Kankakee Valley REMC (KV REMC) is a growing team, with almost 60 employees working to provide power to member-consumers spread out across seven counties. One person responsible for managing that growth and keeping that team running smoothly is Alissa Tucker, human resources director for the cooperative.
Tucker joined the team almost two years ago during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time, KV REMC employed 46 people and was navigating the transition to an in-office/work-from-home hybrid workplace. She stepped up to the challenge, looking to meet the team’s hiring needs in a challenging environment.
“Working with a company this size is definitely an adjustment,” Tucker said. “Just last year, we were getting over COVID relief, so it was hard to even find people to hire on, but now we don’t have that issue – it’s just part of meeting the challenges that come with HR.”
Now, with COVID-19’s impact largely faded away, Tucker’s responsibilities remain wide-ranging, and any given day rarely looks the same.
“I could come in with a set schedule of what I want to get accomplished, but finishing that schedule doesn’t ever really happen,” she said. “Things always jump up that I end up having to do. A lot of it is handling documents for new hires, setting them up in our program, or finishing payroll. It’s just totally different every day.”
From new hires to KV REMC lifers, Tucker sees building a relationship with each team member as one of her most important jobs.
“I try to have a connection with almost everyone,” she said. “We’re still small enough that I’m able to do that. Being in constant communication, being a friendly face that people can come and talk to helps employees get comfortable in their relationship with HR.”
Before she was hired on to head HR, Tucker already had some connection to people working at KV REMC, which went a long way to establishing those connections and making her job feel even more rewarding.
“I get to have an impact on people every day,” she said. “As a bonus, I’ve actually known a lot of the people here since I was young because I grew up with them. Helping them get things in order and achieve goals that they might have for themselves is pretty rewarding, especially when I’ve known them for how long I’ve known them for.”
As a cooperative, KV REMC is built around the concept of valuing all member’s contributions – that extends from the member-consumers to the employees.
“I feel like our goal in HR is to make people feel proud that they work for KV REMC,” Tucker said. “They should feel like their work matters, that they're making a difference and that we’re acknowledging their accomplishments. We always say that we’re one big family here, and I just want people that feel that way every single day when they come into work.”
To learn more about Kankakee Valley REMC, visit www.kvremc.com.
