City First Bank × ChangeEngine

About City First Bank

City First Bank is a mission-driven financial institution advancing economic equity through community banking. With a lean People & Culture team managing everything from benefits to engagement, the bank needed a way to scale its impact, streamline operations, and maintain consistent communication across departments and branches.

“When you think of a small institution that may not have centers of excellence to reach employees in a way that’s branded, consistent, and programmatic—it’s a lost service. ChangeEngine gives us that.”

Challenges

• Limited HR capacity: A small team managing multiple programs including onboarding, open enrollment, and employee engagement.
• Manual communications: Time-consuming, inconsistent email and newsletter workflows without automation or analytics.
• Compliance and accessibility: Needed efficient ways to distribute handbooks, policy updates, and open enrollment notices to all employees.
• Brand consistency: Maintaining a cohesive, professional look across branches and departments.
• Engagement and culture building: Seeking stronger connection with employees through more personalized and leadership-driven communication.

“We knew we needed a partner who could help us drive results with limited resources and scale.”

Solutions

• Multi-Channel Communication Ecosystem: Centralized communications across email, Microsoft Teams, and SMS—ensuring every employee, whether at HQ or in a branch, receives timely and branded updates.
• Automation Across Key Programs: Automated open enrollment campaigns, onboarding sequences, and compliance reminders—turning multi-day manual work into scheduled workflows.
• Digital Employee Handbook: Converted an 80-page Word document into an interactive flipbook hosted on ChangeEngine for easy access and acknowledgment.
• Newsletter Transformation: Moved the employee newsletter into ChangeEngine, enabling employee-generated content submissions and PDF uploads for SharePoint.
• Leadership Enablement: Designed and launched a full CEO Roundtable communication journey (8-part email series) and a Retail Branch Manager Playbook, giving leaders professional tools to communicate and coach consistently.
• Analytics & Insights: Leveraged ChangeEngine dashboards to track engagement, open rates, and reactions—allowing HR to make data-driven decisions on timing, content, and reach.

“ChangeEngine helps us reach our strategic objectives. It’s been like no other partner we have.”

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Impact

• 15,466 total communications delivered across channels.
• 246 total communications published, including 27 active programs and 49 ongoing automations.
• 82% of all messages delivered through Work Email, with Teams and 1:1 messages driving targeted engagement.
• 14,597 work emails sent with an average open rate of 46% and clickthrough rate of 26%.
• 1,455 Teams 1:1 messages and 23 channel posts, generating 68 total reactions and 39 link clicks—showing active employee interaction.
• Top departments—HR, Marketing, and Retail Branches—maintain open rates far exceeding financial industry benchmarks.
• 100% on-time delivery for open enrollment communications across three channels (email, Teams, and intranet posts).
• Over 14,500 emails automated since launch, eliminating hundreds of manual hours.
• Consistent branding across every campaign, improving design quality and recognition.
• Employee engagement boosted: internal surveys and reaction data show improved visibility and participation in HR programs.

“I narrowed 30 partners down to my top three—and ChangeEngine is at the top. They bring the collaboration, innovation, and execution we need.”

“ChangeEngine doesn’t just automate; they help us ideate, design, and execute programs that move the needle.”

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