Primary Health Business Series: Recruiting and retaining great staff: leadership and team management essentials

• Recruiting and retaining staff
• Leadership and communication skills
• Creating a positive workplace culture

Facilitator: Kelli McDougall (Agri Talent and Global People Solutions)

Kelli McDougall is a highly experienced talent and workforce strategist with more than 20 years’ experience helping organisations address one of their greatest commercial challenges — people.

As Managing Director of Agri Talent and Global People Solutions, Kelli partners with business owners, executives and leadership teams to develop and deliver high-performing workforce strategies that support sustainable growth and commercial success. Her expertise spans executive search, strategic recruitment, succession planning, organisational design and talent retention, with a strong focus on productivity, business performance and long-term value.

Having established, built and scaled her own HR and recruitment businesses over more than 15 years, Kelli brings a unique combination of commercial acumen, entrepreneurial thinking and deep expertise in people strategy. She understands firsthand the pressures facing business leaders, from managing costs and navigating growth to building leadership capability, attracting critical talent and creating resilient organisations.

Kelli has led executive and senior leadership searches across complex business environments and is recognised for her consultative, commercially grounded approach. She challenges traditional recruitment thinking, encouraging organisations to move beyond reactive hiring towards proactive workforce planning, leadership development and sustainable talent strategies.

Known for her direct, practical and relationship-driven style, Kelli operates as a trusted adviser to business leaders, helping them align their people decisions with broader commercial objectives. She believes that attracting the right talent is only part of the equation — creating the structure, leadership and culture for people to perform and businesses to thrive is where real value is delivered.

Her core belief: Great businesses don't happen by chance. They are built through deliberate decisions about people, leadership and performance.