Astemo Doubles Survey Participation, Achieves +9 Point Engagement Gain, And Cuts Turnover Nearly in Half
- Survey participation doubled from 28,000 (2023) to 55,000 (2025), close to 100% increase
- Engagement improved +9 points; 32 of 34 questions improved between +3 and +17 points
- Global employee turnover decreased from 11.8% to 6.9% from 2023 to 2024
When CEOs talk about cultural compatibility during mergers, it can often be overstated. There are invariably going to be differences in cultures, regardless of similarity.
What Was the Opportunity?
Following the merger of four different companies and a change in capital structure that established Astemo as an independent brand, the organization faced an urgent need to build a unified culture anchored in a new Mission, Vision, and Values. But the existing employee listening approach was working against that goal.
The survey was complex and confusing, and excluded significant portions of the workforce. Less than 50% of direct employees — those on the factory shop floor — were invited to participate. Internal feedback revealed several critical barriers:
Limited voice from shopfloor employees. The people closest to production had no systematic way to share feedback, creating a fundamental gap in understanding the employee experience across the business.
Low engagement and diluted insights. Engagement scores trailed the Perceptyx global benchmark by 12 points, and the survey's complexity made it difficult to extract actionable priorities.
Fragmented cultural alignment. Depending on which of the four legacy companies employees came from, cultural norms and expectations varied significantly, which was undermining the "one company" aspiration.
At a critical moment for both the business and the automotive industry's rapid transformation toward electrification and autonomy, Astemo recognized that its listening approach needed to become a tool for people activation and cultural transformation rather than just data collection and measurement.
What Was the Solution?
Astemo realized the Perceptyx platform could drive cultural transformation—not just measure it. The organization had been using the platform as a standalone measurement instrument; the opportunity was to integrate it as an enabler of a comprehensive Employee Experience strategy through the new "Astemo Experience Survey."
Built an EX model with four clear dimensions. The organization designed its global Employee Experience strategy around four dimensions — Reputation, Well-Being, Growth, and Recognition — that collectively drive Engagement. The survey was redesigned entirely around this framework.
Radically simplified the survey. The survey was reduced from 86 questions (2024) to 34 questions (2025), organized by the four EX dimensions rather than 24 fragmented categories. This made results clearer, priorities sharper, and action planning more focused.
Created the most inclusive listening infrastructure in company history. To ensure every employee had a voice, including those frontline teams, Astemo deployed an unprecedented multi-channel access approach: smartphones, kiosks, computer labs, tablets, TVs, Town Halls, posters, banners, email signatures, videos, and a communication portal. The survey was delivered in 18 languages across 88 companies and 193 locations.
Integrated action planning into performance management. Leaders were mobilized through a global action planning framework integrated directly into the performance management system, thus making employee experience a leadership expectation, not an optional initiative.
Emphasized "walk the talk." Values were made visible through behavior, decisions, and concrete next steps. A Global Action Plan combined with local team-level plans focused the organization on shared priorities while enabling cultural alignment at scale.
This shifted the survey from "an HR exercise" to a company-wide transformation engine.
What Is the Impact?
The shift was powerful and measurable across every dimension Astemo set out to improve.
Record participation demonstrated trust and inclusion. Survey participation increased +45%, with the number of respondents almost doubling from 28,000 in 2023 to 55,000 in 2025. The survey reached 4 continents, 23 countries, 88 companies, 193 locations, and 18 languages. This represents the most comprehensive picture of employee experience in Astemo's history.
Engagement improved dramatically. Engagement scores increased +9 points, closing the gap to the Perceptyx global benchmark. Remarkably, 32 of 34 questions improved, with gains ranging from +3 to +17 points. Employees shared honest, actionable feedback that reflected genuine progress.
All four EX dimensions showed major improvement:
- Reputation: "Strategy understanding & commitment" improved +13 points
- Well-Being: "Psychological safety fostered by senior management" improved +17 points
- Growth: "Talent management" improved +8 points
- Recognition: "Transparent communication" improved +11 points
These gains signaled not just higher satisfaction, but a stronger sense of clarity, safety, and growth opportunity across the organization.
Action at scale proved leadership accountability. Over 3,000 action items were created directly in the Perceptyx platform, demonstrating that leaders at every level were taking ownership of results. Teams reported feeling their voice had been heard and their feedback acknowledged. Leaders considered the new survey more practical, measurable, and impactful than any prior approach.
Turnover decreased dramatically. Global employee turnover fell from 11.8% to 6.9% — a reduction of nearly 42% — demonstrating that improved employee experience translates directly to retention in a competitive talent market.
