Demonstrating the positive impact

of simplicity on the workforce.

Simplicity
at work
 04 06 08
Introduction Methodology Key findings
Your people are your brand How we conducted this study The power of simplicity

26 31
What’s next About
Unlock the value of your brand Siegel+Gale

2 Contents 3
Your Employees are
a valuable asset

people are
It’s long been established that employees
are the backbone of a brand. With today’s
war for talent and a new generation moving
into the workplace with markedly different
expectations of their employers,
employee engagement is on top of the

your brand
corporate agenda.

Attracting the best candidates, ensuring

your best employees stick around and
inspiring your workforce are just a few
ways that a strong company culture can
pay off for the brands that get it right.
In an age where a single tweet can be
catastrophic, there’s no room for getting
it wrong.

Once squarely in the realm of human

resources, engaging employees has
become a boardroom issue. While many
acknowledge the power in engaging
employees, we set out to quantify the value.

4 Introduction 5
How we At Siegel+Gale, we’ve long held the
belief that simplicity pays for brands that

conducted
embrace it. Brands that provide simple
experiences win the hearts and minds
of customers and employees.

We surveyed more than 14,000 people

in nine countries to understand the

this study
relationship between simple workplaces
and engaged employees, and how this
impacts the bottom line for companies
across the globe.

We then looked at the connection

between simple workplaces—those where
employees easily get their work done,
and feel productive and fulfilled doing so—
and levels of engagement with people
and their employer’s brand.

We asked:
• How well they understood their
employer’s brand and how committed
they are to what that brand stands for

• How simple they felt their company

was at different points in the workplace
experience (e.g., recruitment, workload
management, day-to-day interactions)

• How easy or hard it was to innovate

and bring about new ideas

• What factors influenced preference for

working at a company versus another

6 Methodology 7
Key
findings

8 9
The Only 1 out of 5
employees find

power of their workplace

truly simple. *

simplicity
Simpler workplaces—those where
employees easily get their work done
and feel productive and fulfilled doing
so—engender more advocacy, innovation
and retention. Yet 30% of employees
reported their workplace was complex
and difficult to navigate.

By simplifying, organizations achieve

greater productivity and engagement.
Since 2010, our Global Brand
Simplicity Index has demonstrated
that customers are willing to pay a
premium for simpler brand experiences.
Not surprisingly,employees are willing
to go the extra mile—essentially paying
a premium of their time and effort—for
simpler experiences at work.

In an era when company culture is a

top-cited reason for leaving a job, along
with pay and growth opportunities,
building company culture through simple
experiences at work is critical.

* People were asked to evaluate how simple or complex they

perceived workplace experiences such as managing workload,
day-to-day interactions, recruiting and the onboarding process.

10 Key findings 11
Employees benefit
from a simple workplace

Bring new ideas to the table

+31% 95%
69%
Manage their workloads
+27% 54%

2%
Handle unexpected
problems well +25%
Trust Innovation
Ask for input and ideas
from co-workers +23% Employees trust their company’s
leadership more.
Employees find it easier to innovate.

Look for ways to improve

+22% 84% 74%
65%
Feel productive at work
+21%
11%
Try to learn new things
+20%
Advocacy Retention
Persevere if they don’t
succeed the first time +17% Employees are more likely to recommend
someone to work at their company.
Employees plan to stay longer at their jobs.

Simple workplaces Simple workplaces

Complex workplaces Complex workplaces

12 Key findings 13
What simple
brands get right
Clarify how employees’ roles impact
Broadcast clearly from the top relationship with clients

Employees are more likely Employees are more likely

96% 72% to receive adequate

communication about their
company from leadership.
90% 60% to understand how their roles
impact their relationship
with clients.

Foster psychological safety Reward/recognize employees

87% 38% 95% 67%

Employees are more likely to Employees are more likely
feel comfortable expressing to feel like their company
opinions at their company. recognizes or rewards.

Simple workplaces
Complex workplaces

14 Key findings 15
What More established
Complex workplaces are typically more

leads to
than 50 years old. With more established
processes, a reliance on historical thinking
and the existence of legacy infrastructure,
older brands often foster an environment
that makes it harder for employees to
get things done effectively and creatively.

complexity?
More audiences
Complex companies often serve more
than one audience. Brands that serve
both B2B and B2C customers are often
viewed as complex by employees and
must be clear in their approach and
adept at meeting the diverse needs of
consumer and enterprise customers.

More people
Complex workplaces are more likely
to have more than 1,000 employees.
The larger the organization becomes,
the greater the chance of inconsistency,
misalignment and overburdening of the
workforce. Smaller companies with fewer
layers of management can streamline
approval processes, provide more
transparency into business objectives
and foster more communication with
supervisors and senior management.

