It’s a thrill and honor for us to share our new company with you. My name is Lana Johnson and I’m the CEO and co-founder and together with my husband, Jim, our goal is to create a unique company that helps others flourish, whether it’s the talent we’re placing, the clients we’re supporting, the employees we’re working with, or the community we’re working in.
I’ve been blessed to work for over 26 years in an industry that I truly love. This is a business that impacts the lives of others. Careers are very personal, and it’s a gift to help others achieve their goals. Staffing teaches you so much about building relationships and about connecting and working with all sorts of people. I’m grateful that I fell into staffing and that I was lucky to work for two amazing companies where I learned so much.
There are many times over the last 26 years when I thought to myself, “if I had my own company, this is what I would do.” That inner voice has led to four things we want to do at Elevation Talent Group:
- Leverage our Expertise. Jim and I have been students of this industry for over 50 years combined. We’re not newcomers to this space, and we’re surrounded by people with equally impressive industry pedigrees. At the same time, we’re curious and excited about the evolution of staffing, HR, marketing, and business in general.
- Make “The Experience” Core to Our Business. Every staffing firm talks about a great candidate or client experience, but few invest the time to really create it. The staffing industry average Net Promoter Score is only 19% for talent! We’ve designed our business processes around The Experience, and we want working with Elevation to be truly memorable in the best possible ways.
- Do Things Really Well. Excellence is a lofty but important goal. We want to combine our expertise and experience with the best people and technology to not only create great experiences but also to be efficient and effective.
- Be a Company With Soul. As we worked on our brand strategy and articulating our culture, we leaned heavy into values like trust and transparency. We’ve talked about what it means to “achieve new heights.” We’re starting with DEI at our core. We want to be a company that cares for our community. We hope others find inspiration in the fact that we’re woman-owned and operated. We want to be a company where people are truly proud to work.
How did we come up with our name? I’d love to say we sought deep symbolic meaning, but the truth is, it’s inspired by one of my favorite songs from one of my favorite bands, U2. The kind of song where you should be riding in your car with the windows down, singing and jamming out (at least for me!). I was listening to it while brainstorming company names, and the rest is history. Nothing deep about this song, it’s just got a great vibe and it’s uplifting. We hope Elevation Talent Group is the same way: a great vibe, and uplifting.
Thank you to the many people who have encouraged us and helped us. We couldn’t do this without you, and we’ll never forget the difference you’ve made.
Finally, I’d like to dedicate the founding of our company to Jim’s dad (also named Jim). He passed away right after Thanksgiving last year, and we did not see this coming. The thing I learned from losing him is that life is way too short and that if you want to do something you’re passionate about, you should do it. So here we are, Senior. We miss you, and we’re going to make you so proud.
Welcome to Elevation Talent Group! We hope you’ll join our journey!
