Help Wanted. Now Hiring. Join Our Team.

Signs posted at entrances and on marquees of many local businesses share these messages. 

Employee shortages seem to be affecting most industries, resulting in shorter hours of operation, canceled flights, sections of restaurants closed and rising stress levels. Martha Vela Hinojosa believes she was created for these current times of employers searching for workers. 

Born and raised in Mission, Hinojosa graduated from Mission High School and entered Pan American University (now the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley), majoring in business management. She had her sights set on owning a business. Three years in, Hinojosa left college and got married. She remained focused on her career goals after the birth of her children.

One day, Hinojosa received a call from Maria Sanchez Fletcher. Fletcher, she said, recognized the need for a locally owned “temp” agency and opened Fletcher Personnel Services in McAllen. A mutual friend referred Fletcher to Hinojosa and a job offer was made and accepted. 

“She was very professional,” Hinojosa said. “We had to be on time. If we went to any workshop, we had to write a report about what we learned. She put a lot of pressure on me but I learned from the best.”

Hinojosa recruited companies and placed temps. Agency employees are “temps’’ in that they often fill in temporarily for full-time employees out on leave or to help for seasonal work. The company can pick them up for full-time employment after a probationary term. Agencies coach temps on how to dress and act professionally in workplace settings.

“You have to educate employers on the benefits of using temps,” Hinojosa said. “We do the screening, background checks, payroll, taxes and things like drug testing. We even look at the chemistry of a person to see if we feel they are a match with the company.”

Taking Off

Fletcher eventually sold her company. Hinojosa agreed to work for the new owner, earning a promotion to area manager covering McAllen, Brownsville and Corpus Christi. She continued to learn, knowing one day she would promote herself to business owner. Hinojosa came to realize all the job-related traveling she was doing was not providing the needed flexibility to spend more time with her children. 

She turned to her mentor, Fletcher, for advice.

“She told me, ‘If you think you can fly, fly,’” Hinojosa said.

In 1992, Hinojosa took off, opening International Temporary Services in McAllen. Experience had taught her a lot, but she had more to learn. She eventually closed the company to restructure. In 2015, Hinojosa opened LHM Employment Group in McAllen. She finds herself exactly where she set her sights years before.

“I get the greatest satisfaction in finding a job for someone, knowing they are providing food and a home for themselves and their family, and I had a part in that,” Hinojosa said.

Happy Employers

Satisfied employers also motivate her, like Teresa Montalvo, the store manager/buyer at The Exceptional Home Center in McAllen. Hinojosa placed Ignacio “Iggy” Aguilar Jr. with Montalvo as a furniture installer and in delivery/warehouse.

“I was looking for a qualified and truly interested employee after using several online employment websites,” Montalvo said. “I had so many who promised to come in for interviews and never showed up or who applied, even though they did not meet the qualifications.” 

Montalvo likes that the employee is responsible to both Hinojosa and her, creating a higher level of accountability. She found, in Aguilar, exactly what she needed and plans to hire him as a full-time employee. Aguilar couldn’t be happier.

“The door opened for me perfectly,” he said.

Laid off and unable to find a job, Aguilar decided he needed to move up north. Distressed that he would be separated from his young son, he applied at LHM, a last-ditch effort before saying goodbye.

“They called me the same day,” Aguilar said, “and I started work the next day. It’s good pay and I got the hours I needed to spend time with my son. It’s the first place where I feel like I’m family.” 

Carlos Lopez, a partner in Bespoke Logistics in McAllen, has counted on Hinojosa for years.

“She really takes care of our HR without us having that department in our company,” Lopez said. “It is truly a cost-saving decision for us.” 

Hinojosa, serious about her job and gregarious by nature, can’t see herself doing anything else.

“I always knew I wanted to work with people,” Hinojosa said. “If you’re looking for a job, please come by. Come and be part of the LHM employee pool.”