Blue Stone Strategy Group returned to the Sky Ute Casino to meet with members of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe on Monday, Aug. 28. The purpose of the meeting was to update the membership on the progress of their assessment and answer any questions or concerns. Blue Stone is a third party advisory firm, in charge of assessing and implementing a strategy to improve the Southern Ute Indian Tribe’s Human Resources (HR) Department.

“We have worked exclusively in Indian Country for the past eleven years,” Blue Stone Strategy group CEO, Jaime Fullmer said. “The important message for today is the challenges we’ve noted in the HR department, one of those challenges is tribal members getting the opportunity for interviews and jobs.”

Changing the philosophy of how the Human Resources Department does business is critical, according to Blue Stone. Customer service, employee relations, compliance and career path options all play a part in this success. “There is a lot of responsibility in the HR Department. Human Resources is the hub of activity for training and development,” Fullmer said.

It was made clear by the strategy group, that there is a need for a better process, and a strong HR Director. Teamwork, empowerment and trust were all emphasized as being important aspects of a working organization.

“We were asked to come in and make an assessment, we’re listening to your concerns, and addressing them,” Blue Stone President John Mooers said. “The Tribal Council has made this a high priority.”

“You should have a candidate, if not an HR Director in place by the next time we meet,” Mooers said. “Our project was set to end in February of 2018. We are on, or ahead, of schedule.”