UKG, the HR and workforce management giant, is rolling out a new global brand identity and campaign designed to reflect its evolution into a Workforce Operating Platform. At the center of the rebrand: a modernized logo, a character-driven campaign voiced by actor Adam Scott (of Severance fame), and a renewed emphasis on AI as the connective tissue unifying HR, payroll, and frontline workforce management.
The campaign’s theme — “When Work Works, Everything Works” — is both a tagline and a mission statement for a platform built to turn the world’s largest workforce dataset into actionable insights.
A Workforce Operating Platform for the AI Age
UKG’s new identity isn’t just a visual refresh. It’s staking a claim that AI-enabled workforce intelligence is now the standard for decision-making in HR and operations. The platform pulls real-time data from millions of daily users to help organizations tackle burnout, scheduling, hiring, training, and payroll in one place.
It’s a timely pitch. UKG’s own 10-country survey found frontline employees using AI at work reported lower burnout (41%) than those without it (54%). For HR leaders already trying to balance hybrid work models, frontline complexity, and persistent labor shortages, those numbers are tough to ignore.
“UKG is redefining what’s possible for our customers,” said Sarah Hodges, CMO at UKG. “Our new brand reflects the power of AI-enabled workforce intelligence to help leaders make smarter decisions, reduce burnout, and build more resilient organizations.”
Why Now Matters
The campaign hits as trust and engagement increasingly drive business outcomes. Research from Great Place to Work (a UKG subsidiary) shows that high-trust companies generate 8.5x more revenue per employee and achieve stock market returns 3.5x higher than peers over nearly three decades.
That positions UKG in an interesting place versus rivals like Workday, SAP SuccessFactors, and Oracle. While others emphasize HR tech as a back-office function, UKG is leaning hard into the frontline experience — an often-overlooked segment of the workforce that directly impacts customer satisfaction.
“Work” Gets a Voice (Literally)
The centerpiece of the rebrand is an anthropomorphic character named “Work,” voiced by Adam Scott. In campaign films directed by Martin Krejčí, Work becomes self-aware, acknowledges its flaws, and demonstrates how UKG can make the daily grind more manageable.
It’s a cheeky creative approach that tries to make HR tech feel less like software and more like a cultural ally. Droga5 New York (part of Accenture Song) led the creative, while FUNDAMENTALco developed the brand strategy and design system. Expect to see the campaign across airports, connected TV, digital, social, and at UKG’s Aspire conference this November.
A Visual System Built for Scale
The new identity includes a modernized logotype, updated typography, and a refreshed color system — designed to project connectivity and confidence. It signals UKG’s intent to stand out in a crowded HR tech space by balancing enterprise sophistication with user-friendly accessibility.
“UKG brings together the world’s largest collection of workforce and employee sentiment data with an end-to-end SaaS portfolio,” said Ben Brown, head of strategy at FUNDAMENTALco. “This new global brand platform reflects that central purpose and creates a filter for how UKG evolves moving forward.”
The Takeaway
Rebrands are common in enterprise software, but this one comes with teeth. By tying together AI, frontline empowerment, and workforce intelligence under one operating platform, UKG is betting it can define the next era of HR tech — not just as a software vendor, but as a workforce partner.
For HR leaders wrestling with burnout, disengagement, and retention, the message is clear: work itself might not get easier, but with UKG, it should at least work better.
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Business Wire, a Berkshire Hathaway company, is the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure. Public relations, investor relations, public policy and marketing professionals rely on Business Wire for secure and accurate distribution of market-moving news and multimedia. Founded in 1961, Business Wire is a trusted source for news organizations, journalists, investment professionals and regulatory authorities, delivering news directly into editorial systems and leading online news sources via its multi-patented NX network. Business Wire’s global newsrooms are available to meet the needs of communications professionals and news media worldwide.
