Sector Crossover: Support services that blur industry boundaries.

• Date: 01 August 2022
• Author: Pesznecker, Katie

Many companies excel at providing services that are easily defined by a single industry: a retailer, a financial institution, a transportation company. For others, it's not so straightforward. They may have started in one service area and expanded over time, or perhaps they identified a specific need that requires a range of experts to get the job done, ultimately creating a business model that defies industry classification.

Take, for example, Alaska Executive Search, which used to be all about, well, searching. When businesses needed help finding the right person to hire, they let the experts handle the task. Alaska Executive Search is gone now, and in its place is a firm with a broader mission and a bigger name.

People AK is the result of last year's merger of Alaska Executive Search and Bradison Management Group.

CEO Paula Bradison came out of the healthcare industry, leaving her career there after suffering from burnout and then turning toward consulting. "Really the motivator was to help individuals and organizations not only avoid burnout but promote a healthy and engaged workplace," she says.

Bradison Management Group focused on helping companies and their employees be more productive, successful, and satisfied. During the downtime provided by the COVID-19 pandemic, her company bought Alaska Executive Search, adding its reputation as a recruiter to her human resources toolbox.

People AK is a combined suite of services, from the recruitment of employees to their role within a company to how a company is designed and deploying business decisions and strategy to achieve the best results. On its website. People AK describes its expertise as, "The Art of People. The Science of Management." The company employs twelve people full-time and retains nearly eighty temp workers around the state.

"A lot of times, what prompts people to call us is someone at work is disgruntled, and we find there's a level of dysfunction in the work structure," Bradison says. "We alleviate that pressure by looking at workflows, helping to streamline those, and looking at that longer-term strategy that helps people flourish in their jobs."

Fundamental to People AK's consulting services is helping organizations figure out their employees' strengths and placing people in roles where they can be most effective. Recently, People AK brought strength-based training to construction superintendents and their teams. Bradison notes that construction companies are not her usual customer for this service.

"Not often...