New research reveals why engaged employees deliver 20% higher productivity, and how small businesses can tap this without big budgets.
What’s happening: As the Federal Government’s Economic Reform Roundtable focuses on regulation, AI and tax reform, workforce transformation expert David Campbell argues Australia’s productivity crisis has a critical blind spot—brand perception.
Why this matters: With Australia recording its largest annual productivity decline on record in 2022-23, organisations may be missing a fundamental driver of performance that connects directly to employee engagement, retention and output.
David Campbell, Partner at Brand Rebellion, believes sustainable productivity gains require more than systems upgrades. They need employees who genuinely believe in the organisations they work for.
“You can’t digitise your way out of disengagement, structural reform won’t stick without behavioural change, and AI won’t deliver returns if the workforce resists it,” Campbell says.
His argument centres on a simple premise: brand isn’t just a marketing asset it’s a performance driver that creates a flywheel effect between perception and productivity.
Perception drives performance
Campbell points to organisational research showing the tangible business impact of brand perception. Organisations with compelling employer brands see up to 28% reduction in turnover, while aligned employees report 21% higher engagement according to Gallup research.
“These aren’t vanity metrics, they’re business results tied directly to how people perceive and believe in the brand they work for,” he says.
The performance benefits extend beyond engagement. Gallup’s research shows aligned teams deliver up to 20% increases in quality and productivity, while organisations with strong employer brands attract 50% more qualified applicants and report 50% lower cost-to-hire.
For businesses grappling with skills shortages and rising hiring costs, these metrics represent significant operational advantages.
The productivity flywheel
Campbell describes the relationship between brand and performance as a self-reinforcing cycle. Strong brands attract talent, aligned employees drive performance, which builds trust and enhances reputation—creating momentum that compounds results.
“But just like the flywheel, the momentum only holds if its components are in sync,” he explains. “Remove one component, like diminishing culture, and the system loses momentum.”
The Productivity Commission’s report identified disengagement, skills shortages, resistance to change and lack of cultural readiness as key drivers of Australia’s productivity decline—all fundamentally human challenges that perception shapes.
“When people connect to the brand and culture that they’re part of, they are more open to adapt, more willing to embrace change, and more driven to deliver,” Campbell says.
Brand belief matters
Campbell argues that high-performing organisations share common characteristics: brand promises that reflect real culture rather than aspiration, messaging that signals genuine organisational values, and experiences that reinforce trust both internally and externally.
“A high-performing workforce isn’t built on instruction; it’s built on belief,” he says. “When people believe in the organisation that they’re part of, they bring more energy, take greater ownership, and move with more agility.”
This perspective reframes Australia’s productivity challenge as not just a systems problem, but a people and perception opportunity that requires different solutions than traditional policy responses.
Human challenges ignored
While billions flow into technology and efficiency reforms, Campbell believes the human element of productivity remains undervalued in policy discussions.
“Performance won’t be powered by platforms alone, but by people who are aligned in purpose and inspired to act, and that starts with perception,” he says.
His recommendation for sustainable productivity gains: “Stop asking people to do more with less and start giving them something to believe in. Because when people believe, they perform—not because they’re told to, but because they choose to.”
As Australia’s productivity debate continues, Campbell’s perspective suggests the solution may require looking beyond systems and structures to the fundamental human need for purpose and belonging in the workplace.
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