Employee Engagement Speaker
Help managers build teams that feel heard, valued, and connected to their work
Chris N. Cheetham-West, MBA, is an employee engagement speaker and leadership keynote speaker who helps managers build teams where people feel heard, valued, and connected to their work. His leadership development keynotes show how everyday habits, from giving specific recognition to following up on employee feedback, can encourage people to speak up and take ownership of their work. Audiences at HR conferences, leadership retreats, and company-wide meetings leave with ideas they can put to use in their next one-on-one or team meeting.
When an employee offers an idea in a meeting, what happens next? Does someone follow up? Does the employee hear what came of it? Moments like these shape whether people keep speaking up, sharing ideas, and taking ownership of their work.
Chris N. Cheetham-West, MBA, is an employee engagement keynote speaker, author, and founder of LR Training Solutions. He helps leaders and managers build trust, recognize contributions, and keep employees involved through everyday conversations and decisions. His presentations are designed for corporate conferences, HR events, leadership retreats, and company-wide meetings.
Check Chris’s availability for your event
Featured keynote — How to Keep Employees Engaged at Work
Build trust, make recognition specific, and follow through on employee feedback
Managers shape how employees experience work in the conversations they have every week. A check-in can reveal that someone is unclear about priorities. A team meeting can give quieter employees a chance to contribute. A few minutes of follow-up can show that a suggestion was taken seriously, even if the team decides to go in a different direction.
Chris brings these situations to life with practical examples from in-person, remote, and hybrid teams. He shows managers how to ask questions that get beyond “How’s everything going?”, make recognition more meaningful by naming the contribution and its impact, and tell employees what happened after they shared feedback. The audience leaves with one change they can try at their next team meeting or one-on-one.
What attendees will learn
- Ask better questions in one-on-ones. Find out where employees feel stuck, what they need from their manager, and which parts of their work they want to develop.
- Recognize the work that often goes unseen. Give specific credit to the people who solve recurring problems, support coworkers, or make handoffs smoother.
- Follow up after asking for feedback. Tell employees what you heard, which action you’ll take, and when they can expect an update.
- Make participation easier across locations and shifts. Give people a way to contribute before, during, or after a meeting, and make decisions easy to find.
- Connect daily tasks to a wider goal. Show employees how their work affects a customer, another department, or the team’s priorities.
- Communicate during change. Explain what’s changing, how it affects the team’s work, and where employees can bring questions as plans develop.
About Chris N. Cheetham-West
Chris is an international keynote speaker, author, and founder of LR Training Solutions. At Google, he worked on a distributed team and managed marketing programs for key products. That experience informs how he talks about keeping people connected to decisions and to each other when they work in different locations.
Chris has presented in 48 U.S. states and to audiences internationally, including in Germany, Canada, and France. In his book Leading in a Virtual World, he shares ways leaders can strengthen communication, collaboration, and culture on distributed teams.
Read Chris’s speaker bio · See feedback from past audiences
Frequently asked questions
What does an employee engagement speaker cover?
An employee engagement speaker helps audiences understand what encourages employees to participate, contribute ideas, and stay connected to their work. Chris focuses on actions managers and teams can take, including inviting input, recognizing good work, clarifying expectations, and following through after asking for feedback.
Is this keynote for managers or for all employees?
Chris can tailor it to either group. A leadership audience can focus on coaching conversations and responding to feedback. An all-staff audience can focus on how people across roles can share ideas, communicate across departments, and recognize each other’s contributions.
Can Chris focus on engagement for remote and hybrid teams?
Yes. The session can cover how to involve employees who aren’t in the room, make decisions visible across locations, and give remote staff meaningful feedback and recognition. Explore Chris’s keynote on managing remote and hybrid teams
Can the session build on our employee engagement survey?
Yes. Share the broad themes you want the session to address, such as employees asking for clearer communication or more recognition. Chris can use those themes to develop examples and discussion prompts that fit your event.
Book Chris for your next event
Share your event date, location or virtual format, who will attend, and the employee engagement challenge you want to address. Chris and his team can help you choose a keynote or workshop that fits your agenda.
