Eric Chester

Through electrifying keynote speeches & actionable books, Eric helps leaders of the world's top corporations, franchises & associations attract, recruit, manage, engage & retain the right employees.

Expert on

  • Employees / Workforce
  • Leadership
  • Corporate Culture
  • Management
  • Performance Improvement
  • Generation Issues

Fee Range

$20,000–$25,000

Travels from

CO, US

Biography

Eric Chester is an acclaimed in-the-trenches workforce researcher and thought leader who’s been studying, analyzing, speaking and writing about attracting, managing, motivating and retaining top talent since 2001.

He is frequently mentioned or quoted in the national and international media such as Good Morning America, ABC 20/20, Fox News, NPR, and CNBC and in publications like Forbes, USA Today, and the Huffington Post.

He is a bestselling author of 5 published leadership books, several of which have become national bestsellers. Eric Chester has delivered more than 3000 paid keynote speeches on three continents. He is a Certified Speaking Professional and was inducted into into the National Speakers Association’s acclaimed Hall of Fame in 2004.

Eric lives in Golden, CO with his wife and family.

 

Speaker Videos

FULLY STAFFED: FINDING AND KEEPING GREAT EMPLOYEES IN THE WORST LABOR MARKET EVER

What do a night custodian, a cashier for a big box retailer, a caregiver for a senior citizen, a pest control technician, and a muffler installer all have in common?  

They are frontline employees who are in high demand and dangerously short supply. 

The biggest threat facing today’s business owners and managers is not how they can get new customers and improve sales, but rather how they can find, develop, and keep qualified employees to do the tough, vital work that keeps them in business.

Short-order cook. Drywall installer. Call center service rep. Bus driver. HVAC technician. These are the kinds of jobs we rely on to keep the wheels of business and industry moving. They’re also the kinds of jobs where employee turnover is pandemic. Retail, manufacturing, construction, food service, and countless other industries need to find and retain competent workers, but those workers are hard to find-hard to train-and even harder to keep. 

In this high-stakes hiring environment, employee engagement expert Eric Chester has gone behind the curtain to interview thousands of owners, managers, and leaders of small companies and franchises in order to uncover the best practices for attracting, developing-and yes, even retaining-amazing employees at all levels, often for jobs that aren’t considered sexy by today’s standards.

Discover how savvy employers have made bold moves, implemented guerrilla recruiting tactics, and transformed the way the hiring and retention game is played. These stories will delight, surprise, and get you thinking-and the strategies and methodologies that they illustrate will inspire you to change the way you recruit, hire, and lead your employees so you, too, can proudly say you’re FULLY STAFFED. 

Take-Aways: Participants will discover the secrets and proven strategies to:

  • consistently attract top talent with minimal recruiting.
  • on board new employees to make a lasting impression and cement their commitment from day one.
  • create, develop, and reinforce the “7 pillars of an On Fire workplace culture” i.e., Compensation, Alignment, Atmosphere, Growth, Acknowledgment, Autonomy, and Communication to improve productivity and ignite performance.
  • eliminate employee burn out, significantly reducing costly turnover.
  • remain relevant with the emerging workforce as they develop young talent into future leaders.
  • become the ’employer-of-choice’ in their respective industry.
  • increase recruiting efforts by learning 5 tactics to find the best available talent.
  • stabilize application flow even when compensation is less than what is offered elsewhere.
  • determine ‘better fits’ to ensure those workers that are hired are safe bets for long-term employment. 

