Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
Activities
Accomplishments
Websites
Timeline
Generic

Ashley Vester

Fairfield

Summary

Dynamic People and Culture leader with a proven track record with IKEA and Starbucks, driving strategic initiatives that significantly enhanced employee engagement and compliance. Expertise in program development and data analysis led to the successful implementation of a Leadership Strategy, resulting in a improvement in both culture and revenue. Developed two globally accepted best practices for the IKEA Franchise, demonstrating a commitment to service excellence and collaborative team leadership.

Overview

7
7
years of professional experience

Work History

Generalist

IKEA
West Chester
05.2023 - Current
  • Empathetic and influential support partner to the People Business.
  • Supports UPCM with developing core competencies in the IKEA Business Standards.
  • Developed and executed a development program for IKEA Ambassadors, that is now a global best practice on Vetlanda.
  • Developed a new process and strategy to Ishare, hosted roundtables for every function, resulting in both Logistics and Operations team increasing +13% in numerous themes and the store holding the highest Leadership and Engagement scores in the East region.
  • Developed an Onboarding strategy increasing NSAT to 84 and trained all hiring managers and buddies in the strategy.

Interim Unit People and Culture Manager

IKEA
Columbus
07.2024 - 10.2024
  • Driven and Engaged owner of the People Business from day one.
  • Passionately drove the development processes and strategies to promote the culture and values within.
  • Identified compliance gaps with people planning processes and rolled out training workshops to close the gap.
  • Resulting in an overall reduction 30 hours per week in call outs as well as recovered $70,000 per week in revenue.
  • Developed a Leadership and Development Strategy that encompassed a roadmap to leadership competence and trainings schedule for fiscal year 2025.
  • Created, communicated, and developed 9 actions to support the People Plan priorities.
  • Created structure and accountability to all people kpi’s through governance structures, data analysis, and auditing.

Customer Experience Manager

IKEA
Fishers
10.2021 - 05.2023
  • Led Customer Experience Department with passion.
  • Overseeing customer service and loyalty (marketing) in day-to-day operation and strategic planning.
  • Managing a team to connect with the community and better the customer experience for the customers.
  • Leading globally in results around click and collect services while supporting a top nationwide customer service score.
  • Empowering leaders to develop self, others, and the business while balancing strategy with operations.
  • Leaning into creativity to unleash entrepreneur spirits while leading in compliance.
  • Utilize customer insights and feedback to improve performance while partnering with peers to improve the business holistically.

District Manager

Starbucks
10.2018 - 09.2021
  • Successfully contributed to Starbucks success by leading a team of 12 -17 store managers within a $15M portfolio to achieve business results while creating and maintaining the Starbucks Experience for our customers and partners.
  • Effectively managed the portfolio to achieve the best controllable contribution at 55% in the state of Indiana.
  • Empathetically lead and developed 10-13 stores with an average of 25 employees per location, maintaining portfolio turnover rates of less than 60% across a 3-year average.
  • Focused time on staffing, coaching, developing, and managing the performance of store managers, understanding local customer needs, ensuring district-wide customer satisfaction and product quality, analyzing key business indicators and trends, managing the district's financial performance, and managing safety and security within the district.

Education

Psychology -

Ball State University
01.2012

Skills

  • Communication
  • Collaborative team leadership
  • Project development and management
  • Solution-oriented strategy
  • Data Analysis and Planning
  • Service excellence
  • Strategic planning
  • Compliance management
  • Employee training
  • Program development
  • Change management
  • Business planning
  • Integrity and honesty

Activities

  • Certified Indiana Master Naturalist, 2022
  • Group Leader for Central Indiana Wilderness Club
  • Owner and Baker for Doughwork by AV
  • Active outdoorsman focused on camping, hiking, and kayaking
  • Mother of two boys

Accomplishments

  • 2x Vetlanda Global Best Practice creator
  • Leader of the Year

Websites

Timeline

Interim Unit People and Culture Manager

IKEA
07.2024 - 10.2024

Generalist

IKEA
05.2023 - Current

Customer Experience Manager

IKEA
10.2021 - 05.2023

District Manager

Starbucks
10.2018 - 09.2021

Psychology -

Ball State University

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