 Hi, I'm Rusty Komori, and this is Beyond the Lines on Think Tech, Hawaii. I was the head coach of the Punahou Boys Varsity Tennis Team for 22 years, and we're fortunate to win 22 consecutive state championships. My book is about leadership, creating a superior culture of excellence, and finding greatness, which is what this show is all about. My special guest today is a very successful business owner and the president of Staffing Solutions of Hawaii. She is Lisa Tron Cratcher, and today we are going beyond employment. Hey, Lisa, welcome to Beyond the Lines. Aloha. Alisa, how are you doing? I know you for a few years now, but I want to know about your early years growing up. Yes, early years. So I was born and raised in Loma Linda, California, so I was originally from the mainland. However, I got the great opportunity to move to Hawaii, so I feel connected to Hawaii, and we moved here in 2008. So growing up, I'm from Vietnam. My family is from Vietnam, and during the fall season in 1975, they immigrated to Loma Linda, California, and that's where my parents had four daughters, so a family of five, including myself, and we grew up in a small and quaint Christian town, really healthcare centered and family Ohana centered, and so that was my upbringing. We structured very Christian and family oriented. And Lisa, you played tennis in high school as well, right? I did. You know, coming from a family of five daughters, my dad was an avid tennis player, and he always wanted a boy. He tried five times. So weekend, we would go to the tennis course to have fun, and that's all I remember growing up. It's on the courts, on the weekends with my family, and in high school, I wasn't that great of a player, but I made it in and did my best, and it was really fun. Oh, that's great. And Lisa, I want to know, what is the first job you ever had that you got paid money for? So my first job, my favorite frozen yogurt place was called TCBY, and I came in, it was a hot summer day, came in, I had a smile on my face, I was excited to get frozen yogurt and the owner of the company said, Hey, are you looking for a job? I really like every time you come in here, you have a great personality, and you always have a smile on your face. I said, Sure. So I went ahead and took it, and I took the job, and loved making the frozen yogurt and putting extra toppings on for all my friends. Oh, I wish I knew you back then, Lisa, then I would have a lot of TCBY. Now, Lisa, let's talk about your family. You know, you have your husband and then your two kids. Can you tell me about them? Oh, yeah, I came here to Hawaii in 2008 and, you know, I was single at the time and I was very fortunate to just find my, my lifetime partner and partner in crime and we got married and have two kids, one is seven and one is three. And Noah is seven years old. He's in first grade now and Kaia is three years old and thinking that she is older than her brother. Oh, so cute. You have such a beautiful family, Lisa. And I want to know, Lisa, you know, about how, how did staffing solutions begin? Staffing solutions began back in 1991, and that was Mary Patee. And she owned a franchise, Remedy. You should, you heard of Remedy Staffing, we'll see. So it's a franchise and she owned it for 10 years. She got a special offer from the president saying, if you make president's club for so many years, you can rename the company after 10 years. And so there she did. She after 10 years, she made president's club, renamed the staffing solutions of Hawaii, kept all the clients and she really built the business from scratch. Coming from the mainland herself, she was, she had 40 years of staffing experience and she came in to Hawaii with no book of business. And she just did a fantastic job handing it over to myself and just we have such loyal clients. And I just can't thank her enough for just showing me the way and being my mentor. Well, you are a fantastic president of staffing solutions of Hawaii. And I want to know, Lisa, what, what are all of the services that your company provides? Well, we, we're a staffing firm. So we do temp, temp to hire, direct hire, executive recruitment as well as payroll. So we work with all industries. We work with banks, we work with health care, finance industries, insurance companies, hospitality, any, any industry that has offers person personnel, we help. So anywhere from entry, office assistant to data entry to mid-level admin to managers and also to C-level positions as well. Now, Lisa, how is this coronavirus situation affecting your business at the moment? It is really taking, we were really taking a hit from coronavirus. With the essential workers, we were still staffing for those. But the non-essential, all our clients are putting on hold and all the jobs. So our revenue and business has dropped significantly. And we're trying to maintain the best we can to service our clients with what we have. And with the unemployment over 30%, we also, we're also getting a lot of job seekers. So we, we have a big Canada pool right now. We can staff. So we're just waiting for the economy to open up and so that we can start hiring again and helping our clients and we start the economy. So what is, what's the challenge now for you as a leader, you know, because the greatest leaders, I mean, they find ways to adapt and