What do a night custodian, a cashier for a big box retailer, a caregiver for a senior citizen, a pest control technician, and a muffler installer all have in common? They are frontline employees who are in high demand and dangerously short supply. The biggest threat facing today's business owners and managers is not how they can get new customers and improve sales, but rather how they can find, develop, and keep qualified employees to do the tough, vital work that keeps them in business. Short-order cook. Drywall installer. Call center service rep. Bus driver. HVAC technician. These are the kinds of jobs we rely on to keep the wheels of business and industry moving. They're also the kinds of jobs where employee turnover is pandemic. Retail, manufacturing, construction, food service, and countless other industries need to find and retain competent workers, but those workers are hard to find-hard to train-and even harder to keep. In this high-stakes hiring environment, employee engagement expert Eric Chester has gone behind the curtain to interview thousands of owners, managers, and leaders of small companies and franchises in order to uncover the best practices for attracting, developing-and yes, even retaining-amazing employees at all levels, often for jobs that aren't considered sexy by today's standards. Discover how savvy employers have made bold moves, implemented guerrilla recruiting tactics, and transformed the way the hiring and retention game is played. These stories will delight, surprise, and get you thinking-and the strategies and methodologies that they illustrate will inspire you to change the way you recruit, hire, and lead your employees so you, too, can proudly say you're FULLY STAFFED. Take-Aways: Participants will discover the secrets and proven strategies to: consistently attract top talent with minimal recruiting. on board new employees to make a lasting impression and cement their commitment from day one. create, develop, and reinforce the "7 pillars of an On Fire workplace culture" i.e., Compensation, Alignment, Atmosphere, Growth, Acknowledgment, Autonomy, and Communication to improve productivity and ignite performance. eliminate employee burn out, significantly reducing costly turnover. remain relevant with the emerging workforce as they develop young talent into future leaders. become the 'employer-of-choice' in their respective industry. increase recruiting efforts by learning 5 tactics to find the best available talent. stabilize application flow even when compensation is less than what is offered elsewhere. determine 'better fits' to ensure those workers that are hired are safe bets for long-term employment.

Targeted Audience: Employers, Business Leaders, Franchisees, CEOs, C-Level Execs, HR & Operations, Senior & Mid-Level Managers

Targeted Industries: Retail, Food Service, Financial, Insurance, Healthcare/Senior Care, Hospitality, Maintenance/Cleaning/Sanitation, Construction, Manufacturing, Skilled & Professional Trade Associations

Description: After interviewing highly acclaimed C-level leaders across all industries, Eric has uncovered practices and principles Best Places to Work award-winning companies and great leaders are using to go beyond merely engaging today’s rapidly changing workforce, but to ignite what he terms “On Fire performance.” Through an entertaining multi-media presentation, participants discover best practice ideas, tactics, and strategies these esteemed employers use to consistently attract and retain top talent, encourage innovation and collaborative thinking, and inculcate the desire to out-perform yesterday’s best. Based upon the groundbreaking research in his fifth leadership book, On Fire at Work: How Great Companies Ignite Passion in Their People without Burning Them Out (Sound Wisdom, Oct. 2015), attendees take away actionable ideas for building an invincible army of entrepreneurs who take pride and ownership in their work.

Take-Aways: Participants will discover secrets and strategies renowned companies and legendary leaders are using to: consistently attract top talent with minimal recruiting; onboard new employees to make a lasting impression & cement their commitment from day one; create, develop & reinforce the “7 pillars of an On Fire workplace culture” (Compensation, Alignment, Atmosphere, Growth, Acknowledgment, Autonomy & Communication); eliminate employee burn out, significantly reducing costly turnover; remain relevant with the emerging workforce as young talent is developed into future leaders.

REVIVING WORK ETHIC: HELPING LEADERS END ENTITLEMENT AND RESTORE PRIDE IN THE EMERGING WORKFORCE

Targeted Audience: Employers, Business Leaders/Owners/Operators, Franchisees, CEOs, C-Level Execs, HR and Operations, Senior and Mid-Level Managers

Targeted Industries: Retail, Food Service, Financial, Insurance, Healthcare/Senior Care, Hospitality, Maintenance/Cleaning/Sanitation, Construction, Manufacturing, Skilled and Professional Trade Associations

Description: The Golden Rule instructs us to treat others the way we want to be treated.  But what if the other person doesn’t want the same things we do? What if treating others the way we want to be treated only creates friction between us?

In a perfect world, business leaders would employ a workforce that’s engaged, enthused, and ethically unassailable. The reality, of course, is that the new emerging workforce is streetwise and techno-savvy, but they’ve not been taught how to succeed in the workplace, at home, or at school. 

