How we grew our value in 2016: Progress on our strategy

The Wolters Kluwer 2016-2018 strategy is built around growing our value for our customers, employees, and shareholders alike.

On the announcement of the Wolters Kluwer 2016 Full-Year Results, we share highlights of how the Company grew our value for customers and employees during 2016. While digital disruption continued across IT, healthcare, Fintech and more, throughout the year, 2016 also saw Wolters Kluwer celebrate 180 years of rich heritage. While much has indeed changed for the Company over almost two centuries, some things have remained constant: strong values, deep domain knowledge, the pursuit of technological innovation—and a relentless focus on the customer.

Building on 180 Years of Rich Heritage

As a browse through our Company history shows, Wolters Kluwer has been empowering professionals with trusted data, information and knowledge since its very beginnings.

Today, in more than 180 countries around the world, our customers make critical decisions that help save lives, improve the way we do business in society—and shape better global systems. Our mission is to help them make those decisions with confidence.

A deep understanding of the challenges our customers face now, and in the future, is key to success.

Global Customer Trends in 2016

While the specific challenges varied according to the sectors and industries in which our customers work, we also observed common trends during 2016, including:

• A continued pressure on professionals to improve outcomes and productivity

• An increasing volume and complexity of information and regulation complexity

• A need for ever-deeper integration of solutions with workflows.

In parallel, C-suite customers in particular were looking for improved return-on-investment from product and technology, and paying close attention to the accelerating pace of technological change—specifically; in the impacts and applications of big data and advanced analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning.

How we Grew our Value for Customers in 2016

Innovation is indeed integral to our way of working at Wolters Kluwer. As Nancy McKinstry, CEO Wolters Kluwer, said, when presenting to a group of almost 300 leaders of our Tax & Accounting division in January 2017, “What inspires us as a Company are the opportunities to continually innovate, and enhance, the solutions that matter to our customers and their clients. I see that ambition in our business units, divisions and across all our regions.”

As the highlights below illustrate, the Company drove significant value for our customers over the course of the year, by:

Improving clinical and financial outcomes for health professionals and organizations

In November 2016, the Company’s acquisition of Emmi Solutions—a state-of-the-art patient engagement solution provider—helped extend Wolters Kluwer Health’s clinical solutions portfolio. Seamlessly integrating with existing customer systems and workflows, Emmi helps healthcare organizations better engage their populations, offers tracking and reporting engagement, and unparalleled client service to help drive business success.

Maximizing ROI from technology and data in healthcare

Launched in February 2016, Wolters Kluwer’s Health Language ® enterprise terminology management platform helps organizations maximize investments made in data warehouses, analytics engines and population health management tools, and includes a tool that supports advanced clinical decision support, predictive analytics, and quality reporting by leveraging clinical and claims data.

Enabling growth, productivity and profitability for tax and accounting professionals

CCH Axcess™, the profession's first modular, cloud-based tax preparation, compliance and workflow solution, helps firms navigate complex regulation; supporting effective firm management and accelerating business growth. The many enhancements during 2016 helped improved outcomes and user experience, including a new user interface for CCH® Accounting Research Manager (ARM) and the launch of ProSystem fx for small public accounting firms.

Improving efficiency, collaboration and workflow for legal, risk, and compliance professionals through technology platforms

Wolters Kluwer Passport® is an industry-leading Enterprise Legal Management technology platform, which enables firms to unite systems that manage legal, risk, and compliance activities on a single, secure, and collaborative framework. Passport® leverages data from across systems and departments to mitigate risk. It helps firms drive down total cost of ownership (TCO) of legal and claims systems, and rapidly evolve new technologies. Significant 2016 innovations included the launch of Passport® Office Companion; enabling legal professionals to manage workflows directly from familiar Microsoft Office Suite of products.

Leveraging advanced technology to manage environmental and social performance for global organizations

In July 2016, the Company welcomed Enablon—the leading global provider of environmental, health, safety and sustainability and operational risk management solutions. Enablon leverages advanced technology to help companies manage and optimize environmental and social performance in more than 160 countries.

These many innovations and enhancements that grew our value for customers were only possible thanks to our talented and diverse workforce of 19,000 employees.

How we grew our value for employees in 2016

At Wolters Kluwer, our workforce is our most valuable asset. During 2016, by listening closely through our employee engagement survey, for example, and taking action on the results, we grew our value for our employees: we made Wolters Kluwer an even better place to work.

Building one Wolters Kluwer...

To best serve our customers in 180 countries, and with operations in 40, we think, and operate as one Wolters Kluwer. Global alignment around our mission, strategy and values is essential.

During 2016 we improved the essential tools for global collaboration and productivity. We expanded talent planning to more leaders. We empowered 95% of our managers and almost 5,000 employees worldwide with career development skills. And, we completed the rollout of our four refreshed Company values, which guide our daily decisions and actions:

• Focus on customer success, in which we measure success by our ability to help advance our customers’ work and their professions;
• Make it better, in which we are committed to continuous improvement and innovation;
• Aim high and deliver, in which we set high standards for ourselves in all we do; and
• Win as a team, in which we inspire and support each other, collaborate and share knowledge.

Having entered 2017, we are happy to share that we are stronger—and even better equipped to deliver upon our mission.

Expert Solutions: The future of growing our value

With the announcement of our 2016 Full-Year Results we close out 2016 financially, and enter the second year of our strategy of growing our value. We are confident in our outlook for this year. However, with the hindsight of 180 years, we are not complacent. Digital disruption will continue. There will be new challenges, and new opportunities. And our relentless focus on the customer will remain.

Through our expert solutions, we deliver our customers the vital analytics, answers and actionable content that improve outcomes, drive productivity and performance; for professional decision-making with confidence.