adjust. And I'm sure you're, you're definitely doing that. But is there, you know, can you share with me an insight about what you're doing? Well, I think we're doing what a lot of leaders are doing in town. We're trying to work remote, that's number one, and trying to get laptops out to our, we're working 80% of my internal staff right now is working remote. So they're doing a great job. They're, they're, they're going above and beyond what I can even imagine, even before working at home. They're meeting, they're doing what they can to do, do interviews remotely, using all the technology, Skype, Zoom, Teams on Microsoft 365. Not only that, but onboarding HR is also going online. So really incorporating the technology and HR and recruitment. We're definitely doing that with ease. For the Kahumalama side, also we're seeing essential workers. And so we're not, we're not seeing that big of a hit on Kahumalama side. In fact, we're getting more orders for ICU, ER positions as well. Another insight, not just working remotely, but just really taking the time to appreciate our staff and take things one step at a time, really getting connected to the community. I'm just so surprised that there are so many resources out there with all the HR laws with the COVID-19, with the state and federal laws, the sick, the paid sick leave law that is brand new, the PPP, Fundings and all the loans. I think the community is really coming together. And as leaders, I think we're putting down any kind of guard up, and we're helping each other as a whole. And Lisa, you know, I hear that a lot of people love working with you. You have, you've put together a great team. And I want to know what is your culture of excellence like in your workplace? Oh, that we, we like to work hard and play hard as you know. They're working events, you see us really having fun. And that's just how we create our culture of excellence. Number one priority is our clients, our job seekers and our clients. And when I started Staffing Solutions, there were really no, there was not a mission, mission value to the company. And I think by my background being in process improvement and being in several corporate environments and having that corporate feel, I had a chance to take and utilize what I've learned and just implement it as my own company. And I really care for my team. So I created a mission, mission values and five of our team values is people integrity, achievement, balance and passion. And we hire when you have the passion. And I think it starts from there. So if you have the passion to help people, if you have the passion to recruit, it starts there. And then when we hire you, we really have a great training process. And we have a great, we have a great team to bounce ideas. And we work more as a team versus individually. So I think it just starts from there. Oh, you're totally right, Lisa. You know, you are a great team leader because I've met some of your team members and they all speak so highly of you. Okay. They just absolutely love you. They love going to work. So I know you have a great culture of excellence there. And I want to ask you more about what you mentioned about having balance as one of your values because I think that's so important. And like you said, you like to work hard and play hard. And how do you really have balance for your team members? I think it starts with being flexible with everyone's personal needs as well as really creating a team environment with goals, clear to find goals, and as a whole, and getting input from the team. When there's initiative that rolls out, I'm first to say, oh, let's ask the team. Let's take a poll. Let's see what the team needs. You know, I have an idea in my mind, but I'm always asking what the team needs. And it's an ever-changing environment and, you know, workers today are different with their needs and wants than 10 years ago or from now. So just keeping up to speed with everyone's needs and wants and also technology. I think that's where we work hard and we play hard because we know we're meeting the goals. So every year we have a strategic meeting and the strategic meeting outlines our quarterly goals. And through these quarterly goals, we reach them quarter by quarter. And when we don't reach them, we really think outside the box and we don't get ourselves down. And it's a team effort. And I think that's where it starts. I think knowing our goals and achieving it. And a few years ago, it was the first time that they achieved their strategic meeting goals and we went to Kauai. I took the whole team to Kauai and we had such a great time. And just last year, we went to Maui as well. Well, you know, right there, Lisa, how you said that, you know, you want to understand their needs and wants. And then, you know, so you're helping them individually, which helps the whole team collectively. And then how much you care for them by going to Kauai, like you said. And let's talk about another value that you mentioned earlier about passion. I know that you have a huge passion for helping people. Why is that? Does that make you feel really fulfilled to help people? Yeah, I think it all comes down to you asked me about my childhood. And I think it comes down to my background and how my parents were so caring and they were giving people and how I was raised. And everybody