ABOUT

F. Leigh Branham, SPHR 

Leigh Branham, SPHR, is Founder and Principal of Keeping the People, Inc., Mt. Juliet, TN, a talent management consulting firm which helps organizations analyze root causes of turnover and employee disengagement, then develop and implement employer-of-choice strategies.  His previous experience includes serving as Leader of the Talent Management practice for Right Management Consultants’ Heartland region.

Leigh has authored three books on employee engagement and retention, including his most recent (coauthored with Mark Hirschfeld)—Re-Engage: How America’s Best Places to Work Inspire Extra Effort in Extraordinary Times (McGraw-Hill, 2010).  Re-Engage is based on 2.1 million employee engagement surveys from 10,000 employers.

In cooperation with the Saratoga Institute, Branham wrote The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave: How to Recognize the Subtle Signs and Act Before It’s Too Late (AMACOM Books, 2nd edition, 2012)--about the root causes of employee disengagement and turnover, based on post-exit surveys of more than 19,700 employees in 17 industries conducted from 1998 through 2003.  Released initially in 2005, this book was selected by businessbookreview.com and The Library Journal as one of the top 30 business books of the year and was released in audio summary form by Executive Soundview.  All three books were made available by audible.com in 2018.

His first book, Keeping the People Who Keep You in Business, was published by the American Management Association in 2001 and featured hundreds of innovative employee retention best practices.  It was named by the Harvard Management Update as one of the top three books on the topic and has been published in several foreign-language versions.

Leigh received a bachelor's degree from Vanderbilt University and earned two Master’s degrees from the University of Missouri-Columbia.  He has 25 years experience in human resource consulting, including three years at General Dynamics, Pomona Division where he designed and implemented a comprehensive leading-edge retention initiative for engineers.  Prior experience included six years as career advisor and faculty member at California State Polytechnic University-Pomona, and at The University of Missouri-Columbia.  

He speaks frequently on the topics of employee engagement/retention, career development in organizations, employment practices, workforce trends, leadership, and management development.  Leigh has presented internationally to audiences in China, Singapore, Malaysia, Poland, Canada, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Peru.  He has been interviewed on National Public Radio, published in The Harvard Business Review, and quoted in Business Week, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, and many other newspapers through The Associated Press, as an authority on employee engagement retention best practices.  Past editions of his quarterly e-newsletter—Keeping the People Report, are available on this website.

Leigh has achieved certification from The Society of Human Resource Management as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR).  He also served as President of the Board of The Rose Mont Restoration Foundation in Gallatin, TN. and as a volunteer for Junior Achievement and Tennessee Promise.

Leigh Branham in his own words:

"If there is one thing that I've learned in my business career and in my research into what works to motivate, engage, and keep the right people, is that good management, a positive culture, and caring leaders are far more important than pay and benefits.  I get tremendous satisfaction from helping leaders and managers identify and implement the employee engagement practices that best align with their business objectives, talent marketplace, and current workforce." 

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