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