Top 22 Employee Engagement Speakers to Book in 2026
The right employee engagement speakers don't just motivate a room—they shift how your team thinks about work. If you're planning an event and want a speaker who delivers real impact, the options can feel overwhelming. I've put together this list to help you find voices that connect, challenge, and move people to act.
Top 22 Employee Engagement Speakers
Below are the profiles of the top employee engagement speakers, covering who they are and the impact they've made in this space.
Chester Elton
Chester Elton is a bestselling leadership author, keynote speaker, executive coach, and co-founder of The Culture Works. He advises leaders on culture, recognition, and performance.
Elton’s books and advice show leaders how…
Chester Elton is a bestselling leadership author, keynote speaker, executive coach, and co-founder of The Culture Works. He advises leaders on culture, recognition, and performance.
Elton’s books and advice show leaders how to build trust, show appreciation, and create stronger teams. His work on employee engagement focuses on helping people feel connected and understand how they can contribute.
Adrian Gostick
Adrian Gostick is a bestselling leadership author, keynote speaker, Forbes columnist, and founder of The Culture Works. His research connects culture, teamwork, recognition, and performance.
Gostick turns decades of leadership research into…
Adrian Gostick is a bestselling leadership author, keynote speaker, Forbes columnist, and founder of The Culture Works. His research connects culture, teamwork, recognition, and performance.
Gostick turns decades of leadership research into practical approaches to recognition, trust, accountability, and teamwork. His culture and engagement keynotes show managers how everyday leadership behaviors can strengthen commitment without driving burnout.
Heather R. Younger
Heather R. Younger is founder and CEO of Employee Fanatix, a workplace culture strategist, keynote speaker, and author. Her work centers on caring leadership, employee voice, and active listening.
Younger’s Caring Leadership®…
Heather R. Younger is founder and CEO of Employee Fanatix, a workplace culture strategist, keynote speaker, and author. Her work centers on caring leadership, employee voice, and active listening.
Younger’s Caring Leadership® and active listening frameworks focus on helping people feel heard, valued, and supported. Through books, keynotes, and Employee Fanatix research, she links employee voice to trust, loyalty, retention, and stronger workplace culture.
Jason Lauritsen
Jason Lauritsen is a keynote speaker, author, and workplace researcher. His career spans HR leadership and large-scale employee research on what makes people feel valued, trusted, and cared for.
Lauritsen’s Lead With…
Jason Lauritsen is a keynote speaker, author, and workplace researcher. His career spans HR leadership and large-scale employee research on what makes people feel valued, trusted, and cared for.
Lauritsen’s Lead With Relationship approach puts people at the center of work. Drawing on hundreds of thousands of employee survey responses, he helps leaders build trust, show appreciation, strengthen connections, and improve engagement and performance.
Chris Dyer
Chris Dyer is a culture and leadership keynote speaker, author, and former CEO of PeopleG2. He has two decades of executive experience helping organizations improve how work gets done.
Dyer’s 7 Pillars…
Chris Dyer is a culture and leadership keynote speaker, author, and former CEO of PeopleG2. He has two decades of executive experience helping organizations improve how work gets done.
Dyer’s 7 Pillars of Culture framework covers transparency, positivity, measurement, acknowledgment, uniqueness, listening, and mistakes. His keynotes connect those practices with communication, change, employee engagement, and sustainable performance.
Jacob Morgan
Jacob Morgan is a professionally trained futurist, keynote speaker, and bestselling author. He is also the founder of Future of Work Leaders, a global community for senior people leaders and HR executives.
…
Jacob Morgan is a professionally trained futurist, keynote speaker, and bestselling author. He is also the founder of Future of Work Leaders, a global community for senior people leaders and HR executives.
Morgan studies how leadership, employee experience, and workplace design shape the future of work. His research and books give HR leaders a broad view of engagement, from culture and technology to vulnerability, management, and future-ready organizations.
Jenn Lim
Jenn Lim is a bestselling author and global workplace speaker who co-founded and led Delivering Happiness. Her previous role with Zappos involves connecting purpose, people, and performance.
Lim’s work shows how purpose,…
Jenn Lim is a bestselling author and global workplace speaker who co-founded and led Delivering Happiness. Her previous role with Zappos involves connecting purpose, people, and performance.
Lim’s work shows how purpose, wellbeing, and strong relationships help people perform at work. In Beyond Happiness and her talks, she encourages leaders to look beyond perks and create workplaces where people can grow and find meaning in their work.
