Howden

You’re primarily a benefits consultant, can you tell us more about what that involves?

‘It’s about being a true partner to whichever business it is that we’re working with.

‘Great benefits go well beyond just the brokerage of the insurance policies that are in place. It also involves us advising on how it fits with culture and their goals and objectives, right the way through to how they actually execute the benefits they offer to their employees, being communications, technology and other services as well.’

How do you use Zest’s technology for your employee benefits offering? What do you think of Zest’s product and why did you choose it?

‘Zest has an absolutely brilliant product in our view. A couple of years ago, we went to market and reviewed the options available to us and we landed on Zest being the right partner solution for Howden. The reasons for that are quite simple. It has a brilliant clean front end and we know that when you ask most corporates, employee experience is key to what they want to see in their technology.

‘Outside of that, the back end is hugely important as well. Whether that’s in terms of interfacing and automation or ease of access for the HR business partner to actually utilise the tool as well, Zest does both.’

How would you describe your relationship with Zest?

‘The relationship with Zest is absolutely brilliant. I’d say it’s a true partnership.

‘When we look at the problems that we have to solve for our clients, we can call on Zest to help us brainstorm and work out what’s the best route to fixing a particular problem. And that’s key for us, because large corporates have complex needs. So, now as a partner who knows how to deliver, the fact that it isn’t just providing us with a portal for a fee is absolutely brilliant. That partnership is key. We get it from Zest.’

Any challenges?

‘There are always challenges when delivering a platform, whether that is at scale for lots of clients, or whether that’s thinking about an individual client. The key thing for us is that we’ve seen the Zest platform develop and improve over time. There’s clear investment in the technology capability within the platform. And as I say, going back to my point on partnership, it’s always meant that we felt confident that together we can resolve even the most complex issues with clients.’

Would you recommend Zest and why?

‘Naturally, we’ve chosen Zest. That means we’d be really happy to recommend them. Ultimately for us, there’s all the functionality that we know that a large corporate needs. Working in partnership with them commercially is something that we can make work for us as well. And ultimately, we see that there’s investment that means into the future, they’re a platform that we know is going to be a capable partner years from now.’

Could you share a specific success story or scenario where Zest’s platform played a crucial role in addressing a particular challenge or enhancing a positive outcome?

‘One of the great success stories that we’ve had working in partnership with Zest, or if you like delivering the Zest platform, has been with a major international law firm here in the City of London.

‘They were with a very large American competitor of ours for all services, but that slowly transitioned over to us, the last of which was moving away from their current platform to the Zest platform through Howden.

‘What was great to hear from the client? It’s the level of engagement, employee appreciation and the ease of use which was just reflected right the way across the firm. The feedback we’re receiving, the value that they saw in it and now the fact that we’re building upon that, not only here in the UK, but now exploring international opportunities together and for the zest platform. It’s testament to that.’

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