In It For Everyone

The WTIA transformed itself into a powerhouse advocacy and networking organization for the region’s technology companies.

By Myke Folger | July 2010 | FROM THE PRINT EDITION

Photograph by Hayley Young

A close-knit group: the entire staff of the Washington Technology Industry Association. Seated, left to right: Jamie Broe, Cara Stagg, Jessica Cookson, Joanne Zarkades. Standing, left to right: David Kosciuk, Lewis McMurran, Katie Douglas, Sherry Zins, CEO Susan Sigl, Drew Erickson, Summer McGrady. Not shown: former CEO Ken Myer.

By its very nature, a nonprofit’s reason for being is to look out for someone else. It’s not a place you go to get rich or sell the most widgets. It is a place to go to provide help. And more often than not, the resulting culture is a harmonious one.

More than anything else that he set out to accomplish in his three years as CEO of the Washington Technology Industry Association, Ken Myer wanted to bring inclusiveness to WTIA itself and to the more than 1,100 technology sector companies it supports.

That means being sure WTIA makes all employees (except those on commission) eligible for a full-year bonus based on their contributions to the overall success of the organization. It also means making sure all employees go through a career development discussion session with their manager as part of their performance plan. Also, costs for books, association membership and most of the expense of profession-enhancing courses are covered by WTIA. The organization offers a lot of employee autonomy, which is warmly received, too.

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“I very much enjoy working at the WTIA,” one employee writes. “The management empowers us to own our piece of the overall business, and we are trusted with the budget and decision-making authority to run after our goals as we see fit.”

Along with that coveted autonomy, says Myer, the WTIA is an organization that “runs best when people are forthright and candid with their ideas and concerns.” He says that on top of weekly staff meetings and one-on-ones, WTIA encourages every employee to speak candidly about needed improvements to the organization—even when it comes to challenges with peers or managers.

That kind of inclusiveness branched out to member companies, too. For too long, Myer felt the WTIA, which was formerly known as the Washington Software Alliance, represented only software makers, when the state was bubbling with technology companies of all kinds. So for the past three years, Myer, who stepped down in April to re-enter the tech industry, worked to transition WTIA to be more relevant to non-software technology firms, to build membership and to respond to specific business needs. Large companies, he said at the time, might be more interested in getting help lobbying for sweeping changes to state legislation, while smaller companies see the WTIA as a networking tool, a way to sell products to other members.

“In our organization, we give larger companies closer, more intimate service, and smaller companies, we seek to serve in a more efficient way,” he says.

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