around us, we were just caring with the healthcare community. It's all about caring. And I just kind of grew up in that environment. And it's also in my heart as well. You take me outside the business and as a friend. I'm always the one to help my friends. I'm always the one who coronates everything and make everyone have a good time. When I was younger, I was the bartender, you know, things like that. So that's a fun fact. But yeah, I think having the passion helping people, I think it comes within. And it just makes me feel good when I can see people achieve their goals. And with my team, one of the things that we do and I implemented is quarterly one-on-ones and it's coaching from a career standpoint. And there has been several examples where I have created a job because of helping my team member achieve their goal. And because enough that my business was able to expand to expand as big as to create, let's say an HR role or a training role or marketing role. You know, we're more staffing. So I recruit more recruiters. So being able to expand in different specialty areas and having a cross-functional team and cross-training really makes a team motivated and drives them. I like hearing that, Lisa. Lisa, we're going to take a quick break and then when we come back, we're going to continue going beyond employment, okay? Yeah. You are watching Beyond the Lines on Think Tech Hawaii with my special guest, Lisa Tron Cratcher. We will be back in a quick minute. Aloha. I'm Lillian Cumick, host of Lillian's Vegan World, the show where we talk about veganism and the plant-based diet located in Honolulu, Hawaii. I'm a vegan chef and cooking instructor and I have lots of information to share with you about how awesome this plant-based diet is. So do tune in every second Thursday from 1 p.m. Aloha. Welcome back to Beyond the Lines on Think Tech Hawaii. My special guest today is the president of Staffing Solutions of Hawaii. She is Lisa Tron Cratcher and today we are going beyond employment. Lisa, I want you to tell me about Kahumalama Nurses and how that's your sister company now. Yeah, Kahumalama Nurses has been around for 37 years and is one of the leading healthcare staffing firms here in Hawaii and I was very fortunate my second time around acquiring a business and it happened last July when Kathie Leong approached me and she was also a client of mine and acquaintance as well. We work in the same building so we knew of each other for the past 10 years and she was retiring and she wanted to know if I wanted an opportunity to assume the the company and you know coming from a healthcare background that was also my plan to one day expand in the healthcare division staffing and it just came at the right time and sometimes timing is everything and one conversation led to the next and Kathie is a great mentor she had a great team and great book of business and people really you know people healthcare professionals are always looking to Kahumalama Nurses so it was just a or just an easy decision for me to acquire. That's great to hear Lisa and Lisa I want to talk to you about my books and I need to get you my second book now beyond the game but you know in the books I talk about welcoming adversity and looking forward to challenges I want to know what is a personal challenge that you have to overcome you know on your way to achieving success. I think that's that's a hard question Rusty because there's been you know there's a lot of challenges yeah but I think if I were to just pick one challenge that resonated throughout my whole career was just being a woman and not being able to change that I'm a woman and really really moving up as a woman leader prior to owning a business you know working myself up to be manager level and also getting the respect that men normally have but owning I think I think owning a business being a woman in Hawaii not growing up here has been my biggest challenge because Hawaii is so tight knit and for me for me to just dive into a community that's already tight knit everybody knows each other that was a huge challenge having the challenge being a woman and my age at the time and just having that network but overcoming that is really one of my biggest successes as well and just not being afraid to get to know people and just being yourself and not being worried about what people think or or anything like that and just showcasing your own self and being honest with yourself and treat others like how you would treat yourself I think that is my biggest success is to thrive in Hawaii and to be a woman owned business for both locally women owned business I think that has been my challenge and my success I like hearing that and Lisa you definitely have earned big time respect from a lot of other business owners here in Hawaii and you've been doing fantastic and Lisa I want to talk to you about communication in my second book I talk about the three C's of leadership and communication is one of the C's and for me when I was a coach you know I'd like to share you know everything with my team you know what I'm thinking what I'm feeling so that there's no misperceptions no misunderstandings and I know you're the same way what are the what are your thoughts about how important communication is as a leader well I agree with you 100 I think sometimes I have my heart on