Kim Seeling Smith

Kim Seeling Smith is an author, master storyteller and trend translator who  helps business leaders create organisations that are:

• Magnetic: Wildly attractive to TODAY’s consumer and workforce
• Invincible: Able to achieve even their most challenging goals
• Future-Fit: Ready to meet the future head-on instead of playing catch-up

Kim has literally had a seat at the table with Sir Richard Branson for the innovative work she does around the Future of Work and was hand-selected for a global leadership role in his 100% Human at Work initiative,

She was named a Top 101 Global Influencer on Employee Engagement, has written THE how-to guide on employee retention, “Mind Reading for Managers,” and co-wrote a Career Development Guide with mega author Brian Tracy.

Kim’s client list includes EY, Wella, Teachers Mutual Credit Union, Muffin Break, Telstra,The Chief of Staff Association, SMEC, The Timber and Hardware Association, Engineers Australia, and Chartered Accountants ANZ.

You will frequently see Kim on Sunrise, The Today Show, in Forbes, Fast Company, SmartCompany, CEO Magazine, CNBC Online, the Australian Financial Review, the Sydney Morning Herald and many other print and radio media outlets.

A recovering, KPMG-trained CPA, Kim has run an international, award-winning consulting firm since 2009. Before that, she managed globally ranked recruitment teams and has personally conducted over 5,000 exit interviews.

Kim is a highly engaging, thought-provoking and inspiring speaker who leaves her audience with clarity, optimism — and at least 3 actionable steps to make an immediate difference in their business.

Kim’s clients consistently comment on her ability to customise her presentations to her audience and how easy it is to work with her. There are no surprises with Kim Seeling Smith.

Kim is a Certified Speaking Professional and a Certified Virtual Presenter and has been presenting virtually since 2012.

What Kim Seeling Smith Speaks About

Magnetic, Invincible and Future-Fit

How to create a culture that will not only survive – but thrive through challenging times

According to new research by PwC, almost 40% of global CEOs fear they will not be around in 10 years due to the talent shortage and rapid acceleration of AI and technology.

We are also facing an uncertain economic environment, a shifting geo-political landscape, climate change, a chronic skills shortage and an entitled workforce.

In order to not only survive but thrive through these challenging times, organizations need to become:

• Magnetic: Wildly attractive to TODAY’s customer and workforce
• Invincible: Able to achieve even your most challenging goals
• Future-Fit: Ready to meet the future head-on instead of playing catch-up

This inspirational, funny and thought-provoking keynote will help them do just that.

Audience takeaways:

• Best in class? Thanks, I’ll pass! – Why your current company purpose is completely irrelevant to your marketplace and how to fix it
• Valuegation – How to use a great set of company values to make decisions and navigate your most complex business challenges
• Not Your Father’s Leadership Style – No-nonsense keys to great leadership in a disruptive world world
• Performance Transformance – Why your current goal-setting and performance management processes don’t work and how to fix them
• Stop Treating Recruitment Like You’re Filling a Takeaway Order – How to win the War for Talent forever
• Retention Connection – How to turn connection into stakeholder retention

Mind Reading for Managers

The Key to Keep Your Best People from Walking out the Door

The research is clear. Your ability to keep your best people from walking out the door is a direct result of their manager’s ability to connect with them and to understand what they need to be fully motivated and engaged.

Connection begins with conversation, but most managers don’t talk to their people enough or about the right things because they are confused and frustrated about what their people really want.

Luckily, reverse engineering over 5,000 exit interviews gives us significant clues as to what workers really want and what employers need to deliver to hold onto their team through this time of immense change.

This model, dubbed the 9 Currencies of Choice® was originally developed in 2010 and has been updated for the post-Covid workforce. It has proven to be wildly successful in increasing employee retention, motivation, productivity, and profitability.

This is a choose your own adventure keynote where every presentation turns into a unique conversation with the audience.

If your success depends on your ability to inspire and retain a great team this session is not to be missed.

Audience takeaways:

• An understanding of how you, the leader, directly impacts your team’s performance and what you can do about it
• A proven framework to help inspire, measure and manage high performance (especially with a remote or hybrid workforce)
• A practical model, based on over 5,000 exit interviews and updated to include the latest international research to increase employee motivation and wellbeing.