Writer

Amy Laboda

Sheryl Barden, president and CEO of San Francisco-based Aviation Personnel International (API), is proud to be celebrating 45 years of her company’s history at NBAA 2016. Barden, daughter of company founder Janice Barden, presented a leadership-focused panel in the Innovation Zone on the convention floor yesterday. 
“We [talked] about how a bad hire can truly undermine an organization. The cost is exponential, if you think about it,” Barden told AIN. The panelists discussed the “what’s in it for me” culture and what organizations can do to help them retain these employees.
“We recently put out a survey to managers in business aviation, and the results were intriguing,” said Barden. “We found that there are a few key things managers can do to enhance employee retention, including giving them a voice in the hiring process, developing employees professionally through internal and external certifications and courses, adjusting compensation, obtaining appropriate staffing during organizational surges and helping them with life balance,” she continued.
Barden also spoke to AIN about this year’s NBAA Career Day on November 3. “It was my mom, Janice Barden, who had the idea to start the career day at NBAA’s convention more than 20 years ago. She called Shell Oil to sponsor lunches for the students and convinced NBAA that having them come into the exhibit hall and putting on a panel for them would be good for the organization. She was a trailblazer, and she really loved this industry,” she said. “Today, NBAA funds the Janice K. Barden Scholarship, which has been enhanced this year with dozens of additional donor contributions in my mom’s memory, after her passing July 31.” NBAA Charities annually awards a minimum of $1,000 to each of five undergraduates studying aviation-related curricula at NBAA and University Aviation Association (UAA) member institutions.
As for Sheryl Barden, she’s happy to have her team surrounding her and providing support on numerous levels at this year’s NBAA show. An NBAA Associate Member Advisory Council (AMAC) member, she and her staff are on-hand to answer questions during the show at the NBAA Bistro (Booth 291). “It is great to see what NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen and his senior staff are doing—they are really listening to NBAA members and taking what they hear to Capitol Hill,” she said.