As noted in the May Community Presentation, the Permanent Fund has taken a collaborative approach to strengthening the Human Resources Department with the focus of creating stability within the Department to provide better Human Resources services to the Tribal Community and government employees.

The Tribal Council has retained a third-party, unbiased Native American advisory firm, Blue Stone Strategy Group, to assist in facilitating and providing support to this improvement process based on their subject matter expertise and experience working with over 140 Tribal Nations, successfully completing over 300 projects in Indian Country.  For more information on Blue Stone Strategy Group, please visit their website at bluestonestrategy.com.

This year long, implementation project is focused on:

• The recruitment of a qualified, strong, knowledgably HR Director to provide sound leadership to the Department.
• Strengthening the current Permanent Fund HR Department through training and skill development.
• Defining a formal communication strategy with a focus on creating consistency in flow of information, accountability, and a better understanding of existing government operations.
• Increased employment opportunities and support for Tribal Members though the application, hiring, and career path processes.
• Consistency in defined roles, responsibilities, policies and procedures.
• A shared vision and mission with a working culture of collaboration and communication amongst the Permanent Fund. increased cooperation between government departments.

Now in the fourth month of the project, Blue Stone has worked closely with the Permanent Fund to:

• Update the HR Director recruiting process.
• Initiate internal and external HR Director job advertisement/postings.
• Conduct initial interviews with potential candidates.
• Conduct background checks on initial list of potential candidates.
• Presentations to Assessment Participants and Tribal Members to provide updates on the project.
• Conduct multiple visioning sessions to gain feedback and participation from key stakeholders. a continual process.
• Build/strengthen the working relationship between government departments.
• Review the Permanent Fund HR Personnel Policies and begin making recommended changes.
• Begin establishing training and staff development function.
• The Tribal Membership will continue to be informed of project movement forward.