Eric’s presentation will illustrate why the work ethic in America has declined, and he’ll provide solid, actionable ideas and tools for developing the young worker and restoring the pride of a job well done, instilling within them the work ethic they should have received at home and in school – but didn’t.

Some of the key topics areas covered and learning objectives include:

  • Discover the 7 Indisputable Core Values every employer demands from every worker, and why they are getting harder to find but are essential to develop.
  • Find out how to promote a workplace culture rooted in reliability, professionalism, integrity and respect.
  • Learn how to be an ‘up and over’ leader, moving employees from “Idle,” “Lucky,” and “Cheating” behaviors into the “Valued” Quadrant.
  • Improve customer service in your business to break free from a “vending machine mentality” by learning how to instill an attitude of gratitude across your front line.

FROM ROOKIE TO SUPERSTAR - GETTING YOUR FRONT LINE TO PERFORM BETTER, WORK HARDER, AND STAY LONGER

Targeted Audience: Employers, Business Leaders/Owners/Operators, Franchisees, CEOs, C-Level Execs, HR and Operations, Senior and Mid-Level Managers

Targeted Industries: Retail, Food Service, Hospitality/Entertainment, Maintenance/Cleaning/Sanitation, Construction, Manufacturing

Description: Research proves that most business leaders are not satisfied with the performance, productivity, and the service they are getting from their emerging workforce. The problem is not so much a skills gap as it is a values gap, which is apparent when analyzing the core work ethic values a growing number of employees are bringing to the job. This is the cause–and the effect–of Eric Chester’s compelling presentation based on his breakthrough leadership book, Reviving Work Ethic – A Leader’s Guide to Ending Entitlement and Restoring Pride in the Emerging Workforce. With his hilarious and unconventional style of delivery, Chester will help you build the seven essential work ethic values within your people to ensure their success, and the success and sustainability of your business.

Key Take-Aways:

  • An understanding of work ethic, how it has diminished and eroded over the past 100 years, and why.
  • Identifying the attitudes, beliefs and behaviors today’s emerging workforce carry toward employment, careers, and work-life balance.
  • A methodology for how to instill, develop, and reinforce the 7 essential work ethic values that business leaders see as “non-negotiables.”
  • Seven proven strategies for increasing productivity and performance while decreasing costly absenteeism and turnover.

BLUE RIBBON IDEAS: HOW TO ATTRACT, DEVELOP & RETAIN YOUNG WORKERS TO JOBS THEY DON'T CONSIDER SEXY

Targeted Audience: Employers, Business Leaders, CEOs, C-Level Execs, Contractors, Foremen, Senior and Mid-Level Managers and Supervisors 

Targeted Industries: Skilled Trade Associations, Construction, Manufacturing, Equipment Handling, Printing, Warehousing, Transportation, Fabrication, Electrical, Plumbing, HRVAC, Roofing, Carpentry, Flooring/Tile, Agricultural, etc. 

Description: Eric’s inspiring program for leaders, employers, contractors, etc. in skilled trade industries shows them what it takes to break through to the mindset of the emerging workforce. In this high-energy, dynamic, content-rich presentation, he reveals today’s best practices for recruiting, training, managing, and motivating the under-30 demographic to jobs many young people don’t consider ‘sexy’, and how to get them to perform up to their remarkable potential.

Throughout his program he integrates best practice examples that have been successful in increasing interest, building application flow, and developing an enigmatic generation of workers from the inside out. 

Take-Aways: Participants will discover the secrets and proven strategies that renowned companies and legendary leaders are using to:

  • consistently attract top talent with minimal recruiting.
  • on board new employees to make a lasting impression and cement their commitment from day one.
  • create, develop, and reinforce the “7 pillars of an On Fire workplace culture” i.e., Compensation, Alignment, Atmosphere, Growth, Acknowledgment, Autonomy, and Communication.
  • eliminate employee burn out, significantly reducing costly turnover.
  • remain relevant with the emerging workforce as they develop young talent into future leaders.
  • become the ’employer-of-choice’ in their respective industry.