Great PX drives great CX
Large Business Award | ASB
The Wayfinder Large Business Award recognises businesses of more than 500 people that demonstrates commitment to the health and wellbeing of its people – using it as a core business strategy and thriving because of it. Embracing a people-first approach, they create a healthier workplace and drive tangible positive change in the lives of their people.
Action: ASB’s ‘Your Benefits’ is a reimagined approach to employee wellbeing based on extensive research and design-thinking methodology to ensure the benefits are future-fit for their multi-generational workforce.
Need: ASB employees had limited understanding of existing benefits, with benefits underutilised and out of sync with industry standards. Three core needs were identified in the opportunity: Simplicity, Equity, Choice.
Challenges: Through research, ASB right-sized offerings, reallocating budget towards initiatives that mattered while justifying investment for future proofing. This meant reducing benefits for senior leaders to offer more equity across ASB; a decision requiring thoughtful change management.
Impact: The impact is evident in the engagement scores – employee net promoter scores (eNPS) that measure engagement is now 63 and has lifted by 7 points, reaching its highest level ever, placing ASB in the top 5% of financial services organisations globally. Since the introduction of Southern Cross Health Insurance, 83% have opted in to take benefit of the group scheme. Many have shared heartfelt stories of accessing long-needed surgeries and achieving substantial costs savings on insurance. This support ASB has shown for their people is crucial during the current cost of living crisis.
Learn more about ASB’s belief of how great PX drives great CX
ASB provides a range of financial services including retail, business and rural banking, funds management, as well as insurance. Their Purpose is to accelerate progress for all New Zealanders, focused via three strands of social, financial and environmental progress.
ASB is on an ambitious transformation journey and recognised the need to evolve their customer experience (CX) offering, driven by the strength of their people experience (PX). They truly believe that great PX drives great CX. Recognising the importance their people play in driving this transformation, they launched ‘10XthePX’ developing ASB’s Employee Value Proposition (EVP) with three core pillars of belonging, trust and growth. When committing to their EVP, they saw the need to deliver it through their benefits programme.
‘Your Benefits’ is a reimagined approach to employee wellbeing leveraging ASB's EVP: "we see you, we back you, we lift you". ASB has introduced 9 uplifts based on extensive research, utilising be:sci and 4-part innovation methodology: Discover, Define, Design, Deliver.
“ASB is leading the way for other large organisations in NZ, setting new standards for employee care and benefits. Aligning benefits with their people promise, they have listened and designed the benefits that meet their people's needs. It's a carefully considered approach that employees are already appreciating.” – Executive Judge Dr Denise Quinlan
Discovery found nearly a third of ASB employees had limited understanding of existing benefits, so they sought to ensure benefits were future-fit and to increase awareness and engagement. The Define phase clarified the core needs for a market-leading offering. Design focused on creating a solution that balanced financial feasibility and employee impact. Deliver featured a robust internal comms campaign to drive awareness and engagement, supported by 47 employee champions. This holistic strategy ensured that ASB were not only innovative, but directly actionable.
‘Your Benefits’ is making a positive impact on employee wellbeing and the business. A standout success is the uptake of new benefits and utilisation of existing benefits. Additional leave is a great success story with ‘You do You’ leave delivering a 13% reduction in leave liability. 70% of employees are now awarded additional leave. This shows people prioritise work-life balance and wellbeing.
“The introduction of pet bereavement leave and 'You Do You' leave instantly stood out to me. These innovative offerings are part of a brilliant benefits refresh that will positively impact employees across all generations within the workforce.” - Executive Judge Melanie Beirne
Health and financial wellbeing are also top priorities. Since the introduction of subsidised health insurance with Southern Cross Health Insurance, 83% have opted into the workplace scheme. Employees have accessed long-needed surgeries and are achieving substantial cost savings on insurance - crucial during the current cost of living crisis. Notably, 510 people have also utilised KiwiSaver continuation (ASB’s contribution now continues during employee savings suspensions), ensuring financial support for those who need it most. This uptake highlights the relevance and accessibility of these benefits.
The impact is clear in engagement scores - eNPS has lifted by 7 points, reaching its highest level ever, placing ASB in the top 5% of financial services, globally. Additionally, ASB's engagement survey showed a 1.1 point lift in the reward driver and a 4 point increase in the wellbeing driver, supported by hundreds of positive comments. This shows the tangible difference ‘Your Benefits’ is making. Finally, the programme has driven heightened participation in wellbeing activities. The Your Benefits Roadshow engaged +900 people in financial wellbeing workshops, with +2150 total attendees across expos & virtual sessions with partners including Southern Cross Health Insurance.
ASB subsidises the Southern Cross Health Insurance Wellbeing One plan ($500 excess) for its employees.
For tangible results – like higher productivity, stronger engagement, and happier teams – request a callback today to learn how your organisation can lead the way too.
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