Meet Lisa Cooper | HR Lady

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lisa Cooper and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lisa, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Cooper People Group (CPG) started entirely by accident! What started as a summer- side-hustle during a phase of career exploration for me became a fast-growing, boot-strapping startup within a few short months. There was no business plan, no website and no team when CPG began serving its first few clients. But I had a lot of passion for good HR, twenty years of HR leadership and consulting experience and deep relationships in our community. I also soon discovered the strong demand for HR advisory services and support in the West Michigan area. Employers were hungry for help in navigating the post-pandemic labor market and were looking for fractional HR leadership and support. Since those early days, our firm has grown to become one of the region’s premier human resources advisory and management firms. We have served over 115 client companies based on referrals and word-of-mouth alone.

What should our readers know about your business?
Most people don’t start or lead businesses because they want to be an HR expert. Most of them don’t get or even like HR stuff. Yet, we all know businesses can’t thrive without the right people, in the right seats, with the right tools and training and the right team and leader, and the right culture, which is what great HR is all about building. So, at Cooper People Group, we exist to take the pain, confusion and stress out of HR and provide confidence, competence and the much needed leadership support for building solid people practices and programs. We essentially do everything a typical HR department would do! We focus on the “human” in HR. Of course we pay close attention to compliance and regulatory requirements, but equally, we’re focusing on culture and people. Everyone deserves to do good work with a good team in a good company, is our belief. We are constantly experimenting to find ways to break old-school HR with innovative techniques. We also meet our clients where they are. The HR strategies that work for our largest client with 16,000 employees, will not work for our smallest or newest clients looking to hire their first employees. Our team is brilliant in bringing world-class HR programs, policies and the like to even the smallest and newest of organizations.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
● Lake Michigan first. I’m a sailor’s daughter who grew up on the Lake. It’s a joy to bring visitors to view the white sand beaches of our freshwater coastline. Bonus points for cute shopping and eating district like Pentwater!
● Parks. We have beautiful hiking trails across our region that provide beautiful vistas as well as a good glute workout.
● Our favorite woman-owned restaurant, Bud & Stanley’s. The home cooked food and family-like service is top notch. I started working there as a General Manager in college and now my daughter in highschool works there. It feels like coming home and many of the OG staff are still there today providing service with a smile.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
It’s hard to nail down just one. It was my community that encouraged me to hang out my shingle, so to speak, so the list here is pretty long. Some of my biggest supporters were my bosses, namely Beth and Garry, who both gave me the entrepreneurial nudge and vote of confidence to take the leap. Since those early days, we’ve grown because of great partners and great clients.
○ The Grand Rapids Chamber has been such a great partner. They’ve sent clients my way, presented speaking opportunities for HR workshops and I even joined a CEO roundtable where I meet monthly with peers to celebrate, commiserate, and collaborate.
○ Ken Bogard is a certified Entrepreneurial Operating System Implementor who is helping dozens of local organizations to become stronger with EOS tools and his Know Honesty workshops about open and honest business communications. Ken has introduced me to many of his clients in their pursuit of a stronger people function. It’s been great to work with Ken’s client organizations who have built strong strategies on foundations where people can thrive.
○ Zach Verhulst is the founder and CEO of Pure Architects a minority owned, award winning firm changing the very landscape and skyline of West Michigan by employing their JUST principles through every project. Zach was one of our earliest clients and we’ve been able to walk alongside him through some incredible growth.

Website: https://cooperpg.com/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cooper-people-group/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Cooper-People- Group/100067614920177/

Image Credits
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