A benefit that could save employees $10k a year – and yet, adoption rates are low. Why is this?
This article was produced in partnership with Auto-UX
Auto-UX, led by CEO Greg Parkes, is transforming novated leasing through a groundbreaking, user-first approach. For decades, novated leasing has offered financial benefits, but outdated processes, hidden fees, and inefficiencies have frustrated employees and employers alike. Auto-UX redefines the experience, eliminating hassle while maximizing savings and transparency. Built for businesses with a vision for the future, its platform streamlines workflows, boosts employee engagement, and delivers the best novated leasing UX on the planet.
For employees looking to reduce the cost of car ownership, novated leasing has long been one of Australia's best-kept secrets. Greg Parkes, CEO of Auto-UX, wants to change that, and with good reason.
"Novated leasing is an incredible employee benefit," Parkes explains.
"The amount of money that an employee can save is huge – almost $10,000 a year on our program. However, adoption rates are still quite low, and that’s because novated leasing has been delivered in the same way for almost 40 years. The industry is a bit stuck in the dark ages."
When Parkes founded Auto-UX, his mission was to modernise this offering for employees by making it simpler, faster, and fully digital. After spending thirteen years in the industry, he left to join the tech field for five years, eventually returning to the novated leasing space only to find it plagued by outdated processes.
For example, getting a quote requires employees to phone a call centre and speak to a salesperson during business hours, often being kept on hold, and sitting through calls that could take 30 minutes to an hour. On a bad day, getting a quote for a novated lease could take days.
“The service levels aren’t ideal – and that’s just to get a quote!” Parkes says.
“You haven’t even started on finance applications, sourcing the car, lease documents and so-on. If you think about every other financial service, you can get things done 24/7 on any device through apps. That’s the fundamental issue that we’re solving.”
This clunky, time-consuming process has hindered adoption rates in workplaces, Parkes notes. Even large employers often see fewer than 10% of eligible employees opting for novated leases, despite the fact that many Australians finance their vehicles.
Enter Auto-UX’s digital solution: a platform called ‘Auto-Pilot’ designed to make the entire leasing journey self-serviced. Employees can build and compare quotes, apply for finance, and find answers to common questions at their own pace – without the need for a sales call.
The platform’s intuitive design also addresses a long-standing challenge for the industry: how to provide support without human intervention. To solve this, Auto-UX built their “Click Assist” feature, enabling employees to click interactive data fields in the platform to have their frequently asked questions answered.
"A key challenge for us was how to answer frequently asked questions if we’re not speaking to the employee," Parkes explains.
"The way we’ve approached that is by making every data field clickable, and that brings up answers to commonly asked questions. The data we get from this is very useful for us – we can see which questions are clicked on most frequently, and in what order. That helps us to evolve the product and deliver a better user experience."
The result? A much better cut-through for adoption rates of the benefit. Parkes notes that employees often aren’t thinking about these things during business hours – but at 10pm on a Saturday night while lying on the couch, that’s when they might want to take a quick look.
Parkes points out that employees are also often wary of hidden fees or hard-sell tactics when it comes to financial products – a problem Auto-UX seeks to eliminate.
"We’ve worked really hard to build transparency and trust into the platform, and so we clearly disclose what the interest rates are," he says.
"The only add-on products included will be the ones added by the employees themselves. That’s because we’ve given them the power to build what works for them, by giving them ultimate control."
Looking ahead, Parkes and his team are excited about further innovation in the space. Auto-UX has plans to leverage AI-enabled technology to offer proactive recommendations, and predictive decisioning – exciting developments that will bring novated leasing further into the 21st century.
Ultimately, Auto-UX’s modern approach to novated leasing offers a win-win for both employees and employers. For staff, it means significant cost savings and the convenience of a self-service experience. For HR teams, it’s a way to boost the adoption of a valuable benefit that can lower employee cost of living while enhancing employee satisfaction and retention.
To find out more about Auto-UX and its novated leasing platform, click here.
