Transforming Employee Engagement and Financial Wellbeing For a Global Engineering Giant

Honeywell is a leading provider of commercial and industrial control systems that operates worldwide. The company’s expertise includes building technologies, process and materials technologies, safety solutions and avionics as well as other environmental, safety, security and productivity engineering solutions.

Headquartered in North Ryde, NSW, Honeywell Pacific employs 1,700 people across 25 locations in Australia and New Zealand, many of whom are frontline technicians that frequently visit customer sites in various locations.

The challenge:

Honeywell Pacific first reached out to Reward Gateway in 2015 with a clear vision in mind: to build a meaningful culture in which people loved to work, and an Employee Value Proposition that would attract and retain the industry’s best talent.

A key part of the challenge was finding ways to engage its largely dispersed workforce. Not only do Honeywell Pacific’s employees work across separate locations, many also work in technical roles that keep them on site all day without easy access to a work computer. This had been hampering internal communications for a long time, while also making it difficult for HR to get staff to buy into employee benefits and new initiatives.

In terms of design, Honeywell Pacific wanted a platform that would match the look and feel of its corporate brand, rather than an out-of-the-box solution with little room for customisation. The same goes for capability. It was essential that the system could evolve and scale over time, giving the company the option to plug in functionalities to meet new challenges as they emerged.

Robbie Verrall, Early Careers & Leadership Capability Programs Leader at Honeywell Pacific says,

“Since launching, Reward Gateway has been right at the heart of our approach to staff discounts and wellbeing. The system itself really appeals to staff at all levels of the organisation, and I personally love checking the app for discounts at my favourite stores. Over the years, we’ve taken time to explain the offering to our people and how to get the most out of the platform. I think that tactic has worked wonders and explains the great engagement we’re seeing today.”

The approach:

Reward Gateway worked closely with Honeywell Pacific’s HR team to develop a platform to house a carefully curated range of discounts and digital vouchers. Named ‘Honeywell Benefits Plus’, the hub is designed to make the benefits and discounts process as easy as possible for both managers and staff, while also reflecting the company’s visual brand.

The homepage acts as a one-stop shop for all of Honeywell Pacific’s benefit partnerships, collating everything from car leasing to health insurance and EAPs in one place. The tiles are fully customisable, making it easy to add or remove elements whenever needed.

Close attention was paid to the SmartSpending app because this was earmarked as a way to engage frontline workers that don’t use a computer or laptop as part of their role. The mobile user experience needed to be as quick and seamless as the desktop version, enabling staff to access Honeywell Pacific’s full range of benefits while on the go, from any location.

“The data dashboarding and reporting ability is fantastic," states Robbie. "It’s so interesting to see where people are spending their money, whether it’s groceries, petrol, white goods, clothes or whatever else. There’s a good mixture of big ticket items and day-to-day costs, which tells me we’re supporting financial wellbeing across the board. That matters even more as the general cost of living keeps on rising."

“I hear a lot of feedback from staff about how they’re using the platform – it’s become a regular talking point among our teams. I recently heard from a person that had saved over $6,000 in one year through the app! That makes a massive difference in somebody’s outgoings and shows the level of impact our benefits offering can have. We can’t go around giving out $6,000 bonuses every year, but we can help people save that much!"

Solving the wellbeing puzzle:

Honeywell Pacific has ramped up its approach to employee wellbeing in recent years, aiming to become an industry leader in terms of company culture and employee support. Its wellbeing strategy is split into four main pillars: mental, physical, social and financial.

“Along with discounts, we’ve had a lot of uptake with our Wellbeing Centre,” Robbie explains. “The content on there is great because it hits all of our main pillars and is regularly updated with new articles and videos. It’s really cost-effective to manage and requires hardly any resources on our end – Reward Gateway basically does all the legwork!”

“The usage has grown organically, with many people first logging on to access the discounts and then sticking around to take a look at our wider offering. Again, the analytics function allows us to see which resources and topics people are engaging with, which informs our approach and gives us a better idea of where they need support.”

Honeywell Pacific’s team now promotes the Wellbeing Centre during their annual benefits roadshows and employee inductions, which helps to spread awareness and demonstrate the company’s commitment to the wellbeing of both new and existing staff. These touchpoints have been key in encouraging buy-in across all levels of the organisation.

The result:

Honeywell Pacific now counts 94% of its workforce as active users on the platform, which is fantastic engagement considering the number of deskless staff who don’t usually work with a computer during their day-to-day role. The mobile app has proven particularly popular, with more than half of the company’s workforce regularly logging in to use the app while on the go.

So far, employees have spent over A$11.3 million through the discounts function over the past five years, saving A$657k in the process. These figures show the scale of impact that the system has made in the lives of Honeywell’s workers. 

The high level of engagement has also encouraged Honeywell’s HR team to expand the platform to cover more locations outside of Australia, such as New Zealand, which were previously relying heavily on paper-based mailing systems. 

What employees have to say:

“I love Honeywell Benefits Plus! I've saved $2,667 since I've started using the program and I receive hundreds of dollars in cash back every year. I try to use it whenever I can.”
– Matt Miller, Director of Human Resources 

“I’ve saved $1,400 this year; I buy all my groceries with HBP gift cards, and with inflation, 4% savings on food makes a big difference. I also love when you log in they show featured retailers with deeper discounts. I’ve tried a few that I’d never shopped before as I was excited by the offers.”
– Heather Torrey – General Manager Safety and Productivity Solutions

“I really like that the system clearly demonstrates some of the savings that Honeywell helps with in everyday life.” 
– Clayton Fonseca, Director of Field Service Engineering