Q: What steps are you taking to recruit and retain talented staff in today's labor market?

Our industry has many entry-level positions and retaining staff has always been difficult. For more than 10 years, we have paid a finder's fee to staff who recruit new employees. The fee is approximately equal to one week's pay. About half of all positions we fill are referrals from current staff. Staff members take their recruiting seriously--after all, they want us to hire someone who will pull his or her own weight. I tell staff that we want to reward them for spreading the word about how great the organization is to work for, and we'd rather give them funds reserved for recruitment than spend it on a newspaper advertisement.

Jon F. Doidge, CAE Executive Director, ARC of Greenwich, Connecticut 

We try to make sure that we hire the right person in the first place. Hiring is something worth taking the time to do right. Then we try to foster a culture that makes people want to stay. We have progressive employee benefits and a fun, participatory work environment.

Eve Becker-Doyle, CAE Executive Director, National Athletic Trainers Association, Dallas

Fortunately, I have retained the same three staff team members for the past two years. I attribute this to a flexible work environment. I focus on achievement of quality products versus the amount of time spent at the job. If work can be done at home, I am amenable to that as well. This allows staff to have a fulfilling job and a quality life beyond work. In addition, we offer generous compensated time off from work including vacation, sick, and personal days as well as paid holidays.

Even though there is limited growth potential in the small-staff association, I support professional development courses, meetings, and memberships. I try to stay tuned into what is important to my staff so that they remain committed to the job and it continues to be a source of fulfillment.

Dale Singer Executive Director, Renal Physicians Association, Rockville, Maryland 

Two of our last three hires came from temporary employment agency referrals, working for us as temps during a probationary period. Hiring temp employees for administrative jobs gives me a good opportunity to find out if the employee will mesh into our culture, and eliminates the hassle of advertising, interviewing, and investigating. The third employee was a referral from a member who knew that we were looking for a staff director.

Retaining talented people is the same in any employment market. I treat employees as I would want to be treated. I keep the rules to a minimum, clearly identify goals, and expect staff to act independently and professionally. Our salary levels are average, but we have bonus programs that are tied to performance. Bonuses can equal more than 30 percent of an employee's base salary, which makes our staff income competitive in the marketplace. We also allow flexible hours, encourage everyone to enroll in continuing education programs, and offer good benefits.

Mark P. Wylie Executive Director, Associated Builders and Contractors. Inc., Central Florida Chapter, Winter Park

I create a work environment that rewards professionalism but that is also collaborative, friendly, and flexible. The rules that I do have are related to service standards, not personal behavior. For example, we have a casual dress office with no formally stated rules. Young people in particular place a high value on this benefit, and it costs the association nothing.

As far as recruiting goes, I do post openings on Web sites, but most responses, even through association-specific sites, fall wide of the mark. I get much better results using carefully selected employment services. They are expensive, but I have come to believe that that's where good candidates tend to go when they're looking. Plus, when a counselor whom I trust has done the screening, testing, and reference checking, that I means I've been able to focus on other priorities.

Gary Krysler Executive Vice President, Women's Council of Realtors, Chicago

Q: How do you get buy-in from board members that it's necessary to downsize the board, and then do it?

If such a measure can be presented as a remedy to a political, institutional, or financial crisis, then there is hope that an enlightened board will respond with such a drastic action because it presumably preserves and protects the organization. Even if the context or reason for the action is less dramatic, it is imperative that the move be justified in terms of what is needed to ensure the association's future financial solvency and institutional viability.

This situation presents a challenge because it involves coaxing people to give up power and prestige. In a voluntary organization, recognition is the reward for the volunteer's time. Consequently, you are asking someone to surrender the prize that motivated him or her to become involved in the first place. A leader must be persuaded that his or her actions have helped to save the organization. When that person relinquishes the leadership position, he or she will then be able to retain prestige.

Nelson E. Fabian Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, National Environmental Health Association, Denver

Point out reality diplomatically. Our association had a 40-person board of directors from 1978 to 1993. When the association undertook its first formalized strategic planning in the early 1990s, I pointed out to the planning group that in nearly every instance, the real power in those years was exercised by the eight-person executive committee. We then analyzed what the board had been doing during those years. The 40-person board of directors became the 40-person board of governors with the same responsibilities, and the 8-person executive committee became the 9-person board of directors. Now everyone knows that when the bylaws state that the board of directors has all of the power in the association, it is a statement that matches reality.

J. Michael Keeling, CAE President, The ESOP Association, Washington, D.C.