"During chaos there are always opportunities."
Lisa Guadalupe Clarke Tweet
Lisa Guadalupe Clarke is the Founder and CEO of ATL Search Group, a Women, DBE, and Minority certified staffing company focused on diversity, equity and inclusion. Lisa was born on Long Island, NY and raised in Jucuapa, El Salvador during the civil war. She is a daughter of a single Mom who was an immigrant of El Salvador. Lisa has over 28 years of experience in Staffing and Human Resources. Lisa was named as one of the 50 Most influential Latinos in Georgia. She is a graduate of Leadership Atlanta Class of 2022 & Leadership Georgia Class of 2019.
She is also a Hispanic Leader not only in Georgia, but in the Southeast Region of the US. She served in Several Latino Boards including ALPFA, the largest Latino Association for Latinos Professionals in America as President for the Atlanta Chapter. Her passion is to help the underserved communities, not only by providing better jobs opportunities through her company, but opportunities for women entrepreneurs.
Lisa is a past Board Member for the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Lisa served as an Advisory Board Member for the Goizueta Foundation, Inc. and currently the Gwinnett County Public Schools Advisory Board Member for the Hispanic Mentoring Program. In addition, Lisa has participated In various panels in English and Spanish and Television.
She received the Diversity Award from Women of Golf Means Business, a mentioned Honoree for the Latina Style Magazine Top 50 Award Ceremony & Diversity Leaders Conference in Washington D.C. Lisa also received the Servant Leadership award from ALPFA National at their National Convention in Vegas; Business Women of the Year, and Latino Business of the year and One of the 50 Most Influential Latinos in Georgia by the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Distinguished Service Award from the National Minority Trucking Association. Lisa was a Co-founder & Chair for EME de Mujer, where she created opportunities for Empowerment, Mentoring & Education for Latinas through. Lisa has received various awards for her work in the community.
Most Recent she was named, Small Hispanic Business of the Year and Hispanic Business women of the Year by the Georgia Hispanic Construction Association. Also by Zona VIP Magazine as Latinas Influyentes en Georgia 2022. Her company was recognized as Best Employment Agencies in Gwinnett County.
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Table of Contents
We are thrilled to have you join us today, welcome to ValiantCEO Magazine’s exclusive interview! Let’s start off with a little introduction. Tell our readers a bit about yourself and your company.
Lisa Guadalupe Clarke: My Name is Lisa Guadalupe Clarke. I was born in Long Island, New York, to a single immigrant mother from El Salvador. We return home to El Salvador, only to come back to New York escaping from the civil war. I am married and the mother to 3 wonderful daughters.
I am the Founder & CEO of ATL Search Group, a Women, DBE, and Minority certified staffing company focused on diversity, Equity and inclusion. We help the underserve communities with jobs in Executive, Office and Light Industrial Roles. Direct Hires, Temp to hires and project opportunities. We partner with companies that are seeking to diversify the workforce.
2020 and 2021 threw a lot of curve balls into business on a global scale. Based on the experience gleaned in the past couple years, how can businesses thrive in 2022? What lessons have you learned?
Lisa Guadalupe Clarke: Thinking outside the box was definitely how we were able to survive and navigate during covid. As a staffing company, no one was really hiring at the beginning of covid. I took that time with my staff to offer free resume reviews and interview tips to applicants. I was part of various panels and live stream events speaking about what was going on with employment in Georgia and across the US. We were also checking in with all our clients and offering advice as we all navigated what was an unknown time for all of us. We participated on virtual recruiting job fairs to meet new applicants. We also focus our efforts in educating ourselves to better serve our business community and partners. I was able to find a bank outside Georgia that approved my PPP loan after many attempts and getting nowhere. Because of this, I was able to share this information with my Small Business Administration Coach and she shared that she was able to help other 20 small business that were having the same problem. It was not that we didn’t qualify to get the loans, it was the fact that we were too small for banks to care about us.
I learned so many lessons. One was to focus on the opportunity, not just the problem. Quick thinking was a must during this time and looking for help outside Georgia.
The pandemic seems to keep on disrupting the economy, what should businesses focus on in 2022? What advice would you share?
Lisa Guadalupe Clarke: During chaos, there are always opportunities. You must ask yourself, how can I be a resource for the community where you live and the business that your company serves. I stepped back to evaluate the situation and saw how I could help my community to strive and survive. During the recovery time I partnered with my clients to evaluate the pay scale and job opportunities. You need to adjust your business to attract the qualified candidates to your business.
As a CEO, I can share that you cannot do business as usual, you need to scale your services. I became part of the solution that was much needed to attract a pool of qualify candidates, not only in Georgia, but in other states.
