Provoke Insights + Insperity: B2B Thought Leadership Research

Insperity, a leading HR services provider, wanted to strengthen its position as a trusted authority on workplace performance and leadership. The company saw an opportunity to create original, data-driven thought leadership exploring managerial effectiveness and its impact on business outcomes, retention, and culture.

The goal was not only to uncover meaningful insight, but to develop research that could spark industry conversation, support marketing and PR efforts, and provide actionable guidance for organizations seeking stronger leadership alignment.

Provoke Insights partnered with Insperity to design and execute a nationwide B2B thought leadership study focused on manager impact. Provoke developed the research framework, survey design, analysis approach, and strategic narrative to ensure the findings would resonate with executives, HR leaders, and frontline employees alike.

The study included a robust sample of 1,000 U.S. employees, representing 300 frontline workers, 300 managers with direct reports, 200 executives, and 200 HR professionals.

Provoke’s research uncovered a striking disconnect between how leadership performance is perceived across organizational levels. Nearly half of executives rated their managers as excellent, yet only one in five frontline employees agreed. The study also identified three core barriers limiting manager success: overwhelming workloads, administrative overload, and lack of preparation for leadership roles.

The research delivered clear, high-impact insights that Insperity could activate across content marketing, PR, and client engagement. Findings showed that organizations with high-performing managers are twice as likely to report overall business success, and employees with exceptional managers are far more likely to align with company goals and describe workplace culture as healthy and thriving.

Together, Insperity and Provoke translated the findings into five actionable leadership practices, helping organizations close the gap between perception and performance. The final report, Cracking the Code on Manager Impact, positioned Insperity as a thought leader while providing strategic guidance backed by compelling, publishable data.