30% Productivity Gain Through EX-Led Digital Workplace Strategy for Leading Financial Institution

Industry: Retail & Consumer Packaged Goods | Services: Automation

Client Overview

A leading financial institution with approximately 7,000 employees across 25 countries sought to modernize its digital workplace, driving engagement and delivering unmatched employee experience (EX). Their goals: elevate employee productivity, strengthen collaboration, and cultivate a more engaged and connected workforce.

The Challenge

Fragmented Tools and Varied Workflows Hindered Adoption

The client struggled with a dispersed workforce operating via inconsistent digital tools, siloed collaboration, and scattered workflows—resulting in inefficiencies, low engagement, and hesitation toward digital change. Sutherland needed to base its strategy on real employee needs to drive meaningful adoption.

Sutherland Solution

Employee Insights Drove a Co-designed Digital Workplace Strategy

Sutherland’s Design Labs engaged over 1,000 employees in 13 countries through a combination of large-scale surveys and immersive fieldwork—including onsite observations and remote interviews. This approach mapped workflows, tool usage, pain points, and workarounds. The outcome: a persona-based digital workplace strategy featuring prioritized collaboration tools, communication channels, and internal workflows—backed by short- and long-term productivity recommendations

The Outcome

EX-centric design delivered a 30% productivity upliftAnchored in delivering superior employee experience, the strategy achieved a 30% productivity boost, heightened adoption, and genuine organizational buy-in. Tailored tool and workflow recommendations aligned with actual employee behavior, streamlining collaboration, enhancing communication, and fostering a stronger sense of community across geographies. This resulted in 25% faster cross-team efficiency and 15% higher employee engagement, enabling sustainable digital transformation through a scalable, employee-first framework.