Cultural transformation took hold. Astemo achieved stronger commitment to its Mission, Vision, and Values; clearer strategic focus; reinforced trust in leadership communication; and a growing culture of transparency, ownership, and continuous improvement.
By offering a unique Employee Experience and working toward becoming an Employer of Choice, Astemo has established itself as a global mega-supplier positioned to lead in the electrification and intelligence of mobility.
By employing a listening strategy and leveraging a platform that gives you objective data, it’s invaluable to informing your people strategy,” says Miller.
The Impact
Improvements in employee engagement, retention, and leadership support
The employee listening strategy delivered significant benefits:
Discovery of Engagement Hotspots: The data revealed previously unanticipated issues across different business units that leadership had assumed would be more insulated from M&A activity. “We thought our people challenges, such as retention, were only in our wholesale banks, but the reality is they were in our frontline and branches as well,” notes Miller. This insight allowed for more targeted action planning and interventions.
Identification of Cultural Misalignments: The surveys exposed important differences in how each organization interpreted the bank’s core values. While both banks considered themselves people-centric, their practical approaches differed significantly. “[Some of the people from American National Bank] perceived us to be more process-oriented... they really didn’t understand why we had all these ‘hoops’ to jump through,” explains Miller. “They saw that as an example of, ‘Hey, we can be flexible and nimble when we need to service a customer.’ But for us, it was like, ‘Wow, that’s a really risky proposition.’ We leveraged the data and insights to then go and have conversations with those leaders and action plan around it.” Subsequent surveying showed that this “values gap” had indeed narrowed.
Acceleration of Technology Investments: Insights from the survey revealed significant technology gaps that negatively impacted productivity and employee experience. For example, American National Bank, the acquired institution, had implemented innovative tools like DocuSign to streamline loan administration. However, these capabilities were lost during the transition to Atlantic Union Bank, creating frustration among employees. “For your job to be easy, and then to come to Atlantic Union Bank and have the thing that makes it easy go away... that degrades the experience all the more,” explains Miller. This degradation in the employee experience also risked reduced productivity and retention.
Recognizing this as an acute pain point, Atlantic Union Bank acted swiftly. They worked cross-functionally with their technology and operations teams to reprioritize the DocuSign project within their existing roadmap. This decision was driven by the understanding that reinstating such tools was essential for retaining talent and improving engagement. The initiative had a meaningful impact on teammate work experience, engagement, and retention. “The most powerful thing we heard is, ‘You listened. You leveraged this information and did something with it. That reaffirmed the commitment to the combined organization and retention in the long term,’” says Miller.
Expansion of Leadership Visibility: Listening data showed that new markets without an existing Atlantic Union leadership presence struggled more during the transition. “It felt like the blind were leading the blind,” says Miller. This led to a strategic change in their integration approach, ensuring the physical presence and accessibility of legacy leadership in new markets.
Lessons for the Future
Improvements in employee engagement, retention, and leadership support
The insights gained have now become part of Atlantic Union Bank’s M&A playbook, directly informing their approach to future growth. “The lessons learned from our listening strategy have literally been written into our playbook for future state M&A,” Miller explains.
The impact extends beyond immediate integration concerns. The data now informs executive goal-setting and accountability measures as well, with leaders being evaluated on their contribution to successful integration outcomes. “Senior and executive leadership has a responsibility to support the success of the integration,” says Miller. “Thanks to Perceptyx’s platform, we can measure engagement, where we see hotspots, where we’re seeing risk to retention, and where we’re seeing far-reaching positive impacts.”
Senior and executive leadership has a responsibility to support the success of the integration,” says Miller. “Thanks to Perceptyx’s platform, we can measure engagement, where we see hotspots, where we’re seeing risk to retention, and where we’re seeing far-reaching positive impacts.
Looking ahead, Atlantic Union Bank continues to refine its employee listening strategy, particularly as it manages the challenges of back-to-back acquisitions. “Merger fatigue is real,” acknowledges Miller. “We have to prioritize our investment in time to ensure that we are not losing momentum around teammate engagement and actioning on the insights we had, amid a lot of different distractions. In the instance of back-to-back mergers, we have to be mindful of the future integration but also continue attending to the teammates who have joined in the not-so-distant past.”
Objective data has been instrumental in helping the company interpret feedback and insights, explains Miller: “It is imperative to run pulse surveys during a merger and respond to that data before going into the next merger.” This approach provides valuable lessons learned as they prepare for their next acquisition. Another focus area for Atlantic Union Bank moving forward is leveraging features that support action planning: “[Perceptyx has] made [action planning] so easy, it’s so seamless.”