my sleeve I'm not just communication but my emotion and sometimes that's what I need to pull back as a leader is my emotions and really really just communicate as a leader so that there will that there that I do gain respect but I do have a big heart too and so I think communication has always been my strength I'm always communicating I'm always wanting clear lines and clear communication amongst my managers and also their direct reports I like to brainstorm I like to do processes I like to draw map out the whole process improvement map I like policy procedures I like training manuals those are all communication and part of being a good leader is to leave your knowledge behind so that so that you can train other leaders to lead effectively as well also I'm also big on personality assessments and really knowing the psychological aspect of communication as well because without knowing that you can't really communicate with someone as effectively if you think everyone is like you you know you can be an extrovert introvert there's just so much of communication people think and not everyone is good at communication and that's not their fault but just really guiding them to know what to look for and communication can also be body language it could be your inflections of how you speak and and just everything so communication overall is really important Rusty no I love I love hearing that and Lisa you know through these years what's one of the best experiences that stands out for you as being president of staffing solutions for all these years now I think the best I think the the best thing I can think of Rusty is just make an impact making an impact in the community helping people find jobs and being involved with the YWCA with with RISE and trust for success and just helping the incarcerated woman get back into the workforce helping aloha united way and helping boys and girls club helping others achieve what they think that they cannot achieve and it's not just employment but it's just a mindset as well um a strong mindset you can do whatever you set your mind to and whatever you're passionate about I think that really resonates with me and I think that that really makes that really gets me going um my internal team too seeing where I mean sometimes it working as staffing solutions is a stepping stone sometimes they're only here for a year or less but you join that year or last they learn so much that they're on to bigger and better things so to speak um but the ones are here for long term they're even two three five you know six years plus they are learning so much within and just seeing their growth from day one to when they leave me I think that's also been a really satisfying um satisfying role that I've seen as being a leader here Lisa what's what's something valuable that you've learned in life so far to never give up because sometimes life throws you curve balls and and and things that you you feel down and out but life would never ever be peachy all the time before a period a short period of time but you know just to never give up um and just do it kind of like what Nike says just do it but um just never give up and always have a good mindset and things will get better um and stay true to yourself I think that's what I've learned in in everything especially through this corona virus and staying at home and work from home um this whole situation has really brought out um other valuable lessons for me as well yeah I mean whatever you want to achieve just go for it right Lisa yeah I wouldn't have thought that I'd be owning two businesses in Hawaii uh let's say even 12 years ago I wouldn't I wouldn't even imagine I wouldn't imagine that I would have a family and kids two beautiful kids who you know I adore and during this time just teaching them and doing the distance learning has also really made me reflect on me as a mother and juggling my time between being a mother and a business owner has been really challenging too but it's been also rewarding Lisa I want to ask you one more thing okay besides family who is someone that you greatly admire I greatly admire Walt Disney yeah because I'm a I'm a Disney fan and not only that but Walt Disney created the whole Disney film and um it's it's you know without his vision of creating a place where is the happiest place on earth um without having that that dream um then we wouldn't be able to enjoy what he's created I'm now leaving a legacy so I really look up to his business mind and also his creativity as well as his wrist that he took and just everything he did with him and and his legacy that he's left behind I love that answer about uh Walt Disney that's it he's so inspiring I mean I'm who doesn't love Walt Disney and Disneyland and Disney World right Lisa I want to thank you so much for taking time uh to share your insights and being on Beyond the Lines today you definitely go beyond the lines and really want to thank you Lisa thank you Rusty it's great being on here thank you for having me and thank you for watching Beyond the Lines on Think Tech Hawaii for more information please visit RustyKamori.com and my books are available on Amazon Barnes and Noble and BooksHawaii.net I hope that Lisa and I will inspire you to create your own superior culture of excellence and to find your greatness and help others find theirs aloha