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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (June 15, 2003)
Smoke Signals Sam Henny Is a One-stop Employment Dynamo For Tribal Members JUNE 15, 2003 i us J .'"- , Story and photos by Ron Karten In five years with the Spirit Mountain Casino's Human Resources Department, Tribal member Sanda (Sam) Henny has acquired a range of skills that all come in handy as she works to fit other Tribal members with casino jobs and then to help them move up the ladder. "It's been evolving since I've been here. I've pulled along (such skills as) Tribal training, employment development and mentoring is the last piece." Her title: Tribal Developmentor. Sounds like a new word, but it aptly describes the job. She is charged with receiving Tribal applicants, screening their skills and background, recom mending them to a position, following their moves throughout the business ("hopefully all promotions," she said) and providing training and assessments along the way. "What I really want people to know is that any Tribal member interested in gaining a position with the casino should contact me. "I set up a relationship with Tribal employees from the very get-go," she said. And then, she remains a source for them all through their ca reers at the casino. "Succession planning is our goal." "Sam's a very dedicated employee, very respon sive to the needs of the organization and bal ancing that with the needs of her customers," said Human Resources Director Camille Mercier. "She is very dedicated to looking at innovative ways to develop the Tribal member career de velopment program." Like many businesses, management positions at the casino require some specific technical skills, many which are attained only by working in the specialized area. As this year-old position de velops, Henny is putting in place the elements that allow Tribal mem bers to identify the di rection they would like their careers to go and then helping to prepare them to move in that direction. One of those elements will be an "exploration stage." Not yet available, this opportunity will enable employees to use unpaid time to check out what it's like to handle another position. Presently, Henny works with about 140 Spirit Mountain Casino Tribal member employees. Fifty of them are in lead or management posi tions, she said. She also works with 35-45 oth ers currently seeking employment. "Development meetings take a lot of time," said Henny. The effort is to balance an employee's ambitions with a manager's opinion about the employee's skills. "How do we achieve this together? "I have to deliver some dif ficult messages at times," she added. "The gap between where (employees) are and where they want to go can be extreme. I have to be careful not to. kill the dream but still get them touee reality." To successfully deliver that message, she focuses on showing "respect for their skills and their initiative. Being honest and enthusias tic for them to continue try ing. I sometimes provide ex amples through stories. Hopefully, they realize that I have their best interests at heart. I try to build a strong relationship." One of Henny's personal in terests is people's learning styles. She has a knack for seeing how skills from unre lated activities can work for jobs at the casino. She en courages Tribal members without much of a job history to apply anyway because skills learned volunteering at church, for ex ample, often translate to the job at hand. "A lot of candidates have the same experience that I have: transferable skills but no degree." Laurie Roe, Organization Development, Train ing and Employment Manager for the Human Resources Department named Henny's leader ship, her ability to design programs, her creativ ity and her sense about the importance of cul ture in all of her training as essential to the suc cess of the program. One reality check, however, is the requirement that all employees pass a backgrounder by the Indian Gaming Commission. "I have never turned anyone away for lack of skills," said Henny. Even before creation of this position, the Tribe has been successful at moving Tribal members up through the ranks. Henny's son, Tribal mem ber Adam Henny, started as a Player Services Representative and now is Marketing Director. Tribal member Camille Mercier started as a re ceptionist and now is Human Resources Direc tor. In late April, Henny was invited by the Na tional Native American Human Resources Pro fessionals to give presentations regarding the SMC Tribal Development program. She came away thinking that the program here is "on the cutting edge. It made me very proud of us all," she said. You Should See Her Baskets She weaves everyday after work for two-and-a-half hours "at the very least," she said. "It's very meditative, a stress re liever, except when I'm excited about finishing one up and then I've been known to stay up until two in the morning," said Tribal member Sam Henny, who is working on her 'Master Weaver' certification. It started with a twenty minute lesson six years ago from Master Weaver Joey Lavadour at a meet of the Northwest Basketweavers Convention in Yakima, Washington. Since then, she's had only one weekend workshop, but now is proficient enough that she has recently finished leading two workshops at the Mission Mill Museum, and in August, she will lead a weeklong workshop in weaving at the Sitka Art Institute in Lincoln City. "My students all use graph paper for laying out the whole project," she said. Unlike many weavers, Henny does not lay out or plan her baskets. She decides on the color selection and pattern "as I go." But she said that she is a "very patient teacher." Her style is "very high context," meaning that she allows the spirit of the baskets and the place and the students to determine the direc tion of student efforts. "I believe there is a spirit within the basket," she said. "It will do what it wants to do. From these baskets comes this belief or song." That's why the Sitka Art Institute workshop is called, "Songs of the Basket." Coming soon: although it is not yet planned, Henny is intend ing a show of the baskets made by her students. I v. '-. " L tit -"V"" 1:1 1 V ' V
