Manila, Philippines – EastWest has been awarded a Gold Stevie® Award for Excellence in Innovative Use of Technology in Human Resources at the 2025 Asia-Pacific Stevie® Awards, recognizing the bank’s people-led, tech-powered transformation in HR.

Presented annually, the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards are the only regional business awards program that recognizes workplace innovation across 29 countries. EastWest received the honor during the gala ceremony held on May 13, 2025 in Seoul, South Korea.

People-Led Automation, Meaningful Results

This recognition highlights the success of EastWest’s People Advantage Gameplan, a two-year transformation strategy that combined grassroots automation across the employee lifecycle with authentic employee engagement and behavioral insights.

Using Microsoft Power Platform tools, EastWest’s HR team, without external vendors, designed and deployed digital solutions that streamlined onboarding, people dashboard and analytics, wellness, employee loans, recognition, and offboarding.

These achievements reflect a modern, scalable, and employee-centered approach to HR transformation.

The results were both human and measurable:

  • +8-point increase in Employee Satisfaction: from 69% in 2022 to 77% in 2024, with 93% of employees expressing intent to stay in the next two years
  • +4-point boost in Engagement: from 73% in 2022 to 77% in 2024.
  • 18% net headcount growth, driven by the highest hiring levels in over a decade
  • Attrition lowered by 10 percentage points, aligning with industry standards

Human Connection at the Core

Beyond tools and technology, EastWest placed high value on genuine employee connection. The initiative featured listening sessions and conversations with the CEO, and employee-led storytelling campaigns that amplified authenticity across the organization.

“We’ve always believed that technology is central in making people-centered experiences across the employee lifecycle happen,” said Atty. Juan Alfonso “Alfie” Suarez, Chief People, Corporate Services, and Sustainability Officer at EastWest. “This recognition inspires us to do better, be better, and take our employees, customers and stakeholders further”. 

A Future-Ready HR Model

EastWest continues to lead with a passion for customer centricity, a drive for changing things for the better, and a focus on shared benefit with people at the center and technology as an enabler.

For more information on EastWest’s talent innovation and employee experience programs, visit www.eastwestbanker.com.

 

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From left to right: Christian Kelly Mata, Head of People Communications and Engagement at EastWest; Michael Gallagher, President and CEO of the Stevie® Awards; and Atty. Juan Alfonso “Alfie” Suarez, Chief People, Corporate Services, and Sustainability Officer at EastWest, receiving the Gold Stevie® Award for Excellence in Innovative Use of Technology in Human Resources during the 2025 Asia-Pacific Stevie® Awards held last May 13 in Seoul, South Korea.