Nontraditional Experience

Rhythmic Consistency

Celebrating one hundred years as a company this year, Ace Hardware has thirty-one stores in Alaska, with more to come. Each store is independently owned by locals as employees, managers, and owners.

Unlike many larger companies that offer virtual job interviews, Ace Hardware prefers a face-to-face meeting. “All of our retailers and owners have face-to-face interviews with potential employees,” says Ian Momany, Alaska district manager. “That personal conversation makes a big difference when an applicant doesn’t have traditional experience or education.”

Ace Hardware focuses on the applicant’s level of interest in working for the company. “A lot of Alaskans don’t have previous store experience, so we look for stories from people about their personal experiences,” explains Momany. “One example was a young man who said he chopped wood every day with his father and grandfather and had to carry the wood back and forth each day. That rhythmic consistency transfers well to the duties in our hardware stores. Employees need to show up ready to work each day to meet the needs of our customers.”

When a community experiences a major snowstorm or another natural disaster, Ace Hardware becomes the hub for residents to get the supplies they need to clean up after the storm. “Our employees are all the same: they are dedicated to serve, happy to be there, and many are focused on giving back to their communities,” shares Momany.

Ace Hardware also rewards the work of its employees through promotions. “We saw one young man’s experience going door to door shoveling snow for his community to earn money as a reflection of his dedication,” says Momany. “He became a great worker and eventually became a store manager.”

Fulfilling Impact

Founded in 1968, Hope Community Resources is a nonprofit disabilities service provider for people of all ages with intellectual or developmental disabilities, traumatic brain injuries, or mental health challenges. Founder Nancy Stuart Johnson moved to Alaska from Florida with her husband in 1967, having worked with children with developmental disabilities as a volunteer. Today’s applicants can leverage their own volunteer experience to secure paid employment at Hope.

“When hiring new employees, one thing I always look for is transferrable skills,” says Caitlyn Scott, director of human resources. “Some examples include someone who has coached baseball or softball or someone who taught kindergarten previously. That type of experience transfers well to our company, as we are here to teach and coach the people who choose our services.”

Scott also considers applicants who have family members with a disability. “Their personal experience with someone with a disability makes them a great candidate for a position with us,” she says.

As a nonprofit organization, hiring is always challenging. “We are subject to budget constraints and have to rely on state and federal government funding, which makes it difficult for us to be competitive with a for-profit organization,” explains Scott. “When the pandemic hit, we experienced unprecedented hiring challenges. We saw a dramatic decrease in our workforce and had to pivot dramatically in terms of how we could recruit employees to fill critical needs.”

Creativity led to new practices to help fill those critical needs. “We would post on social media, where we focused on attracting the type of people that would be interested in our work,” says Scott. “With record employment shortages everywhere post-COVID, we had to explore how to upskill or reskill a workforce. Many folks came in from medical clinics, exhausted and burned out, so we worked at reskilling them to work as direct support professionals, which is not as stressful but equally important and equally fulfilling, as it makes an impact within our communities.”

Hope developed partnerships with high schools and career counselors to develop a pipeline of individuals interested in entry-level positions like a certified nursing assistant. The company also has a direct partnership with the Alaska Primary Care Association. “We do mock interviews with students who are going through a program, and that can lead to an offer of employment if they are interested in working with Hope,” says Scott.

Some positions require formal training, such as an assisted living home supervisor. For those positions, Hope looks at internal promotions. “We cannot let any opportunity go for succession planning. If we have supervisor or director roles to fill, we consider current employees who are interested and provide them with a formalized development program,” shares Scott. “Internal employees might not have the qualifications on paper, but we know their work ethic and their work history, so we want to give them opportunities for development.”

Strong Foundation from the Start

Southcentral Foundation (SCF) is one of the largest of Cook Inlet Region, Inc.’s affiliated nonprofits. Its healthcare network encompasses more than eighty programs, employing more than 2,700 people. Filling that massive personnel roster is a never-ending task.

“SCF has created a systematic process with a strong foundation to ensure that our recruitment and sustainability processes are aligned,” says Karen McIntire, vice president of workforce. “To build a strong foundation, we have written the job requirements to allow for some flexibility to hire someone without a formal education for a job. This allows us to work with people within our communities and to continually develop our employees’ potential.”

As a team-based, story-based, community-based organization, SCF focuses on those practices in the selection, onboarding, and internship training processes. “By providing a strong foundation from the start, someone can start in an entry-level position in administrative support, and through on-the-job training that individual can develop the skills and competencies necessary for promotion without going through another recruitment process,” explains McIntire.

SCF also considers applicants seeking a career change. “Let’s say we have someone living in rural Alaska who has worked as a fishing boat captain and managed a business for years, including payroll, ordering supplies, and other business management activities. That experience could transfer to a position as a supervisor or manager,” says McIntire. “This also applies to moms who have managed the family budget and taken care of kids for years. Those are not lost years, and the life skills they have learned can help them when they are ready to join the workforce.”

Additional programs help community members develop skills to thrive. Targeting young people ages 14 through 19, the SCF Raise program was established to introduce Alaska Native and American Indian interns to administrative and healthcare careers, provide worksite experiences, and support educational goals to become the next generation of leaders.

For positions that require a formal degree or certification, SCF offers various scholarship opportunities for Alaska Natives and American Indians interested in studies of behavioral health and paraprofessional training. “We work to create pathways for advancement,” McIntire concludes.