Melissa Ortiz, MBA

Talent Optimization Expert & CEO

For nearly two decades, Melissa has focused on improving employee retention by matching the right people to the right seats and measurably improving Employee Engagement. Her focus area is Talent Optimization and her “why” is Better Work, Better World.

As the Founder and CEO of Activate Human Capital Group, she has been instrumental in shaping the future of talent management. Recognized twice by HR Tech Outlook Magazine as a Top 10 Employee Engagement partner, her commitment to enhancing employee experiences is evident. Under Melissa’s leadership, Activate has introduced world-class hiring assessments, an executive alignment platform, team-building offerings, and tools that have revolutionized both employee and customer engagement. With a keen eye for data, she helps craft success roadmaps for clients, merging business insights with people data.

From her time with Gallup Consulting working in their San Francisco and Houston offices, Melissa saw clearly how critical fit-to-role and engagement were to the health of the business AND the individual employee. When those two elements are present, employees and financial metrics are healthy, robust... thriving.

The drive to help organizations harness the power of talent is Melissa’s core focus because of the meaningful impact her work makes on individuals and organizations, but also on their families and communities. The ripple-effect of talent development is far-reaching.

Melissa helps clients discover that Talent Development and Employee Engagement happen at every level – from defining culture to crafting individual roles; from discussing team-level engagement scorecards to debriefing organization-wide engagement hotspots; it’s all about understanding where you want to go. From there, it’s time to align your talent strategy with your business strategy to get you to where you want to be.

These metrics allow clients to quantify the level of psychological attachment that exists among employees and teams – and then proactively manage those relationships. These metrics matter because they are leading indicators. Unlike traditional fiscal measurements (P&L, Balance Sheet, and Statement of Cash Flows) which look in the rear-view mirror at where a company, division, or department has been, Melissa helps clients focus on forward-looking metrics that predict where they’re headed and course-correct as needed.

When Melissa isn’t working with her team or clients, you can find her on her 5th-generation family farm in Northern California, on mini-adventures with her husband Antonio and their two children, or investing her time in local youth programs such as the Colusa Cyclones Swim Team.

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