MANAGEMENT GOALS MEET
GROCERIES
Find your fit at this retailer
HARPS FOOD STORES
can help you recognize your potential.
The Springdale-based grocer has more than 90 stores in Arkansas,
Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri. Careers at Harps go far beyond
being a cashier. From management to marketing, and even special
skills like cake decorating and meat cutting, the company helps
people find their fit and build a career.
Amber Parker is a store manager, but she first started at Harps more
than 16 years ago as a cashier when
she was still in high school. “I always
knew I could accomplish more,” she
says. “I listened and learned from other
managers.”
Parker says the company’s culture is
a big part of what made her want
to create a career at Harps. “I love
working with people,” she says. “This
company does a really good job of
seeing the potential in people and
giving you the training you need to
grow.”
The best part of her job now is helping
others grow. People with the right
attitude and initiative can move up
quickly. “I hired one team member who
was just 17 years old as a cashier. I
immediately saw her potential and within a month she moved up to
customer service manager,” Parker says.
“I want to make sure I hire the right people,” she explains. “I look at
your personality and do two or three interviews so I can see you in
different settings,” Parker says. “I want to know if you’re outgoing,
dependable and a hard worker. For example, if someone tells me
they just like to hang around and play video games in their spare
time, they may not be very motivated. If you’re involved in sports, it
shows you’re not afraid to work.”
Ricardo Diaz is another team member building a career at Harps.
The grocery team leader started working as a cashier and stocker
when he was 16 to help out his family. He says he’s not as outgoing
as some of his coworkers, but that didn’t stop him.
“I’m more introverted, but everyone made me feel very welcome,”
Diaz says. “They taught me new things, and I really felt like I was
helped. I watched and noticed everyone worked hard, and I
learned a lot from them.”
Diaz says there’s always something new to learn at Harps. “There’s
not a day that’s the same at this company, and I like that. I want to
learn and keep advancing. There are so many options and different
positions at Harps.”
Kaycee Burley also kept learning new skills
to grow her career. She’s a store manager
in Rogers who also started as a cashier.
“Within six months, I moved up to closing
manager,” Burley says. “After that, I moved
up to the cash office, the grocery manager
and now store manager. They saw
potential in me and allowed me to grow.”
Burley says learning new things keeps
her job interesting. “I’d worked at a lot of
different jobs from manufacturing to even
a vet clinic, and when I couldn’t keep
learning and moving up, I got bored,”
she explains. “That doesn’t happen here.
Right now, we’re talking about new ways
to use technology in our stores to give our
customers more options.”
“This company has been a huge blessing with its focus on promoting
from within. If you have a desire to learn, they will help you build a
career,” Burley says.
The company has a management training program for employees
who want to become a department or store manager. The program
is open to employees at all levels.
Harps is employee-owned giving you a chance to invest in your
own success. If you are 21 or older, and have worked at least
1,000 hours a year, you can own stock in the company. Associates
become 100 percent vested after they’ve been with Harps for seven
years. Team members also receive benefits including paid holidays,
vacation time, health insurance and a retirement plan. To start
recognizing your potential, use your phone to scan the code or visit
http://harpscareers.com.
FAYETTEVILLE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
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