Charity Bank: Bringing people and purpose together

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Redefining engagement in tough times

It’s a difficult time for the not-for-profit sector. Economic pressures, rising service demands and a competitive talent market are making it harder for organisations to keep employees engaged, motivated and connected to purpose.

Despite this, Charity Bank stands out as a powerful example of what’s possible when organisations listen well and act with focus. With support from People Insight, Charity Bank increased employee engagement by four percentage points in just one year, achieving a 93% engagement score and an 88% response rate.

This progress reflects more than a positive culture. It shows the impact of a mature employee listening approach, where survey insight is used to guide communication, strengthen trust and shape strategic decisions.

Working closely with People Insight, Charity Bank has built a more connected and responsive workplace, where employee voices directly inform strategy, communication and culture. Through regular listening, clear reporting and focused action, the Bank has shown what’s possible when people and purpose truly align.

With a clear mission, a culture rooted in trust and inclusion and a pioneering four-day working week, Charity Bank proves the value of putting people first.

Who are Charity Bank?

Charity Bank is an ethical UK-based bank that partners with individuals and organisations to drive positive social change through finance. The Bank uses savers’ deposits to fund charities and social enterprises across the UK, helping mission-led organisations access the finance they need to create impact.

As an organisation, Charity Bank brings its purpose into the way it works internally as well as externally. Its employee experience is closely connected to its mission, with people encouraged to contribute, collaborate and shape the future of the organisation.

Charity Bank has been recognised with a 2024 Outstanding Workplace Award, reflecting its exceptional employee engagement and values-led culture. For Charity Bank, this recognition is not just about strong survey scores. It reflects a sustained commitment to listening to employees, understanding their experiences and taking action that supports both people and performance.

Purpose-driven culture

At Charity Bank, creating a great place to work is an extension of the Bank’s core mission to support social good. With 99% of employees saying the Bank’s purpose makes them feel good about their work, the connection between individual motivation and organisational impact is clear.

This is where employee engagement becomes more than an internal measure. For Charity Bank, engagement is closely linked to purpose, trust and the ability to deliver positive outcomes for the communities it serves.

People Insight’s employee engagement survey gives Charity Bank a clear view of how employees experience that purpose in practice. By measuring engagement, wellbeing, motivation, communication and connection to organisational aims, the Bank can understand where its culture is strongest and where focused action is needed.

The Bank’s four-day working week, introduced to support wellbeing and productivity, is one example of how purpose and people come together in practice. It has helped create a culture of trust, balance and high performance, while also giving Charity Bank valuable insight into how flexibility shapes employee experience.

Making flexibility work: Lessons from the four-day week

Charity Bank introduced a four-day working week in 2022. It was a bold move rooted in trust, flexibility and a belief that high performance does not have to come at the expense of wellbeing.

Since adopting the model, Charity Bank is seeing encouraging signs:

• Stronger engagement
• High levels of wellbeing, with 92% of employees saying they feel supported
• Standout scores for autonomy and motivation
• A strong connection between purpose, flexibility and performance

These results suggest that flexibility works best when it is supported by clear expectations, strong communication and regular employee listening.

People Insight’s survey platform helps organisations like Charity Bank measure how working practices are experienced by employees, rather than relying on assumption. This gives leaders a clearer evidence base when reviewing new ways of working, understanding the impact on engagement and deciding where to focus next.

For Charity Bank, the four-day week is not a standalone benefit. It forms part of a wider culture where employees are trusted, listened to and supported to do meaningful work.

Related: Where employee engagement in financial services is falling short

Engagement that fuels social impact

At Charity Bank, high engagement is not just good for employees. It strengthens the Bank’s ability to deliver on its mission.

When people are supported, motivated and connected to purpose, they are better equipped to deliver strong outcomes for the charities and social enterprises the Bank serves. The result is a more effective, aligned and resilient organisation, able to make a bigger difference where it matters most.

