Wisconsin Humane Society's Alison Kleibor sets her goals – Milwaukee Business Journal – The Business Journals

Alison Kleibor said she had three main focus areas since becoming president and CEO of the Wisconsin Humane Society on Oct. 1.
Those areas are people and culture, collaboration and keeping pets with their people, she said.
With people and culture, it’s about ensuring the Wisconsin Humane Society employees have not only the resources but also training and experience needed to be successful. This comes from creating a positive work environment as well as continuing to hire and backfill some vacant positions.
Kleibor succeeded Anne Reed who retired at the end of September. Reed began with the organization in January 2010.
Kleibor most recently served as executive vice president of the Wisconsin Humane Society. She joined the organization in 2007, holding a variety of positions in client services, animal care, shelter operations and shelter management.
The Wisconsin Humane Society has conducted two wage increases within the last 14 months. Kleibor said a lot of that is driven by the need to remain competitive. The humane society also completed a compensation analysis, which Kleibor believes is the first in the organization’s history, in order to have transparent pay ranges available.
The average percentage of wage increases received by the society employees in fiscal 2022 was about 9%, she said.
The organization also recently completed its budget. The humane society’s fiscal year started on Oct. 1. The new budget saw increases across all sectors with the vast majority being in salary and benefits. There were also increases to programming expenses, which Kleibor said was a result of increased maintenance expenses.
“Inflation hits us in the same ways,” she said.
With collaboration as one of Kleibor’s main focal points, the Humane Society is looking to continue and expand on partnerships with other community organizations that serve both people and pets.
The organization also has a unique mission of finding ways to support people to keep their pets within their homes, another focal point. That includes expanding community-based services.
The society is looking at future goals of providing affordable and accessible veterinary care, though Kleibor said that is more of a long-range plan. A shortage of vets is a problem faced throughout the industry, Kleibor said. Unlike in the human health care sector where there are a wide range of medical professionals from doctors to mid-level practitioners, that is not the same within the veterinary industry.
“There just aren’t enough of them (veterinarians) to do the work, and there are a whole lot of pet owners right now, and the investment and the increased spending in the pet industry is huge,” Kleibor said.
One unique change that Kleibor quickly implemented illustrated her passion for the connection of animals and humans. She put a baby gate in her office, so she could bring in any cats or dogs that may need a break while they are waiting to find their adoptive or foster home. It’s definitely a perk of the job, Kleibor said, and both she and the animals benefit from it.
Jill Kline, the Wisconsin Humane Society’s vice president of culture and community impact, has been with the organization since 2006. Her role is to focus on the people side of the society’s work, supervising the human resource programs and community impact programs.
Since Kline and Kleibor started around the same time, Kline has seen Kleibor grow into a leader. Kleibor is very invested in both the animal and people side of the nonprofit organization, Kline said.
“I think she’s really balanced in that approach and pragmatic and really compassionate in her decision making,” Kline said.
Kline said the goal of the Wisconsin Humane Society under Kleibor’s leadership is managing the labor market changes. Not long before the Covid-19 pandemic, the society acquired animal shelters in Green Bay and Door County, drastically expanding the organization.
“It’s really focused on our people and how do we attract and retain the best talent. We have so many amazing people on our team, so how do we make this a place that they want to come to work every day and support the community?” Kline said.
Alison Kleibor
Join the Milwaukee Business Journal in celebrating all of the C-Suite Stars, HR winners and the Executive of the Year!
The Milwaukee Business Journal is looking for remarkable businesswomen in greater Milwaukee for our annual Women of Influence Awards. Please nominate and share their story with us.
© 2022 American City Business Journals. All rights reserved. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (updated January 1, 2021) and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement (updated July 1, 2022). The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of American City Business Journals.

source