Confidence Café brings hands-on workplace practice to Kodiak
Participants across career stages practiced customer service, communication and real-world workplace skills together at Bean & Bloom.
The no-cost pilot served 12 community members, four of whom were business owners or managers, during a single session from noon to 4:00 p.m. Participants across this range of experience valued the chance to sharpen how they communicate with customers and coworkers and to try new approaches to common workplace situations.
From the opening activity to the final reflections, participants spent the afternoon talking, listening, testing new approaches and encouraging one another. The small-group format gave them room to work through everyday situations and receive immediate feedback from peers and facilitators.
Learning by doing
Facilitators kept the instruction brief, then moved the group into discussion and hands-on activities. Participants explored how voice, tone and body language shape an interaction. They developed personal introductions using a past, present and future format, practiced the Four Cs of workplace communication (calm, clear, concise and core), and worked through customer-service problems, conflict resolution and practice interviews.
Participants put each lesson to use right away. They tested new language, compared approaches, worked in pairs and small groups, and encouraged each other through the practiceThe exercises reflected situations employees and business owners encounter every day. Customer-service practice focused on responding with clarity and respect. Speaking exercises and personal introductions gave participants time to work through questions, options and concerns with more ease.
Participants also learned a three-step approach: acknowledge the request, confirm what the person needs and explain the next step. Prioritization exercises gave them practice staying calm, reducing errors and keeping people informed when several needs competed for attention. These skills help local workers succeed, help businesses serve people well, and give residents and visitors more welcoming and dependable experiences throughout Kodiak.
“The first Confidence Café was a great success, and every comment we received was positive. The room stayed active from start to finish. Participants discussed ideas, tried new language, worked through realistic situations and encouraged one another along the way.”
Bean & Bloom served as the host and event business sponsor. Its welcoming coffeehouse setting gave participants room to take part in conversation, small-group activities and a shared lunch in an environment connected to everyday community life. During lunch, business owners and managers talked with participants and offered encouragement.
"Customer service is central to our business at Bean & Bloom, and I saw how useful Confidence Café was for participants," said Leanna Harrington, owner of Bean & Bloom. "Kodiak has talented people who sometimes need practice and support in a few areas to become even stronger employees. I valued the chance to talk with and encourage participants during lunch, and I hope other local businesses will take advantage of opportunities like this. When customers have a good experience, they come back, and that matters to every business."
What comes next
KEDC treated the first workshop as a test of the format. The team listened closely to participants and noted what worked so future sessions can improve. Participant feedback will help KEDC decide how future workshops can best support workplace readiness, customer service and broader local workforce development.
KEDC wants future sessions to respond to the needs of workers, job seekers, students, employers and community organizations. Future sessions will continue emphasizing communication, problem solving, customer service and opportunities to connect with one another.
"Employers and employees who would like to learn more are encouraged to reach out to KEDC," Schoenwether said. "We want to work with local businesses to understand where their teams would benefit from additional support and develop meaningful follow-up and future trainings focused on those needs."
A partnership built through community work
Over the course of a 3 year grant, KEDC and RCAC worked together focused on engaging the community. The work included holding four full-day Recharge Our Community’s Economy (ROCE) workshops and a shorter Mini-ROCE follow-up. The sessions brought residents, business owners, public partners and community organizations together to identify local priorities and turn ideas into practical work.
The ROCE workshops led to community Value Chains: working groups organized around housing, business support, walkability, childcare and seafood market development. KEDC and RCAC have continued helping these groups organize and move practical ideas forward, while also working together on housing-focused planning and development support.
The workshop grew from needs KEDC had heard from business owners and managers, as well as from people preparing to enter the workforce. KEDC began planning a small pilot it could test and shape into a reusable workshop format. RCAC welcomed the idea and the chance to develop and deliver one final project together during the grant period.
Support from Rural Community Assistance Corporation allowed KEDC to offer the event at no cost to participants. Pele Warnock of RCAC co-led the training with Melissa Schoenwether of KEDC.
"Confidence comes from the courage one develops in response to challenges. Participants who attended our Confidence Café worked hard to access their courage, admit their strengths and face their nerves," said Pele Warnock, Community Economic Development Consultant I with RCAC. "The result was a more confident group of people, eager to support their island community."
Thank you to every participant who showed up ready to practice and encourage others; to Pele Warnock and RCAC for helping develop and deliver the training; and to Bean & Bloom for making the pilot possible as our host and business sponsor.
