THE BIG IDEA
Talent shortages are hitting nearly every industry, and the competition for great people is only getting fiercer.
But the answer isn’t a longer list of perks or a careers page that sounds like everyone else’s. Like snowflakes and fingerprints, it comes down to uniqueness: the organizations that win the talent they need are the ones that can clearly say what makes them different, and tell that story in a way the right people can’t ignore. Snowflakes and Fingerprints shows audiences how.
keynote description
Regardless of where we look, talent shortages are impacting nearly every industry, and competition is fierce. With an entire generation on the precipice of retirement, and not enough workers ready to replace them, the situation is only going to get fiercer. More than ever before, we need to do whatever we can to attract and retain top talent. But what is that?
After a decade of research on the world’s greatest places to work, workplace culture and leadership expert EricTermuende has the answer. Like snowflakes and fingerprints, it all comes down to uniqueness. The days of job listings demanding an extensive list of skills and attributes from potential employees are gone. Instead, we need to talk about the larger workplace experience and the difference our organizations are making in the world. To attract the right talent in today’s environment, we must plant our metaphorical flag in the ground and emphasize what makes us, as employers, different from the rest.
In this fun and takeaway-filled presentation, attendees will not only learn how to create their own compelling stories to attract the right talent to their organization, but they’ll also leave with a talent attraction framework they can continue to refine as the world of work keeps evolving.
THE AUDIENCE WILL LEAVE WITH:
- Actionable ways to create and share a unique, sticky, and impactful employee value proposition
- Key strategies for leveraging your best recruiters (a.k.a. your existing team)
- An understanding of why creating a “best” place to work might not mean what you think it does (and what licorice, cilantro, and pineapple pizza have to do with it)
- Knowledge of where culture lives, and how to adapt your story based on the team or location you’re hiring for
AUDIENCE
THIS KEYNOTE SERVES LEADERS AND TEAMS
WHO ARE:
The Talent Attraction Framework
01
Find the Fingerprint
Every organization has something no competitor can copy: the specific experience of working there. This part of the framework helps audiences identify what genuinely makes their organization different, not the values on the wall, but the lived, day-to-day reality that the right candidate would choose over anywhere else. That fingerprint becomes the foundation of an employee value proposition that is unique, sticky, and impossible to confuse with the company down the street.
02
Activate Your Best Recruiters
Your most credible recruiters are already on payroll. Candidates trust the people doing the job over any careers page, and a team that can tell the organization’s story authentically multiplies its reach into networks no job board can touch. This part of the framework gives leaders practical strategies for turning their existing team into the engine of talent attraction, especially in a market where the best candidates aren’t actively looking.
03
Tell the Story Where Culture Lives
Culture doesn’t live at the organizational level. It lives on teams: this shift, this location, this crew, this manager. A talent story that’s true for headquarters may say nothing about the warehouse, the branch, or the field. This part of the framework shows audiences how to adapt their story to the team and location they’re actually hiring for, so the picture a candidate gets matches the job they’ll actually live.
Suggested Event Formats
While Eric carefully customizes this keynote for every event, Snowflakes and Fingerprints has proven highly effective in the following formats:
DURATION:
45 to 60 minute keynote | 90 minutes with Q&A | Half-day or full-day workshop
CUSTOMIZATION :
Fully adapted to your industry, labor market, and the specific roles your audience is struggling to fill. Includes a pre-event discovery session with Eric.
VIRTUAL:
Available in a fully redesigned virtual format, not a Zoom version of the in-person session
ADD-ONS
Can be paired with bulk copies of Rethink Work, post-session workshops, or a multi-session leadership program
HOW BIG THE
TALENT SHORTAGE
ACTUALLY IS
The numbers confirm what most leaders already feel. ManpowerGroup’s 2026 Talent Shortage Survey of 39,000 employers across 41 countries found that 72% report difficulty filling roles. And this is not a temporary, post-pandemic blip: the shortage has held above seven in ten employers for years, and the structural drivers behind it are not reversing. An aging workforce is exiting faster than new entrants can replace it, and skill requirements are evolving faster than training pipelines can keep up.
The candidate side has tightened too. ManpowerGroup’s 2026 Global Talent Barometer found that 64% of workers would rather stay with their current employer than risk a move, which means fewer passive candidates are entering the pool at all. The people you most want to hire are, increasingly, people who aren’t looking.
In that environment, being a good employer isn’t enough, and being a louder employer isn’t either. The organizations that win are the ones that give the right people a specific, memorable reason to choose them. That is what Snowflakes and Fingerprints is built to deliver.
WHY THE BEST PLACE TO WORK
ISN’T THE SAME FOR EVERYONE
Being recognized as a great place to work matters. It reflects real investment in people, and it belongs on the wall. But here’s what a decade of studying the world’s greatest workplaces reveals: the recognition alone doesn’t fill the pipeline, because “best” is not the same for everyone. Some people love licorice, cilantro, and pineapple on pizza, and some people can’t stand them. The same is true of workplaces. The pace, the structure, the mission, the way decisions get made: what feels energizing to one great candidate feels exhausting to another. No workplace, however excellent, is the right fit for everyone, and the ones that try to be end up describing themselves in words every other employer is also using.
