At the end of 2020, W&A Engineering had less than 60 employees and leadership knew that times of uncertainty were likely ahead. Having worked as a small team, the firm had gone over two decades without a dedicated HR department, yet they knew a seasoned HR leader would be the most crucial key hire for its next chapter of growth. When Amy Clark’s resume came across the table, everyone knew that they’d found their chief people officer.
W&A Engineering is a rapidly growing multidisciplinary engineering firm known for its innovative design, efficient engineering and professional service. Utilizing a mix of creative and analytical engineering alongside decades of real-world experience, the team has had the privilege of working with clients on project sites across 46 states.
In her decades of experience, Clark maintained employee satisfaction and retention for clients with over 1,500 employees and managed human resources departments of firms with more than 450 employees in 11 states. Now, at W&A Engineering, Clark leads a team of human resources professionals who collectively work to make the firm an even better place to work. She leads onboarding, employee acquisition and retention, organizational culture, business process improvement, legal compliance, employee relations, benefits design and administration, payroll administration, risk management and much more.
“I love being able to bring the firm’s vision to life in our employee community through our policies and the way we treat our team members,” said Clark. “I have a great team that is up to the challenge of continuing to learn and grow, and we work with wonderful, passionate employees that make all the effort worth it.”
During her time as the chief people officer, Clark has revolutionized the firm’s corporate culture, employee benefits and compensation packages and dedication to corporate citizenship.
“Amy is a titan in her industry because she is a catalyst for change, embraces discomfort and shirks complacency at every turn,” said her colleagues. “Amy has been the heart and soul behind many of W&A Engineering’s innovative, progressive and transformational policies for our team.”
As a leader, Clark said trust and consistency are essential. “Successful leaders have a solid foundation of trust with the people they work with every day and this trust is built on integrity and deed,” she said. “Leaders are consistent in their actions and others can count on them; they are also resilient, lifelong learners and are open to new ideas from many different people.”
