Cover Story

Artfully won

By Judy Emerson

ROCKFORD WOMAN

Feb 21, 2008 @ 12:01 AM

Color surrounds Darlene Furst, Rockford Woman’s first Woman of the Year, as she sits at the desk in her sunny office at FurstStaffing.

The brilliant yellow and orange shades of Karen Harding’s “Sunflowers” anchor the south wall. Furst’s gaze often settles on the mind-tickling lines and colors of an abstract by Julie Ekstam that hangs over her computer. A bold-hued abstract titled “Headscapes” by Arline Sadlon dominates the space over the conference table.

Besides family, art is Furst’s great love. She and husband Tom are avid collectors and particularly appreciate the “New York School,” the abstract expressionist movement of the 1950s that included Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning.

“We’ve been focusing on the colorful pieces,” Furst said of the couple’s collecting. That’s what gives Tom and me energy — the color.”

Furst has integrated art into her work life and shares it with her staff. Original art, mostly by local artists, shares space with fine art posters and prints in the hallways and offices of FurstStaffing, where Furst is president and chief executive officer. Some of the people who work for her become so attached to certain pieces that they move them from office to office as they get promoted.

“Work should be a pleasant atmosphere,” Furst said. Art and work are integrated in her life, as they tap the same intuitive skills for Furst.

People who work for her say she studies people the way she appreciates art.

Pressed to identify the critical skill she uses to hire the right people for particular jobs, Furst said, “I listen.”

“I have a sincere interest in people and like to see them succeed. I look for what their true interests are and their ability to succeed with their goals.”

On a January day, Furst sits at the conference table in her office studying the Sadlon.

“You let your imagination go wild, and it goes all different places,” she said. “People try to see something in it, and maybe you should just see the color and not try to make it something.

“Ideas can come from anywhere.”

From the time she was working from home while raising her two children to now, as head of a company with six locations and 53 employees, Furst has been successful combining intuition about people with common-sense hiring practices. The result is an uncommonly loyal set of current and former employees who list specific strategies Furst uses to back up her keen listening skills and bring out the best in people.

Liz Spangler, a former teacher in the Rockford School District, had been laid off from her job and was looking for a different career when she met Furst years ago.

“Darlene remembered meeting me at a party and knew about the pink slip,” said Spangler, who now lives in Salzburg, Austria. “She called to see if I’d have lunch with her — I had no idea she was thinking about talking to me about working for her.”

Furst guided Spangler as she obtained human resources training and certification to be an account manager.

“Darlene influenced my life by believing in me — believing that I had the skills and abilities to make a successful career change,” Spangler said.

Training manager Sue Murray came to the company 17 years ago from a staffing firm in Ohio. Furst hired Murray as operations manager for the temporary staffing part of the business. Over the years, Furst tapped Murray’s talents for different jobs, eventually making her the trainer for staff at the main office and the five branch offices.

“I think she appreciates my sense of humor, my class-clown side,” Murray said. “As a trainer, it’s necessary, and I think she gets a kick out of that.”

People who have worked for Furst say that after she hires and trains an employee, she gets out of the way.

“She is really hands-off,” Murray said. “She trusts her managers to do the right thing and come to her with questions. Everyone knows what’s expected of them, and there is no micromanaging.”

Colleen Turner, who worked for Furst from 2000-03 and moved from Rockford because of family commitments, said Furst is attuned to the balancing act employees face.

“Darlene recognizes that most women are juggling a career and a home life,” Turner said. “She manages with flexibility and compassion when employees have family issues that sometimes affect the work day.”

Furst said the modern workplace presents a more agreeable landscape for working women than it did when she and Tom started their business in 1971. Darlene handled the books from a home office so that she could take care of daughter Jennifer and son Jeff when they were young. Both now work in the family businesses.

Modern companies are more family-friendly, with flexible hours, job-sharing arrangements and part-time work. At her own company, Furst said, “We try to give people the time they need to accommodate children’s school schedules.”

When she hires for the office, Furst looks for people who are self-motivated and have a positive attitude.

“They know what the workload is and what they need to accomplish,” she said. “I’m not watching over them constantly.”

Husband Tom, president and CEO of FSG Associates, an executive search firm, said his wife of 43 years is “not afraid to let someone fly.”