16 Key findings 17
Brand Brand champions understand what their
company stands for, and are committed

champions
to it. They are more likely to advocate—even
evangelize—on behalf of their companies
and trust leadership to further their brand’s
mission. Not surprisingly, you’re more likely to
find brand champions in simple workplaces.

drive value

Brand champions vs. disengaged employees:

Handle unexpected problems well

+33%
Feel productive on a typical workday
+35%
Try to learn new things, even if they are difficult
+39%
Look for ways to improve the way they work
+40%

18 Key findings 19
Who are brand
champions?
Time tells all The view from the top is rosy
Brand champions tend to have long tenures at their companies Senior executives are more likely to be brand champions

66% 60% 54% 50%

0 6 months 1 year 5 years 10 years 15 years 20 years 20+years Business owner Partner, principal Senior management Executive leadership,
(SVP, VP,...) C-level

We’re all (mostly) created equal It’s harder at the bottom

Gender impacts whether an employee is a brand champion or a disengaged employee Junior and mid-level employees are less likely to be brand champions

Entry-level employee
18%
Service/hourly employee
21%
Brand champions
34% 31% Administrative/clerical/technical
27%
Disengaged
49% 52% Mid-level/manager
35%

20 Key findings 21
Where do you find
brand champions?
Cultural norms impact brand champions Purpose-driven sectors have more brand champions

48%
India
46%
Saudi Arabia
44%
United Arab Emirates

55%
Military
50%
Non-profit
46%
Arts/Entertainment

42%
US
33%
Germany
32%
UK

26%
Sweden
19%
China
12%
Japan
23%
Retail, Fashion/Clothes
22%
Retail, Health/Beauty
20%
Retail, Grocery

22 Key findings 23
What motivates brand
Brand champions are 9% more likely
to value interesting and challenging
work. While all employees care about

champions?
tangible factors—salary, job security
and work conditions—brand champions
are motivated by imperceptible
factors such as personal fulfilment
and growth, relationships and their
Intangible Factors company’s reputation. Their disengaged
counterparts are more likely to feel
motivated by tangible factors such as
Relationship with clients
+9% compensation and benefits.

Creating brand champions—motivating

Interesting, challenging work
+9% all employees to do their best work
and contribute to company culture—
is a responsibility shared across
Personal fulfilment
+8% departments and roles. As workplace
norms and expectations continue to
shift, employers must measure what
inspires brand champions and invest
Company reputation
+8% wisely to promote desired outcomes.

Personal, professional growth

+7%
Recognition
+5%

Tangible Factors

Salary
-6%
Benefits
-3%

Brand champions
Disengaged

24 Key findings 25
Unlock the Get the facts
Engaging employees can be a nebulous
Define your employer
value proposition

value of
undertaking, but building a fact base To support the externally focused brand
helps identify the factors that influence purpose, define an internally focused
(or detract from) engagement. Tying employer value proposition (EVP)
employee brand alignment to desired to give candidates a reason to join and
business results helps to rationalize employees a reason to stay. Activate the
investments in the employee experience EVP through reinforcing behaviors,

your people
and in employer branding programs. culture-building initiatives, recruitment
Once programs are in place, track and campaigns, onboarding toolkits,
measure success. leadership alignment and more. Together,
your brand purpose and EVP become a
decision-making filter to simplify
Lead with purpose
operations, shift your culture and create
Brand champions want their work to sustained change.
matter and contribute to the greater
good. Ensure your organization’s
brand is guided by an emotionally
Simplify your workplace
relevant purpose that is bigger than and employee experience
just the products or services you While a company’s size, age or services
offer. Management should infuse the offered are unlikely to change, reducing
brand’s purpose in external/internal complexity at work is possible. Make it
communications and brand rituals. easy and rewarding for employees to do
their jobs. Create a culture of simplicity
with clear, open communication that
ties employees’ roles to business goals.
When you streamline processes and
connect the dots for employees, they
start to see a bigger and better picture.

26 What’s next 27
Where do Is complexity in your workplace affecting
employee performance and retention?

you stand? Are your employees engaged and

committed to your brand?

Do you have a brand purpose that

is compelling to employees?

Is your employer brand articulated in a

simple, memorable way that is relevant
and attractive to employees?

Is your brand experience as simple

and engaging to employees?

Are you effectively tracking key metrics

of employee engagement? Do you have
data showing which aspects of the
employee experience matter most?

Have mergers or acquisitions added

complexity to your employees’ lives?

28 What’s next 29
 Siegel+Gale is the simplicity
company. We seek it, defend it and
embrace it in everything we do to
help brands reach their true potential.
Simplicity is the centerpiece of the
strategies we develop that reveal
the unique truths of an organization,
the engaging stories we create that
connect brands with their audiences
and the meaningful experiences we
deliver that are both unexpectedly
fresh and remarkably clear.

We offer a full suite of services:

Insights
Strategy
Design
Brand communication
Naming
Digital
Employee engagement
Experience
Activation

30 About 31
Contact us Margaret Molloy
Global CMO
[email protected]
212.453.0400

Siegel+Gale
625 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10011
siegelgale.com

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