from 12.6 percent to 12.3 percent in the last 12 month period compared to last quarter's results for calendar year 2005, with overall turnover also falling from 20.5 percent to 19.3 percent. These figures are contrasted by respondents' perception of turnover, in which 33 percent of participants reported that they thought turnover was "somewhat up" compared to the same time last year. "The perception of higher voluntary turnover may be due to the fact that companies are anticipating a significant workforce change in the next 12 months," said John Radford, senior vice president, Radford Surveys + Consulting. "Globally, nearly half of tech companies in the QSIT predict up to 15 percent employee growth in their global operations in the coming year. Normal to aggressive hiring is being reported at nearly 70 percent of responding companies, with less than one percent reporting a hiring freeze. With these statistics in mind, it's not surprising that respondents would perceive an increase in turnover, even if the results don't bear them out right now." In addition to turnover trends, the Q2 QSIT also included a "hot topic" section on compensation philosophy, a company's reflection of management's view on the value and use of compensation. Human Resources applies this philosophy in the design of compensation programs for attracting, retaining and motivating employees. The Q2 QSIT revealed that most companies have adopted a compensation philosophy that targets the 50th percentile of the market for salary. With some companies targeting higher, averages result in the 50th and 60th percentile across compensation vehicles. "Developing a compensation philosophy within the context of your HR strategy can be an important competitive advantage in today's market," said Linda E. Amuso, senior vice president, Radford Surveys + Consulting. "As the economy picks up, companies are working harder to communicate their compensation plans, to improve the motivation and retention value of their programs. By having a stated compensation philosophy companies can better communicate what differentiates their rewards programs from others in the market." In addition to the technology edition of the QSIT, a biotechnology report with data from 229 firms is available to participants. For more information, contact: Fabiola A. Price, 408.321.2653, About Radford Surveys + Consulting For more than 30 years, Radford Surveys + Consulting has provided compensation and benefits surveys and consulting to the technology industries. Global survey databases, which include nearly two million incumbents, offer current, reliable data to more than 2,000 clients. Comprised of leading industry experts, our compensation consulting group offers a broad range of services and thought leadership to tech and biotech firms. The Radford Network, an exclusive client-only extranet, provides access to survey data, tools and resources on demand and has nearly 7,000 registered users. Radford's suite of global surveys includes the Radford Benchmark Survey, Executive Survey, Sales Survey, Benefits Survey, Biotechnology Survey, International Survey and Canada Survey. About Aon Aon Corporation (NYSE:AOC) ( http://www.aon.com/ ) is a leading provider of risk management services, insurance and reinsurance brokerage, human capital and management consulting, and specialty insurance underwriting. There are 46,000 employees working in Aon's 500 offices in more than 120 countries. Backed by broad resources, industry knowledge and technical expertise, Aon professionals help a wide range of clients develop effective risk management and workforce productivity solutions. Aon Consulting is among the top global human resources consulting firms, with 2005 revenues of $1.255 billion and 7,000 professionals in 120 offices throughout the world. Aon Consulting delivers integrated consulting solutions to help clients with employee benefits, human resources outsourcing, compensation, communication and management consulting. This press release contains certain statements related to future results, or states our intentions, beliefs and expectations or predictions for the future which are forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from either historical or anticipated results depending on a variety of factors. Potential factors that could impact results include: general economic conditions in different countries in which we do business around the world, changes in global equity and fixed income markets that could affect the return on invested assets, fluctuations in exchange and interest rates that could influence revenue and expense, rating agency actions that could affect our ability to borrow funds, funding of our various pension plans, changes in the competitive environment, our ability to implement restructuring initiatives and other initiatives intended to yield cost savings, our ability to execute the stock repurchase program, changes in commercial property and casualty markets and commercial premium rates that could impact revenues, changes in revenues and earnings due to the elimination of contingent commissions, other uncertainties surrounding a new compensation model, the impact of investigations brought by state attorneys general, state insurance regulators, federal prosecutors, and federal regulators, the impact of class actions and individual lawsuits including client class actions, securities class actions, derivative actions, and ERISA class actions, the cost of resolution of other contingent liabilities and loss contingencies, and the difference in ultimate paid claims in our underwriting companies from actuarial estimates. Further information concerning the Company and its business, including factors that potentially could materially affect the Company's financial results, is contained in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20041215/CGW049LOGO http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Aon Corporation CONTACT: Fabiola A. Price of Radford Surveys + Consulting, +1-408-321-2653, Web site: http://www.aon.com/

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