How AXA XL put the personal touch back into its financial wellbeing strategy
Attitudes to money and finance can vary across cultures and regions, so it's important your global financial wellbeing strategy matches the differing financial priorities of your employees.
AXA XL embraced this mindset, recognising that with 10,000+ employees in 29 countries, a localised approach would be essential. By tailoring global financial wellbeing initiatives to regional needs, it boosted engagement and provided meaningful support to its employees.
Matthew Hunt, head of global benefits for AXA XL, joined us on a webinar earlier this year, Inspiring local teams for global financial wellbeing success in 2025 and beyond. During this webinar, Hunt shared how his think global, act local approach had helped him drive engagement with the company's financial wellbeing programme.
Through employee surveys, AXA XL uncovered significant differences in financial confidence across regions.
“We recognised that financial wellbeing means different things for different people, and for [our financial wellbeing strategy] to be truly impactful, it had to be adapted to reflect local cultures and challenges,” said Hunt.
Why does a local strategy matter?
For global companies such as AXA XL, financial challenges vary widely. Topics relevant in one region may not resonate in another. Ensuring relevance is key to driving engagement and impact.
To make financial wellbeing more accessible, AXA XL launched Invest in You last year - a global campaign brand that could be adapted regionally. This ensured that financial education remained engaging, actionable, and culturally relevant for all employees.
The more employees engaged with financial education, the more confident they became. AXA XL’s approach reinforced a critical lesson: financial wellbeing isn’t just about providing resources, it’s about making them meaningful.
Bring a global strategy to life locally
Education was just the start. AXA XL knew that real engagement and change would come from within – by leveraging local champions and influencers.
“We have financial wellbeing champions in different parts of the business with different geographies and functions. It’s been important for us to engage them because they are really at the front line with our employees,” said Hunt.
By empowering local champions, AXA XL ensured that its financial wellbeing strategy felt personal and relatable. Utilising champions within the organisation meant the company was able to see real-time insights into employee concerns which helped tailor initiatives to their regions.
AXA XL saw an increase in trust, engagement, and wellbeing strategy that truly reflected employees’ financial realities.
“These individuals were really passionate about financial wellbeing. We made sure we tapped into their energy and commitment to drive the initiative forward.”
Is this approach successful?
The short answer is yes, AXA XL was able to find there had been a real impact:
- Employees embraced the support: Employee engagement with nudge’s financial health checkups and masterclasses reinforced the need for financial wellbeing initiatives.
- More engagement: 45% of employees accessed nudge and 1,000 colleagues completed a financial health checkup.
- Region-specific insights: Localised data helped AXA XL tailor and adapt its strategy. For example, in Brazil, employees were more concerned about avoiding financial scams than in other regions - allowing AXA XL to consider offering personalised support.
What does that mean for you?
A successful financial wellbeing strategy doesn’t have to be one-size-fits-all. AXA XL saw a need for change and embraced a localised approach, with results that speak for themselves both through nudge’s data but also employee feedback.
"People were keen to get involved and to learn, and we had really good feedback from them," said Hunt. "We actually did a survey afterwards, just to find out more about how they felt it landed locally in their countries, and the feedback was fantastic, with everyone thinking it was worthwhile."
Your organisation can do the same. By listening to employees, leveraging local influencers, and using platforms like nudge, you can create a financial wellbeing strategy that resonates globally and locally.
Want to find out more local and global insights? Download our global financial wellbeing playbook to get actionable insights with real success stories.
Supplied by REBA Associate Member, Nudge
A leading financial wellbeing benefit using behavioural science & technology to help employees.