Clint Pulver
Clint Pulver is a keynote speaker, author, workforce researcher, and founder of the Center for Employee Retention. He is known for his Undercover Millennial research into why employees stay or leave.
Pulver’s…
Clint Pulver is a keynote speaker, author, workforce researcher, and founder of the Center for Employee Retention. He is known for his Undercover Millennial research into why employees stay or leave.
Pulver’s Undercover Millennial research draws on interviews with thousands of employees about what makes them stay or leave. His I Love It Here work gives leaders practical tools for mentorship, connection, retention, and creating workplaces people want to join.
Jill Christensen
Jill Christensen is an employee engagement keynote speaker, bestselling author, and former Fortune 500 executive. She has decades of corporate experience into practical culture strategy.
Christensen sees employee engagement as something leaders…
Jill Christensen is an employee engagement keynote speaker, bestselling author, and former Fortune 500 executive. She has decades of corporate experience into practical culture strategy.
Christensen sees employee engagement as something leaders build through everyday actions. In her books and talks, she shares ways managers can build trust, recognize good work, and help people find purpose in their jobs.
Bob Kelleher
Bob Kelleher is founder of The Employee Engagement Group, an author and speaker, and a former CHRO at AECOM. His work centers on leadership, culture, retention, and employee engagement.
Kelleher draws on…
Bob Kelleher is founder of The Employee Engagement Group, an author and speaker, and a former CHRO at AECOM. His work centers on leadership, culture, retention, and employee engagement.
Kelleher draws on his HR leadership experience to help organizations improve employee engagement. Through The Employee Engagement Group, he advises leaders on retaining employees, building a stronger culture, using surveys, and encouraging people to go the extra mile.
Eric Termuende
Eric Termuende is a workplace culture and leadership speaker, author, and researcher. He explores trust, belonging, collaboration, employee engagement, and leading through change.
Termuende argues that engagement grows from conditions such as…
Eric Termuende is a workplace culture and leadership speaker, author, and researcher. He explores trust, belonging, collaboration, employee engagement, and leading through change.
Termuende argues that engagement grows from conditions such as trust, belonging, psychological safety, and alignment. His keynotes help leaders strengthen collaboration, reduce friction, and involve teams in change so people can contribute with greater confidence.
Sha Nacino
Sha Nacino is a keynote speaker, author, former Asian Institute of Management adjunct faculty member. He created leadership frameworks centered on human connection, care, and possibility.
Nacino’s speaking and writing emphasize human…
Sha Nacino is a keynote speaker, author, former Asian Institute of Management adjunct faculty member. He created leadership frameworks centered on human connection, care, and possibility.
Nacino’s speaking and writing emphasize human connection, compassionate leadership, and making people feel safe, seen, and appreciated. Her CARE™ and SEEN™ frameworks give leaders practical language for strengthening connection, culture, and engagement.
Daren Martin
Daren Martin is a keynote speaker, author, entrepreneur, and culture consultant. His books and advisory work help organizations build stronger ownership, engagement, and workplace culture.
In A Company of Owners, Martin…
Daren Martin is a keynote speaker, author, entrepreneur, and culture consultant. His books and advisory work help organizations build stronger ownership, engagement, and workplace culture.
In A Company of Owners, Martin shows leaders how to build a culture where employees take more ownership of their work. Through his talks and consulting, he explains how that can improve engagement, accountability, retention, customer experience, and business results.
Kevin Kruse
Kevin Kruse is founder and CEO of LEADx, a leadership development entrepreneur, keynote speaker, and bestselling author. His work spans employee engagement, management, and leadership habits.
Kruse has written directly about employee…
Kevin Kruse is founder and CEO of LEADx, a leadership development entrepreneur, keynote speaker, and bestselling author. His work spans employee engagement, management, and leadership habits.
Kruse has written directly about employee engagement and now leads LEADx, which uses behavioral nudges, microlearning, and coaching to develop managers. His work connects everyday leadership habits with engagement, performance, and sustained behavior change.
Colin D. Ellis
Colin D. Ellis is a workplace culture speaker, consultant, and bestselling author. He helps organizations intentionally build, evolve, and repair the cultures people experience every day.
Ellis treats culture as something leaders…
Colin D. Ellis is a workplace culture speaker, consultant, and bestselling author. He helps organizations intentionally build, evolve, and repair the cultures people experience every day.
Ellis treats culture as something leaders commit to, managers build, and employees own. Through books including Culture Fix and Detox Your Culture, he gives organizations practical ways to strengthen values, trust, behavior, retention, and performance.
