Success story: Arbuthnot Latham & Co

Arbuthnot Latham & Co, established in 1833, is a London-based private and commercial bank, also specialising in wealth management and has three specialist lending subsidiaries, with regional offices in Manchester, Bristol and Exeter. The bank combines relationship-led client support with modern digital capability to deliver a consistent experience and strategic growth. 

With around 1,000 employees, the bank continues to invest in its digital colleague experience to reduce manual effort, strengthen operational efficiency, and make key people's processes clearer and more intuitive for its workforce.

Arbuthnot Latham & Co’s previous benefits platform operated outside the HR and payroll environment, requiring extensive manual intervention to maintain accuracy. With no integration or automated feeds, the HR team had to manage updates manually while employees struggled with a dated interface that made benefits difficult to locate.

“We didn’t have integration with payroll or our HR system, and there was no API feed, so it was a very manual process.”

The bank needed a unified platform that would reduce administrative effort, integrate with payroll, support richer benefits options, and offer a clearer, more user‑friendly experience for employees.

PeopleXD Evo gave Arbuthnot Latham & Co a unified suite that brought HR, payroll and benefits together in one place, removing the complexity they previously faced with disconnected systems. With one platform and one data set, the organisation could ensure accuracy, streamline processes, and create a single experience for employees.

A major advantage was the ability to expand capability without introducing new systems. By adding Access Engage to their PeopleXD Evo package, Arbuthnot Latham & Co broadened its benefits offering while keeping everything connected to its existing HR and payroll processes. Each new capability strengthened the value of what was already in place, delivering a more integrated experience for employees.

“Integration with payroll and the support that we received from Sarah Wedlock and Haydn Anderson” were central to their choice.

PeopleXD Evo also removed the complexity of feature‑by‑feature decision making. Instead of handling separate tools or point solutions, the organisation gained a single suite designed to support operational efficiency, employee experience, and future growth.

Arbuthnot Latham & Co implemented PeopleXD Evo for HR, payroll and benefits, and expanded their suite with Access Engage to provide employees with a wider range of flexible options. Because Access Engage sits within the same PeopleXD Evo environment, the HR team avoided the overhead of managing additional systems where employees accessed everything through one familiar experience.

The unified suite approach meant each capability reinforced the others:

• HR and payroll held the single source of truth
• Benefits selections passed directly into payroll
• Access Engage benefits, including Holiday Trading, appeared alongside core benefits in one place
• Employees used the same interface they already recognised for everyday tasks

“We received an implementation plan… the support team helped us to get everything inline… the process was smooth.”

The Access CSM delivered an internal webinar ahead of the benefits window, helping employees understand both PeopleXD Evo and the new Access Engage options, which was a key driver behind the strong uplift in engagement.

• 77% employee registration following the CSM‑supported internal webinar (previously 50%)
• 644 employees registered out of 844 eligible (77%)
• 20% engagement with Holiday Trading (130 applications), exceeding our Financial Services benchmark of 19%1
• £148k+ in business savings generated through Holiday Trading in its first launch.
• Significant reduction in manual admin through automated updates flowing directly to payroll
• Improved employee experience, with positive feedback on navigation and ease of use.

PeopleXD Evo has substantially reduced administrative workload for the HR team. Integrated data flows mean benefit selections are now passed automatically into payroll, eliminating the manual reconciliation required previously.

“The manual intervention has been removed… the details are automatically sent to the payroll provider.”

Employee engagement increased markedly, with the CSM‑led webinar driving a 77% platform registration rate. Employees responded positively to the improved experience, praising clearer navigation and easier access to benefit information.

“Look and feel and navigation… this was nice and easy to locate benefits.” 

Access Engage delivered a strong early impact through Holiday Trading. With 20% of eligible colleagues participating, Arbuthnot Latham & Co performed slightly above our Financial Services benchmark of 19%. This result is likely influenced by the platform’s unified experience, where employees access benefits through the same environment as payslips and annual leave.

The scheme also returned more than £148k in savings, demonstrating the commercial and engagement value of expanding capabilities within the suite.

PeopleXD Evo helps organisations like Arbuthnot Latham & Co unify HR, payroll and benefits into one scalable suite, eliminating duplication, reducing manual effort, and amplifying the value of every capability added.

The Access Group's HCM division, Access People, offer an unrivalled suite of solutions for businesses, including HR and Payroll Management, Absence Management, Workforce Management, Compliance, Recruitment, Talent, Learning, Employee Benefits and Engagement, Health & Safety, all of which are underpinned by the powerful Access Workspace platform.