First Tech: Unifying employee comms to support a seamless merger
About First Technology Federal Credit Union
First Tech is rooted in the cooperative philosophy of “people helping people.” As the sixth-largest credit union in the United States, First Tech serves members in all 50 states and more than 90 countries. The member-owned financial institution operates with a people-first approach. With a bi-coastal footprint, ensuring real-time access to information and knowledge is critical to its operations, while fostering a culture of belonging remains a core business priority.
The challenge: Uniting organizations through change
Merging two organizations with distinct needs into a single, unified workspace presented a significant challenge. The combination of First Tech and Digital Federal Credit Union - two technology-focused institutions with a combined $28.7 billion in assets and nearly two million members - is widely considered the largest credit union merger ever proposed in the United States. The effort tasked to the lean communications team required aligning colleagues around the shared purpose and culture of the newly combined company while maintaining uninterrupted support for credit union members.
Following the largest approved credit union merger in U.S. history, First Tech faced a critical challenge: connecting more than 3,000 employees working from coast to coast within a newly expanded organization.
The solution: A targeted intranet, social exchange and first-class UX design
To meet this need, First Tech implemented a unified digital workplace built on the Unily employee experience platform, (the first platform to be named a Leader by all three analysts, Gartner, Forrester, and IDC), to centralize communications, reduce organizational complexity and align employees around a shared purpose and culture.
Launched as The Hub, the platform provides a secure, personalized digital experience through role-based permissions and social collaboration tools, serving as a single destination for communications, knowledge and productivity resources while delivering role-relevant content across lines of business to improve information flow, strengthen cultural alignment and support collaboration at scale.
The phased deployment of two tailored Hub/Unily experiences resulted in a controlled, high engagement rollout during the merger. By delivering targeted, permission-based communications, First Tech ensured each organization received relevant updates in context, minimizing confusion and accelerating platform adoption.
In addition to delivering targeted, role-relevant content through The Hub, First Tech created a centralized Social Page that became a focal point for collaboration and conversation across the organization. Designed as a shared digital space accessible to all employees, the Social Page enabled teams to connect, share knowledge and engage beyond traditional silos.
Within its first week of launch, the Social Page achieved an engagement score of 260 percent, demonstrating immediate adoption and high participation across the workforce.
Spotlight: Personalization and relevance, with ease
Personalization ensures experiences are engaging and relevant for First Tech employees. The Hub homepage presents employees with a customized news reel, complemented by a “Stories You Might Have Missed” section that surfaces timely updates from across the organization and individual lines of business.
This approach ensures employees stay informed on critical news without being overwhelmed by irrelevant information.
Employees can further tailor their experience by saving frequently used applications as homepage favorites for quick access – adding practical value for employees. Content can also be shared directly to the platform’s social network, extending important updates into broader conversations and reinforcing engagement across the workforce.
With First Tech’s relevancy strategy, the platform realizes a 4.9/6 engagement average and an incredible 100% adoption rate.
Spotlight: Social interwoven across the employee experience
The Hub has become a central connective layer for the organization. The Social Channel provides a shared, organization-wide space that breaks down silos, fosters connection across teams and supports open dialogue as part of everyday work.
Rather than isolating social interaction to stories, or providing a separate social app, First Tech created a platform that allows employees to engage naturally as part of their daily workflows.
The response was immediate and measurable. In its first week, the Social Channel recorded an engagement score of 260 percent, with approximately 5,000 comments and sub-comments and more than 8,000 likes. These early results underscored strong adoption and sustained participation across the workforce. By weaving social capabilities into every corner of The Hub, First Tech strengthened collaboration, reinforced culture and created a more connected employee experience at scale.
Outcomes with Unily
In the wake of its historic merger, First Tech and Unily unified its workforce through a single digital workplace, transforming complexity into clarity and enabling employees to deliver exceptional member experiences’ at scale.
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100% Adoption Rate
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260% Social Engagement Score
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4.9/5 Story Engagement Avg.