Leigh Branham

Mission & Focus
Leigh Branham is dedicated to assisting organizations in the management of people, and helping individuals in the management of their own careers, so as to balance the achievement of organizational and individual goals. He is a strong proponent of the idea that investing in people is the surest path to business success and profitability.

Professional Profile
Leigh brings 30 years experience in business, education, and management consulting to his mission of helping employers implement best practices in employee engagement and retention.

He is the author of Keeping the People Who Keep You in Business: 24 Ways to Hang On to Your Most Valuable Talent (AMACOM, 2001), which consistently ranks on Amazon.com as one of the best-selling books on employee retention. His newest book is The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave: How to Recognize the Subtle Signs and Act Before It’s Too Late.

Leigh was Vice President, Organizational Consulting with Right Management Consultants in Kansas City and leader of the firm’s Talent Management practice in the Heartland region. Prior to that, he was a Senior Consultant with Lee Hecht Harrison in Irvine, California.

In these roles, Leigh has consulted in a wide range of industries, including manufacturing, retail, banking/finance, telecommunications, hospitality, insurance, government, health care, energy, and construction.

He has been widely quoted in the media, including Fortune, Business Week and The Associated Press, as an expert on employee retention. He writes a regular commentary on managing talent for The Kansas City Star.

Areas of Expertise
Leigh consults and speaks throughout the U.S. on the following topics:

• Employee Retention/Engagement
• Employee Surveys
• Behavior-based Interviewing
• Employer-of-Choice Strategies/Branding
• Workforce Trends
• Generational Differences
• Performance Management
• Individual Assessment/Coaching
• “Career Coach” Training for Managers
• Employee Career Self-Management Workshops Education
  Leigh holds Master’s degrees in Counseling/ Personnel Services and Journalism from the University of Missouri – Columbia, and a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature from Vanderbilt University.Selected Achievements
  Designed employee career development program for an 11,000-employee division of major defense company, which significantly increased the retention of engineering professionals. Authored employee “Managing Your Own Career,” and “Manager As Career Coach,” currently being used by major food company.
  Coached hundreds of executives, managers, and professionals through successful career transitions over 18-year period.
  Designed and delivered employee retention workshops for corporate managers and authored accompanying guide – “Keys to Keeping the Right People”.
  Conducted strategic planning and leadership development project for company president and team of direct reports.
  Coached executives from diverse companies in personal development based on 360 feedback. Designed employee engagement survey and conducted major organizational survey projects designed to help develop new talent engagement strategies.Affiliations
  Leigh is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management and The Organizational Development Network. He also volunteers for Junior Achievement and The Center for Faith and Work in Kansas City.