That’s why the strongest employers, including many that top the best-places-to-work lists, don’t lead with the award. They lead with what earned it: the specific, distinctive experience of working there that the right person would choose over anywhere else. The award opens the door. The uniqueness is what makes the right candidate walk through it.
That is the reframe at the heart of Snowflakes and Fingerprints: turning “we’re a great place to work” into “we’re unmistakably the right place to work for you,” and telling that story so specifically that the people you actually want recognize themselves in it.
WHAT HAPPENS
IN THE ROOM
Snowflakes and Fingerprints is one of Eric’s most fun, interactive sessions, and it’s built for takeaways, not theory. Eric opens by challenging an assumption nearly everyone in the room walked in with: that a “best” place to work means the same thing to everyone. The research is present throughout, drawn from a decade studying the world’s greatest workplaces, and the examples are tailored to the industry and labor market the audience is actually hiring in.
The most common feedback after a Snowflakes and Fingerprints session is not “that was inspiring.” It is “I know exactly what makes us different now, and I know how to say it.” Attendees leave with a talent attraction framework they can keep refining as the world of work evolves, and most start using it before they’ve left the room.
Who Needs This Session Most
1
Industries facing a retirement wave with too few workers ready to replace it: trades, agriculture, manufacturing, insurance, healthcare, and beyond
2
Associations whose members are all fishing in the same shrinking talent pool
3
HR and talent acquisition leaders whose job postings attract volume but not fit
4
Organizations competing for talent against bigger names and bigger budgets
5
Franchise and multi-location businesses where every operator needs to win talent locally
WHAT THE ROOM SAYS AFTER
“It was a master class. As an Irish Newfoundlander, I know a master storyteller when I hear one. Eric’s ability to weave together several concepts, take the listener on a journey, and teach is truly a gift that many try but few master.”
ROBERT DORNAN, United Brotherhood of Carpenters
Trusted by leaders at
Watch Eric
SPEAK
“Stop trying to predict what the future of work looks like. Start building teams that can handle it — whatever it turns out to be. That is the only future-proofing that actually works.”
For Meeting Professionals
Frequently asked questions
What is the Snowflakes and Fingerprints keynote about?
Snowflakes and Fingerprints is a workplace culture and employer-brand keynote about discovering what makes an organization genuinely different.
Eric Termuende explains why organizations struggle to attract and retain talent when they use the same promises, values, and workplace language as everyone else. He helps leaders identify the distinctive experiences, behaviours, and characteristics that make their workplace unique.
The keynote shows organizations how to find their uniqueness, plant their flag, and tell a more credible story to current and prospective employees.
Who is Snowflakes and Fingerprints designed for?
Snowflakes and Fingerprints is designed for executives, HR leaders, talent-acquisition teams, culture leaders, people managers, employer-brand professionals, and organizations competing for talent.
It is especially relevant for audiences focused on recruitment, retention, employee experience, workplace culture, employer branding, or clarifying why someone should choose to work for their organization.
The keynote works well for HR conferences, leadership meetings, industry associations, employer-brand events, recruiting teams, and organizations refining their employee value proposition.
How can organizations stand out when competing for talent?
Organizations stand out by identifying and clearly communicating what is genuinely distinctive about the experience of working there.
Generic claims about having great people, strong values, flexibility, or a positive culture are rarely enough because competitors make the same claims. Eric helps organizations uncover the specific stories, rituals, behaviours, opportunities, and expectations that separate their workplace from others.
The objective is not to appeal to everyone. It is to create a clear and honest message that attracts people who are more likely to thrive in that environment.
What does workplace uniqueness mean?
Workplace uniqueness is the combination of experiences, expectations, relationships, behaviours, and cultural details that make one organization different from another.
It is not a slogan created by a marketing department. It is found in how decisions are made, how people work together, what gets celebrated, what employees experience every day, and what types of people are most likely to succeed.
Eric shows leaders how to recognize these distinguishing characteristics and turn them into a more authentic employer story.
How does Snowflakes and Fingerprints help with recruitment and retention?
The keynote helps organizations become more specific about who they are, what they offer, and who is likely to thrive there.
A clearer employer story can help candidates make better-informed decisions before joining. It can also help existing employees understand the culture they are part of and the experience the organization is trying to create.
By replacing generic promises with credible examples, organizations can improve alignment between employee expectations and the actual workplace experience, supporting stronger attraction, fit, and retention.
What framework does Eric share in Snowflakes and Fingerprints?
The keynote follows three central steps:
- Find your uniqueness: Identify the qualities and experiences that genuinely distinguish the organization.
- Plant your flag: Decide what the organization wants to be known for and communicate it clearly.
- Tell your story: Use specific, credible examples to show candidates and employees what the workplace is actually like.
The framework helps organizations build an employer brand based on reality rather than generic workplace claims.
Can Snowflakes and Fingerprints be tailored to our employer brand and talent challenges?
Yes. Eric customizes Snowflakes and Fingerprints around the organization’s industry, workforce, culture, and talent priorities.
The keynote can address specific challenges involving recruitment, retention, employee expectations, workplace differentiation, culture change, labour shortages, or employer-brand positioning. Eric may incorporate stakeholder insights, industry examples, and language relevant to the organization.
The result is a talent and workplace-culture keynote that reflects the realities of the audience rather than offering generic recruiting advice.