KSM Human Resources

The number of people working at Kirby-Smith has grown to more than 700 through the years and that number is only expected to increase. With all the advancements in technology and machines, people are still the company’s most valuable resource.

As human resources director, Angela Brewer is charged with overseeing all functional areas of the human resources department, which includes hiring practices, onboarding, employee benefits, policies, employee relations, recruiting, etc. at the giant machinery distributorship. In her seven years with Kirby-Smith, Brewer has witnessed a 100-percent growth in the number of employees.

Interestingly though, Brewer does not look at the massive size of her company as its greatest strength.

take great care of our employees,” Brewer said. “When I started, all our employee files were in folders. Every document we ever had on that employee was in that folder. We have now condensed the files [being compliant with employee retention laws] and all employee files are electronic,” she said.

“We also have our new hire onboarding that is electronic through our HRIS, as well as a Learning Management System for online training that all new hires go through as well monthly modules they are sent to complete.

“We are continuously looking at our processes, trying to improve and make them better," Brewer added.

Always looking at better ways for the company and its employees to communicate, Brewer said the company currently is working to implement a companywide communication program/app that she said will “improve internal communication at all levels of the company. It will be both faster and more accurate, giving employees choices in how they want to receive communication — desktop, app, TV screens for example.”

All of that adds up to Kirby-Smith being a great place to work, Brewer said.

“I’d say one of our biggest strengths is the fact that although we may have a lot of employees, we still have the family culture,” said Brewer. “We genuinely care about our employees and their families. It’s very exciting to work side by side with the leaders of this company that truly care about our company, our employees, and our future.”

Family atmosphere aside, there is a lot of work that goes into overseeing the HR department. It has been a busy seven years for Brewer.

“I’m very fortunate to also have a very solid HR team that together we

“Like any company, we do occasionally have a person leave for different opportunities or situations,” she said. “One thing that has surprised me through the years is the fact that a lot of them end up coming back to Kirby-Smith. That says a lot about the company and the culture we have here.”

Brewer said the company has numerous openings at any of its 13 branches and at its home office in Oklahoma City.

To learn more about available opportunities, visit https://www.kirbysmith.com/career/work-for-us 

(All photos courtesy of KSM.)