Charleston keynote speaker for association conferences and healthcare events.
Chris Sund is a keynote speaker, Maxwell Leadership Certified Coach, and sitting executive who leads national healthcare staffing organizations. He speaks on workforce motivation, leadership, retention, and human potential for West Virginia associations, state agencies, hospitals, long-term care providers, schools, and employers across the Kanawha Valley.
Response within one business day.
The people you are trying to hire are not at another company. They are not working at all.
That single fact separates West Virginia from every other workforce conversation in the country, and most retention advice written for other states quietly assumes it is not true.
West Virginia has the lowest labor force participation rate in the nation and has held that position since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began reporting the series. The rate has sat between roughly 53 and 55 percent for close to two decades, against a national figure above 62. The state chamber has been sounding the alarm publicly as the civilian labor force has continued to shrink, and lack of child care is consistently named among the leading causes.
Think about what that means for a Charleston employer. In most markets your competition for a good employee is the company across town. Here, a large share of the working age population is not employed and not looking, which means the competition is not another employer at all. You cannot poach your way out of it, you cannot advertise your way out of it, and no signing bonus reaches a person who is not in the market.
Which leaves one strategy that actually works, and it is not a consolation prize. The people already on your payroll are doing something that, statistically, a lot of their neighbors are not. They are showing up. They are often carrying a household on it. And in most Charleston workplaces, nobody has ever said that to them out loud, because it feels obvious and because leaders assume a paycheck says it for them.
It does not. Recognition is not sentimentality here, it is the highest return action available to a supervisor in a state where the replacement does not exist. Keeping the person you have is not the cheap option in Charleston. It is the only option, and the leaders who understand that stop treating retention as an HR program and start treating it as the job.
Chris runs national healthcare staffing organizations and has keynoted state association conferences in eleven states, including LeadingAge Illinois and health care associations in Iowa, Montana, South Dakota, and Colorado.
Operator, Not Consultant
President and COO of national healthcare staffing organizations, still making the hiring and retention calls he speaks about.
Not a Pep Talk
The material respects what people are carrying rather than asking them to feel better about conditions that are genuinely difficult.
Appalachian and Rural Providers
Regular work with hospitals and long-term care operators in markets where the nearest replacement hire does not exist.
Groups Chris speaks for.
Charleston holds West Virginia’s state government, its statewide associations, and the Kanawha Valley’s healthcare and education institutions, which makes it the natural place for a statewide workforce keynote.
- Charleston Area Medical Center and the Kanawha Valley health system, the anchor of healthcare employment in the capital region, for nurse leadership, all-staff, and recognition events
- West Virginia statewide hospital and health care associations, representing the state’s hospitals and long-term care providers, which convene members and hold meetings in the capital
- West Virginia Chamber of Commerce, based in Charleston and the most visible voice on the state’s workforce participation problem
- State of West Virginia agencies and departments, concentrated in the capital, for in-service and leadership development days
- Kanawha County Schools and the region’s education institutions, plus the University of Charleston
- Municipal and county government, chambers, and SHRM chapters across the Kanawha Valley
- Chemical, energy, and manufacturing employers along the valley corridor
Charleston employers facing the same shortage.
Healthcare is where Chris operates, and it is one of the few West Virginia sectors projected to keep adding jobs, but the participation problem reaches every employer in the valley.
State Government
Agencies serving the whole state from the capital, where leadership development happens through in-service days rather than outside conferences.
Chemical, Energy, and Manufacturing
The valley’s industrial employers, where skilled roles are held by long-tenured people and the pipeline behind them is thin.
Education
Kanawha County Schools and the districts across the region, competing for staff in the same constrained pool.
Retail, Hospitality, and Services
Frontline employers who feel a shrinking labor force first and hardest.
Charleston and Kanawha Valley venues.
- Charleston hotel and conference space, including the downtown convention and civic venues, for statewide association meetings
- The West Virginia State Capitol and surrounding state office buildings for agency in-service and leadership sessions
- Charleston Area Medical Center campuses for staff, nurse leadership, and all-staff days
- University of Charleston and regional education facilities
- South Charleston, Dunbar, St. Albans, and the Kanawha Valley communities
- Huntington, Morgantown, and Beckley for West Virginia organizations that rotate their annual meeting location
Charleston events Chris speaks at.
Association Conferences
Statewide association annual meetings, advocacy days, and general sessions, the format Chris works in most often.
Hospital and Health System Events
Leadership days, nurse recognition events, and all-staff meetings.
Long-Term and Senior Care
Skilled nursing, assisted living, and continuing care conferences and in-service days.
Rural and Critical Access Healthcare
Leadership days for the community hospitals and clinics serving West Virginia’s counties.
Retention and Frontline Leadership
Supervisor development for employers who cannot recruit their way out of a shortage.
HR and SHRM Chapter Events
Human resources conferences and chapter meetings on retention in the tightest participation market in the country.
Keynote topics for your Charleston event.
Every session is customized for the audience, the format, and what you are actually trying to change.
See what conference organizers and HR leaders have said after booking Chris.
Booking a keynote speaker in Charleston
Has Chris spoken in West Virginia before?
Does Chris travel to Charleston?
We simply cannot find applicants. What can a keynote possibly do?
Our people are tired and have heard a lot of talk. Will this land?
Can the session speak to both clinical and support staff?
What does a Charleston keynote cost?
Can Chris speak virtually to a West Virginia audience?
Bring Chris to your Charleston event.
Send your date, location, and audience. You will get availability and a quote back within one business day.
info@chrissund.com · 402-212-5771 · West Virginia speaking · All locations