Available to book
Michael Kerr
Michael Kerr helps organizations build thriving workplace cultures where teams look forward to Monday mornings. A workplace culture expert and humor strategist, Michael delivers actionable frameworks for reducing turnover, boosting innovation, and creating exceptional customer experiences. Canadian Speaking Hall of Fame inductee with 3,000+ presentations across 20 countries.
Michael Kerr helps organizations build workplace cultures that reduce turnover, boost innovation, and create teams that actually look forward to Monday mornings. Based in Canmore, Alberta, Michael has spent over two decades studying what separates inspiring workplaces from soul-sucking ones.
Michael is a Canadian Speaking Hall of Fame inductee who has delivered more than 3,000 presentations across 20 countries. He has authored nine books on workplace culture and leadership, including Small Moments, Big Outcomes, and The Jerk-Free Workplace. His insights have appeared in Forbes, Fast Company, and Business Insider, and his Inspiring Workplaces blog has been recognized among the leading workplace culture resources worldwide. He also created the Culture Leadership Academy, an online training platform for developing inspiring managers and culture leaders.
Michael's research into high-performing organizations reveals that culture is not accidental. The companies that thrive are intentional about how they hire, onboard, communicate, and lead. He shows leaders how small, deliberate actions create environments where employees collaborate naturally, serve customers exceptionally, and drive measurable business results. His approach combines humor as a strategic tool with practical frameworks for building accountability, managing change, and creating what he calls "leaders leading leaders" workplaces.
Audiences leave Michael's presentations with specific strategies they can implement immediately: techniques for recruiting culture-fit employees, methods for using humor to reduce stress and increase resilience, and frameworks for inspiring teams without relying on positional authority. His talks blend research-backed insights with laugh-out-loud moments that make complex ideas memorable and actionable.
Book Michael when you need a speaker who delivers both substance and energy, leaving your team inspired to transform your workplace culture starting the next day.
Topics, sessions and talks
Michael Kerr shows how everyday behaviors quietly shape morale, accountability, and results inside organizations. Rather than chasing big culture programs that fade, he focuses on the overlooked moments where leaders and employees either build trust or erode it. With humor and real workplace examples, Michael reveals how intentional choices create more resilient, service focused, and collaborative teams that drive performance without burning people out.
Michael Kerr explores why so many organizations struggle when management replaces leadership. Based on his research with high performing teams, he unpacks how intentional leadership creates more ownership, confidence, and accountability at every level. Michael’s blend of humor and insight helps supervisors, managers, and executives see how their attitudes and behaviors shape culture, turning workplaces into environments where people lead, not just follow.
Michael Kerr tackles the everyday behaviors that quietly poison morale, collaboration, and performance. Rather than blaming titles or personalities, he reframes leadership as a responsibility shared by everyone. Through stories, humor, and practical tools, Michael shows how employees at any level can reduce conflict, increase accountability, and build a more respectful, innovative culture where people feel safe to contribute.
Michael Kerr demonstrates why humor is not a distraction from serious work but a powerful tool for resilience, connection, and performance. Drawing on research and workplace case studies, he shows how laughter lowers stress, improves communication, and strengthens teamwork. Michael’s high energy style turns humor into a strategic asset that helps organizations navigate pressure, change, and customer expectations more effectively.
Michael Kerr breaks down why so many organizations struggle to turn good ideas into action when change accelerates. Using his ghost it host it toast it framework, he explores how leaders and teams either resist, adapt, or drive change. Michael combines humor and insight to show how culture, mindset, and everyday leadership choices determine whether organizations stagnate or stay relevant.
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frequently asked questions
Something we've not covered here?
Email michael.kerr@getapeptalk.com or call PepTalk on +44 20 3835 2929 (UK) or +1 737 888 5112 (US), and one of our speaker agents will contact you within hours to confirm Michael's availability and fees. If you can, please include your budget upfront – it helps us fast-track your request. It’s also helpful to know the date, format (virtual or in-person), location, and a bit about your audience.
Michael Kerr draws on two decades of research into high-performing organisations to identify the small, recurring behaviours that shape culture, framing these through a "leaders leading leaders" model. He delivers this through a blend of workplace storytelling, humour used as a strategic tool, and practical frameworks that audiences can apply immediately after the session.
Michael Kerr's sessions cover workplace culture, leadership development, and building respectful, accountable organisations. He is a Canadian Speaking Hall of Fame inductee with over 3,000 presentations delivered across 20 countries and nine authored books on workplace culture and leadership.
No. PepTalk adds no booking fee, so you pay the speaker's fee and nothing beyond it. The service, from shortlist through to contracts and event-day logistics, is included. For repeat or multi-event bookings, PepTalk can agree preferential rates with your procurement team.
Share your event date, audience, format, objectives and budget, and PepTalk sends a hand-picked shortlist within 24 hours. Each suggestion comes with a profile, a fee and a recommendation on the strongest fit. Once you choose, PepTalk handles contracts, travel and logistics through to event day.
The typical fee range is the speaker's standard in-person fee in their home market, shown in their local currency. It moves with format, location, date and session length: virtual sessions and shorter slots usually cost less, while international travel and peak dates cost more. Send your brief to PepTalk and the team will confirm the exact fee in your currency.
Not all of them, and it makes no difference to your booking. PepTalk's network of 15,000+ speakers covers talent the team works with directly alongside speakers represented by agents and agencies worldwide. PepTalk approaches the speaker, negotiates the fee and handles contracting either way.
Three to six months ahead is comfortable for most events, and 12 months is better for large conferences, peak-season dates or one specific in-demand speaker. Shorter timelines are workable, and PepTalk regularly fills last-minute and replacement bookings within days. Availability is the constraint, so get in touch as soon as you have a date.
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