Shane Feldman
Shane Feldman is a workplace culture speaker and entrepreneur. He founded Count Me In as a school project and grew it into a global community focused on leadership and social entrepreneurship.
Drawing…
Shane Feldman is a workplace culture speaker and entrepreneur. He founded Count Me In as a school project and grew it into a global community focused on leadership and social entrepreneurship.
Drawing on his work with Count Me In and his research around the world, Feldman speaks about how leaders can build stronger connections, encourage teamwork, and help people feel committed to their teams.
Kim Seeling Smith
Kim Seeling Smith is a business futurist, keynote speaker, and workplace strategist. Her work spans employee engagement, retention, leadership, workforce change, and practical AI adoption.
Seeling Smith’s 9 Currencies of Choice® framework…
Kim Seeling Smith is a business futurist, keynote speaker, and workplace strategist. Her work spans employee engagement, retention, leadership, workforce change, and practical AI adoption.
Seeling Smith’s 9 Currencies of Choice® framework examines what people value beyond pay, including the conditions that influence engagement and retention. Her work now also explores how leaders can guide workforce change and AI adoption without losing the human side.
Erica Keswin
Erica Keswin is a workplace strategist, keynote speaker, and three-time Wall Street Journal bestselling author. Her work explores human leadership, relationships, rituals, and retention.
In her Human Workplace Trilogy, Keswin explores…
Erica Keswin is a workplace strategist, keynote speaker, and three-time Wall Street Journal bestselling author. Her work explores human leadership, relationships, rituals, and retention.
In her Human Workplace Trilogy, Keswin explores how relationships, workplace traditions, and flexibility can help organizations retain employees in a world shaped by technology. She helps leaders build stronger connections and create better experiences for employees.
Leanne Hughes
Leanne Hughes is a keynote speaker, facilitator, author, and creator of the First Time Facilitator podcast. She helps leaders design engaging experiences that build connection and participation.
Hughes designs keynotes and workshops…
Leanne Hughes is a keynote speaker, facilitator, author, and creator of the First Time Facilitator podcast. She helps leaders design engaging experiences that build connection and participation.
Hughes designs keynotes and workshops around attention, participation, influence, and connection. Her 2-Hour Workshop Blueprint and facilitation work give leaders practical ways to create experiences where people contribute rather than passively consume.
Lisa Even
Lisa Even is a leadership and team culture keynote speaker, bestselling author, and former Fortune 500 operations leader. She has a deep experience in engagement, retention, performance, and change.
Even draws on…
Lisa Even is a leadership and team culture keynote speaker, bestselling author, and former Fortune 500 operations leader. She has a deep experience in engagement, retention, performance, and change.
Even draws on her experience leading teams to show how everyday decisions and conversations shape workplace culture. She helps leaders set clear expectations, build trust, and guide change so teams can work better and employees are more likely to stay.
Tia Graham
Tia Graham is a keynote speaker, bestselling author, Certified Chief Happiness Officer, and founder of Arrive At Happy. She has 14 years leading sales and marketing teams in luxury hospitality.
Graham applies…
Tia Graham is a keynote speaker, bestselling author, Certified Chief Happiness Officer, and founder of Arrive At Happy. She has 14 years leading sales and marketing teams in luxury hospitality.
Graham applies positive psychology and the science of happiness to leadership and team culture. Her Be a Happy Leader work gives managers practical ways to support wellbeing, positive emotion, connection, and high performance without treating happiness as a perk.
Mark C. Crowley
Mark C. Crowley is a leadership author, keynote speaker, and host of the Lead From The Heart podcast. He has 25 years of experience in financial services to advance human-centered workplace leadership.
…
Mark C. Crowley is a leadership author, keynote speaker, and host of the Lead From The Heart podcast. He has 25 years of experience in financial services to advance human-centered workplace leadership.
Crowley’s Lead From The Heart work argues that people perform better when leaders address human needs for value, care, and wellbeing. Drawing on senior financial-services leadership, he connects humane management with engagement, loyalty, and sustained performance.
Selection Methodology
I selected the leaders on this list based on their relevance, demonstrated expertise and impact, professional credibility, and ongoing contributions to the field.
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I look for evidence such as leading meaningful initiatives or delivering notable results within their organizations, developing influential ideas or practices, publishing research or educational resources, speaking or teaching, and other contributions that demonstrate impact within their work or the broader field.
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