This is one of the clearest strengths of Charity Bank’s employee listening approach. Survey results are not treated as a standalone HR exercise. They are used as strategic insight into how people, culture and organisational performance connect.

With People Insight, Charity Bank can track engagement over time, identify key themes and understand where employee experience is supporting or limiting progress. This gives leaders the evidence they need to protect what is working well and take action where improvements are needed.

Listening, understanding and acting

Charity Bank’s four-point rise in engagement in just one year is no accident. It reflects a clear commitment to listening to employees, understanding what they are saying and acting on the insight.

With support from People Insight, the Bank has developed a more mature and strategic approach to employee listening. The latest survey helped identify communication and transparency as key areas of focus, prompting a number of targeted initiatives:

• Rolling out the Insights Discovery methodology to strengthen team dynamics and communication, helping colleagues better understand each other’s working styles
• Launching a redesigned intranet and internal newsletter, making key information more accessible and relevant
• Introducing quarterly investor updates shared with all staff, enhancing organisational transparency
• Hosting regular all-staff town hall meetings, creating space for open dialogue and shared alignment

These actions show the value of moving from survey results to focused improvement. People Insight helped Charity Bank identify the areas that mattered, interpret the feedback and use the insight to guide practical next steps.

The impact is clear. Today, 96% of employees say they understand how the Bank is progressing against its aims, showing the power of acting visibly on employee feedback.

Charity Bank’s approach demonstrates how People Insight’s survey expertise, combined with a leadership team committed to meaningful change, can drive better outcomes for people, culture and performance.

Inclusion at the core

Diversity and inclusion are central to Charity Bank’s organisational culture. The Bank has taken several steps to support a more inclusive employee experience, including:

• Signing the Women in Finance Charter
• Signing the Diversity Forum Manifesto
• Developing inclusive policies and staff networks
• Rolling out neurodiversity awareness
• Establishing an active EDI working group

Engagement among women is particularly strong, with 95% reporting high levels of wellbeing and autonomy.

These results matter because inclusion is not only about representation or policy. It is about how people experience the organisation day to day. Employee surveys help organisations understand whether people feel they belong, whether different groups experience work differently and where more support may be needed.

People Insight’s survey platform gives organisations the ability to explore engagement across different employee groups, helping leaders identify patterns, understand lived experience and take more informed action.

For Charity Bank, this insight supports a culture where inclusion is measured, discussed and continually improved.

The road ahead

For Charity Bank, listening is not a one-off exercise. It is an ongoing dialogue that shapes the future of the organisation.

With support from People Insight, the Bank is embedding employee voice at the heart of strategic planning. Colleagues from across the organisation are contributing to the development of Charity Bank’s next five-year strategy, helping make sure the future direction of the Bank is grounded in the real experiences and aspirations of its people.

Over the coming months, the Bank will share a series of “You Said, We Did” updates across multiple communication channels, making it clear how employee feedback is informing real change.

Insights from last year’s People Insight survey are already influencing the design of the next listening programme, keeping it focused, relevant and aligned to what matters most to employees.

This is what strong employee listening looks like in practice: regular feedback, expert interpretation, clear communication and visible action.

By continuously listening, reflecting and evolving with expert support from People Insight, Charity Bank is building a workplace where engagement drives impact today and in the years ahead.

Begin listening to your people today

If you’re ready to create a purpose-driven, high-performing culture, People Insight can help.

Our employee engagement survey platform helps organisations capture employee feedback, understand what drives engagement and turn insight into action. Our expert consultants work alongside you to interpret results, identify priorities and build a listening programme that supports meaningful improvement.

We can support you with:

• Employee engagement surveys
• Pulse surveys
• Survey design and implementation
• Employee survey reporting
• Engagement insight and consultancy
• Action planning
• Internal survey communications
• “You Said, We Did” communication
• Employee listening strategy

Whether you are building a listening programme from scratch or improving an existing approach, People Insight gives you the platform, expertise and practical support to listen with confidence and act with clarity.

Get in touch today to run an employee survey and discover the true potential of employee listening.