LBS Süd: From a merger to a unified digital home for 1,500 Employees

LBS Süd is the leading building society in Southern Germany. The organisation provides financial services related to home savings, property financing, and real estate brokerage, helping people achieve home ownership.

The institution was formed in August 2023 through the merger of LBS Bayern and LBS South Wesr. With approximately 1,500 employees, around 800 sales representatives, and 2.6 million customers, it is one of the region’s most important financial service providers.  

The merger brought together four locations, different IT environments, and pre established corporate cultures. This made internal communication and a single source of knowledge a critical success factor.

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What Challenges Did They Face?

A merger presents not only organisational challenges but also communication challenges.

On Friday, employees were still working for two separate companies. By Monday, they were expected to operate as part of the new merged LBS Süd. Without a central platform, however, there would be integration chaos, miscommunication and misalignment.

The company needed a central hub that could provide guidance, consolidate information, and support employees in getting to know one another across locations. During this period of change, maintaining a reliable flow of information while fostering a sense of belonging to the new organisation was essential.  

The existing intranets could not meet these needs. One was built on TYPO3, while the other ran on an even older system. Both on-premises solutions were no longer fit for purpose from a technical or functional perspective.

The goal was therefore to introduce a modern, cloud-based communications platform that would:

• Provide information centrally

• Connect employees across locations

• Enable consolidated communication types

• Provide two-way communication so employees felt part of the change

• Serve as the digital workplace entry point

In short, LBS Süd needed a connected digital home for all employees.  

“We chose Haiilo as we believe to truly implement effective change management you can’t just have leadership and management telling people what to do. You need a genuine two way conversation that everyone is part of, one that disseminated knowledge, allows for feedback and opens conversations up to everyone.”

Dominik Müller, Internal Communications Manager, LBS Süd

Why LBS Süd Chose Haiilo

Early on, the idea emerged to build the new intranet as part of the merger project. However, internal priorities and regulatory topics initially took precedence, leaving only a narrow implementation window.  

Nevertheless, the goal was clear: A common platform should be ready for the first day of work of the new LBS Süd.

Haiilo’s Intranet met several key requirements:  

• Intuitive user experience, even for less digitally experienced employees

• Audience-specific content targeting

• Strong networking and engagement features

• Support for multimedia content

• Integration with the existing technology landscape

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Together with digital workplace specialist and Haiilo implementation partner HIRSCHTEC, the company decided to implement the platform through a focused deployment sprint.  

How LBS Süd Uses Haiilo Today

Haiilo was implemented within just two months and today, the intranet sits at the heart of the organisation. It centralises information, simplifies collaboration, and creates transparency throughout the company.

“The intranet works simultaneously as an internal knowledge hub and a communications platform. It's a combination of integrated information from external apps and a useful two-way communicator for updated company policies and alignment.”

Dominik Müller, Internal Communications Manager, LBS Süd

A Central Digital Workplace Entry Point

Through Haiilo employees can quickly access around 30 integrated tools such as SharePoint documents and outlook calendars. This proved especially valuable during the merger, when IT systems were changing rapidly.  

The platform also helps employees navigate the digital workplace by connecting tools such as Microsoft Teams and Confluence, making it clear which tool should be used for which purpose.  

Personalised Content Delivery

With Haiilo’s grouping and targeting features it enables Internal comms teams only to deliver information that is relevant to the group, this can be based on Role, location, department or any customisation you want. Personalisation ensures information is distributed to the right audience, helping individuals focus on the content they need most.  

Employee Directory and Knowledge Discovery

One of the most-used features is the company org chart in every employees home dashboard. Each user has a profile containing both automatically populated and optional information, including projects, expertise, responsibilities, and even part-time working schedules. This helps colleagues find expertise quickly and makes organisational knowledge visible.  

HR Portal

The HR Portal provides a central location for information on absences, HR processes, employment policies, and people-related updates, while also publishing HR news and company-wide announcements.

Internal Job Marketplace

The internal job board is particularly popular. During a merger, new roles and career opportunities often emerge. The platform helps employees identify internal opportunities and strengthens long-term retention.  

Communities and Networking

In addition to traditional top-down communications, Haiilo enables strong bottom-up communication. Employees can react to posts, comment, and create communities, encouraging collaboration, knowledge sharing, and stronger cross-functional relationships.  

‍Multimedia Communication

To make content more engaging, LBS Süd uses formats such as videos and internal podcasts. Corporate communications manages the overall structure and strategy, while much of the content is created directly by business units.  

Results: A Communication Hub with 95% Reach

“We give your future a home” is the promise the German state building societies make to customers on their homeownership journey. Through its Haiilo-powered intranet, LBS Süd has also created a digital home for employees.

Adoption grew rapidly from day one.

Just six months after launch, the platforms reach stands at 95%.  

“Our intranet is the central platform for information, communication, and networking. It’s everyone's central hub and where they start the day.”

Dominik Müller, Internal Communications Manager, LBS Süd

Strong Engagement and Industry Recognition

The platform demonstrates consistently high engagement:  

• Between 1,000 and 1,100 employees use it every day.

• Users spend an average of more than 11 minutes per visit.

• Each user views between 180 and 200 pages per month.

The project was recognised with the INKOMETA Award 2025 in the “Digital Workplace” category.  

Why the Intranet Has Been So Successful

According to LBS Süd, several factors contributed to the project’s success:  

1. An intuitive System

The Haiilo platform is intuitive and allows employees of all digital skill levels to get started quickly.  

2. Strong Executive and IT Support

Leadership and IT made it clear from the outset that the intranet would serve as the primary platform for information and communication, helping avoid duplicate systems and fragmented communication channels.

3. Decentralised Content Creation

Business units create much of the content themselves, ensuring information remains current while reducing pressure on the corporate communications team.  

4. Continuous Improvement

The platform evolves constantly through user feedback, surveys, and new functionality.  

5. Strong Partner Ecosystem

With Haiilo providing the platform and HIRSCHTEC acting as the implementation partner, LBS Süd benefited from a highly experienced team delivering both technical expertise and implementation support.  

What's Next for LBS Süd and Haiilo?

The intranet is now firmly embedded in employees' day-to-day work and continues to evolve. Current priorities include the integration of AI-powered capabilities, such as improving search and automatically summarising missed content following periods of absence. The organisation is also exploring greater use of the mobile app, particularly for employees who spend large amounts of time away from their desks.  

Already, the benefits are clear. Employees can find information faster, communicate more easily, and build relationships across locations. The platform has become a foundation for a modern, future-ready internal communications strategy at LBS Süd

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