How has the pandemic changed your industry and how have you adapted?
Lisa Guadalupe Clarke: It completely changes it to be an employee’s world, not employers. There is a shortage of employees. Employers need to review salaries and benefits in order to obtain and retain employees. In addition, lots of work roles can be done from home and employees are seeking better quality of life and some employers have adapted to the employee’s world. I have become an advocate for employees to receive a better wage, since the cost of living has increased and because of it, we have better employees to offer our employers.
What advice do you wish you received when the pandemic started and what do you intend on improving in 2022?
Lisa Guadalupe Clarke: No one could had predicted anything. One thing I wish someone had given me advice on, would have been to have a better relationship with a small bank to helped me with the PPP loan. I also was lucky that I listened to my business advisor and opened a line of credit even when I did not need one. Keep working on your business recovery and find new territories to expand your pipeline. Always be transparent and keep communication open.
Online business surged higher than ever, B2B, B2C, online shopping, virtual meetings, remote work, Zoom medical consultations, what are your expectations for 2022?
Lisa Guadalupe Clarke: I believe is going to be a combination between in-person and virtual. Some folks would rather see you in person while others rather get on a zoom call. We are actually growing our company since we are able to virtually conduct interviews in other states.
How many hours a day do you spend in front of a screen?
Lisa Guadalupe Clarke: 10 to 14 hours a day if you include computer and cell phone.
The majority of executives use stories to persuade and communicate in the workplace. Can you share with our readers examples of how you implement that in your business to communicate effectively with your team?
Lisa Guadalupe Clarke: What I say to my team is that this is not just a job, we change people lives by providing better job opportunities. We also donate time and money to underserved communities and we get to live that on a daily basis. The stories that we get from folks that we place in jobs fill our hearts and it can be as simple as helping them with a resume review or interview techniques. The feeling that we receive is very rewarding and keeps us going every day.
Business is all about overcoming obstacles and creating opportunities for growth. What do you see as the real challenge right now?
Lisa Guadalupe Clarke: Opportunities from corporation to work with small businesses continues to be a challenge. I hear all the time, we can’t find candidates, or good service companies well have you called us? When was the last time that you checked your registered vendors list to check your service needs? Opportunities for growth continues to be a challenge for all small businesses.
In 2022, what are you most interested in learning about? Crypto, NFTs, online marketing, or any other skill sets? Please share your motivations.
Lisa Guadalupe Clarke: Online marketing and Crypto. If your company is not on social media, you don’t exist and are constantly changing. I also see that most folks do not carry cash any longer, so I am curious to learn if Crypto will end up in our future sooner than we think.
A record 4.4 million Americans left their jobs in September in 2021, accelerating a trend that has become known as the Great Resignation. 47% of people plan to leave their job during 2022. Most are leaving because of their boss or their company culture. 82% of people feel unheard, undervalued and misunderstood in the workplace. Do you think leaders see the data and think “that’s not me – I’m not that boss they don’t want to work for? What changes do you think need to happen?
Lisa Guadalupe Clarke: Companies need to create a welcome-all environment and re-evaluate what is important for their teams. Most folks now from my personal experience want to feel like they belong, and they are making a difference at work, not just going to work for a paycheck.
This is why I left my last job and created my own firm as I felt undervalued and misunderstood because I was a minority. I am that bridge to connect employers and employees to be better understood and valued. We need to have open communication for employees, and they know there won’t be a consequence for saying the truth. Employers need to have a hotline for employees to discuss problems, as well as discuss mental health issues. When was the last time you wrote a handwritten thank you note to your employee?
On a lighter note, if you had the ability to pick any business superpower, what would it be and how would you put it into practice?
Lisa Guadalupe Clarke: My superpower would be “optimism” through everything that I’ve endured theses past two years, I encourage everyone to see the bright side of every situation. We learn and grow. I have a saying that keeps me going no matter what is going on, “I didn’t come this, to be this far.”LGC
What does “success” in 2022 mean to you? It could be on a personal or business level, please share your vision.
Lisa Guadalupe Clarke: Success in 2022 means to me being able to find better opportunities for all minorities and the growth of my business in other states. I would like to start an organization that can help women of color with tangible information to continue to help us grow as entrepreneurs, wife’s and mothers. Also, I would like to continue to explore opportunities to have a seat at non-Latinos boards to continue to represent my community.
Jed Morley, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Lisa Guadalupe Clarke for taking the time to do this interview and share her knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Lisa Guadalupe Clarke or her company, you can do it through her – Linkedin Page
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