In 2022 alone, 50.5 million Americans voluntarily left their jobs — the highest annual total ever recorded by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That tidal churn, dubbed the Great Resignation, washed across every sector from associations to healthcare to hospitality and exposed a deeper truth: Organizations keep hiring for credentials while employees keep leaving in search of cultures that reward aligned behaviors.
If that scene feels uncomfortably familiar, you are not alone. For many associations, retention — perhaps more than revenue — has become an existential threat. Yet the fix is hiding in plain sight: Hire for behaviors, not for skills.
Associations sit at a powerful crossroads: They convene diverse industries, shape professional standards and command outsized trust. By championing a behavior-first talent framework — publishing toolkits, hosting workshops, showcasing case studies — groups like ASAE can help their member organizations escape the skills arms race and build cultures people compete to join.
Please select this link to read the complete article from ASAE’s Center for Association Leadership.