Beyond that, he said, “She doesn’t give up on people. If she thinks the talent is there, she will work with them. A lot of people give up, but we are big fans of ‘good to great.’ She moves people around on the bus to get the right seat. If you get people in the right seat on the bus, you can go anywhere.”

Recently, Darlene and Tom have been downsizing from a large home to a smaller one. That required rehanging their art.

“One thing we’ve noticed in moving the art is how different it looks in a different setting.”

It’s the same in a workplace, she said. Sometimes, the person just isn’t in the right job.

“Sometimes, it’s a simple thing, like the hours or something else that creates tension,” Furst said. “It might be simple to change.”

Reach Judy Emerson at jemerson@rockfordwoman.com or 815-987-1336.

Darlene Furst said numerous women in the community and elsewhere have influenced her over the years. One was a caring elementary school teacher in Lanark, where Furst grew up. Teacher Esther Haugh challenged children to succeed. Later, Furst was inspired by the owner of a staffing company in Ohio, Sue Glaab, who listened well and gave sound advice.

Others who have inspired Furst:
Janet Colman

A longtime community volunteer and Rockford College trustee, who died in 2005.

“I didn’t know her well until her later years, and then I spent more time with her. She was a gracious, fun person who liked to be involved with young people. Her friends were of a wide age range. She did so many things until late in her life, such as driving to Chicago and traveling and having a good time.”

Pat Snead
Art gallery owner and art collector, who died in 2005.
“She brought an awareness to the community of the art world, all kinds of art, from traditional to contemporary. When she first started having art exhibits at her house, nobody else was doing that. She was influential because of the Liberman (Symbol) and the New York influence she brought here.”

Norma Whotton King
Owner of Ever Ready Pin & Manufacturing Inc.
“I only know her in a business sense. She has been responsible for the success of her company, and she has children in the company.”

Profile

   Age: 68
  City of residence: Loves Park
  Job title: Chief executive officer, FurstStaffing
  Family: Husband, Tom; son and daughter-in-law, Jeff and Carina Furst of Rockford and their three children, Thomas, 7, and 3-year-old twins Alexander and Isabel; daughter, Jennifer Furst of Chicago.
  Background and education: Grew up in Lanark and graduated from Lanark High School.
  Career: With husband Tom, started what has become FurstStaffing and FSG & Associates in 1971. She did accounting and bookkeeping at home while their children were young. In the 1980s, she took over the temporary staffing arm of their business and watched FurstStaffing expand from a couple of employees to 53 in the Rockford office and five branches.
  Last good book: “Water for Elephants” by Sara Gruen.
  Hobbies: Viewing and collecting art, traveling with The Patrons Group for the Rockford Art Museum, reading, and listening to classical music and show tunes.
  Accomplishments: In 2002, FurstStaffing was selected as one of the “Top 100 Companies” by Rockford Magazine. In 2005, the Rockford Chamber of Commerce named her Woman Business Owner of the year. In 2006 Tom and Darlene received Crusader Clinic’s “Spirit of Caring” award.
  Community commitments: Serves on the Dean’s Council of the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Rockford; MILL Foundation board of directors; and as secretary of the board at Wesley Willows. Past board service includes Community Foundation of Northern Illinois; Northern Illinois Hospice Association; Rockford Rotary Club; Rockford Symphony Orchestra Auxiliary; Rock Valley College Foundation; and women’s board of the Rockford Art Museum.

Other finalists:
Nellie Ciembronowicz, church volunteer and caretaker
Lillie M. Hamberlain, foster care advocate and classy lady
Dr. Angela Rodriguez, pediatrician and mother of three
Kathryn Zenoff, judge and advocate for the vulnerable

Other nominees:
Debra Adkins
Karla Clark
Diane Didier
Janyce Fadden
Kristine Schaefer-Frank
Carolyn Graham
Nancy Kalchbrenner
Becky Cook Kendall
Rebecca Kopf
Lynn Washburn-Livingston
Michele Massoth
Fran Morrissey
Linda Oshita
Rose Mary Sandahl
Deborah Sink
Kris Smith
Ruth Snyder
Sue Stephens
Jaimie Turner
Julia Scott-Valdez