About Us

Ava Smith is a leader and entrepreneur in the Upstate of South Carolina. She holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Human Resource Management from Limestone University and is a Lifetime Member of the Sigma Beta Delta Honor Society. She resides in Greenville with her children and her grand-children.

Ava Smith has over 25 years of experience as a Human Resources Professional. Her experience includes employee relations, compliance, recruitment, retention, and training. She began her career in the non-profit sector, and shifted into manufacturing, the corporate arena, and staffing. She progressively moved upward in her positions, serving a range of roles from HR Assistant to serving as an HR Director.

In August, 2002, Ava began her own firm, HR Specialties, which specialized in providing HR services, training, and recruiting. She later expanded this firm by adding additional experts, and rebranded it into what is now widely known as Ava Smith & Associates. In 2010, she formed a permanent placement agency called Flat Fee Recruiting that has been recognized in business publications. Flat
Fee Recruiting received the Minority Business of the Year Award in 2013 through the Greenville Chamber of Commerce.

She is also a noted Diversity Trainer. She has delivered hundreds of sessions throughout the Southeast since 2005. Clients have included corporations, manufactures, non-profits, service organizations, government officials, municipalities, universities, hospital systems, local chambers, and faith-based organizations.

Using her unique style and approach, she captures her audience and brings them through diversity topics with ease. Ava creates an environment that fosters candid dialogue in a safe atmosphere. High evaluations from employees and participants validate her effectiveness and she is often requested to return. She was the Recipient of the 2015 Excellence in Diversity Award, given by the Greenville SC Chapter of SHRM.

In addition to making an impact through diversity training, she has supported her community in the Upstate of South Carolina by serving as the following:
• Current, Board Member, The Simpsonville Area Chamber of Commerce
• Current, Board Member, The University Center of Greenville
• Current Board Member, AID Upstate
• Board Member, Greenville Technical Charter High School
• Board Member, Junior Achievement, Greenville SC
• Diversity Director of the SC Society of Human Resource Management State Council
• Advisory Board Member, Greenville Chamber of Commerce
• Small Business Steering Committee Member, Greenville Chamber of Commerce
• Advisor, Greenville Chamber of Commerce CAPACITY Builders program
• Chair, Greenville Chamber of Commerce’ G W W (GW@W)
• Advisory Board Member for Virginia College
• Advisory Board Member for ECPI School of Technology
• Board Member for the Greenville Society of Human Resource Management (GSHRM)
• Chair of the Diversity/Inclusion Committee for GSHRM
• Board Member of Fostering Great Ideas
• Advisory Board Member for Clemson Small Business Development Center
• Steering Committee Member for MLK Dream Weekend
• Member of the Clemson CU-ICAR Diversity Committee
• Member of the Greenville Technical College Multicultural Advisory Board
All of these accomplishments and contributions resulted in her being honored as:
• Recipient, YWCA Dream Achiever, YWCA of Greenville
• Recipient, 2012 – Minority Business of the Year, Greater Greenville Chamber of Commerce,
• Recipient, 2013 – Woman Making History Award, Greenville Cultural Exchange
• Keynote Speaker – 2014 Commencement Service, ECPI University
• Recipient, 2015 – Excellence in Diversity Award, SHRM – Greenville Chapter

• “Success Story” film excerpt – 2015, BMW Diversity Matchmaker Event

• Spotlight, 2020 – Greenville Business Magazine – Black History Month Salute to Upstate Leaders

Nija resides in Greenville. She has18 years of experience in administration and recruiting. In her role as Operations she supports the President and helps execute the processes, projects, objectives, mission, and strategic plan of the Company. She facilitates the coordination of activities between departments. She also identifies improvement opportunities, demonstrates, and ensures a strong customer service commitment within the organization and with Client companies. Nija drives business development by assisting wih the sales and marketing. Additionally, she handles the administrative duties, to include bookkeeping, payroll, and the supervision of staff and interns.

Nija has served her community by serving on the following:

• Board of Directors, The University Center of Greenville
• Board of Directors, Genuinely Zoe
• Board of Directors, Faith Beyond Sight
• Advisory Board, Brown Mackie College
• Advisory Board, Virginia College

Nija is the mom of 2 girls and her hobbies are reading, writing, and outdoor activities.

“I’m passionate about helping others! I’m passionate about helping job seekers find employment and helping businessed find quality employees!”

Niki serves on our Leadership Team and plays an integral part in the success of our full-cycle recruiting process. Niki helps us implement our overall recruiting strategy. She consults with managers to discover staff requirements and specific job objectives. She assists with the oversight of the job requisition process and ensures that the job descriptions are aligned with the posts on job boards and the social media campaigns. She also assists with sourcing and screening resumes, and creates crucial prescreening documents and interview questions. Niki assists with all levels of positions – from entry level to professional – any engages candidates in phone screens, virtual interviews, and in-person meetings.

She has lived in South Carolina most of her life, making beautiful Edgefield her home for the past 10 years. After enjoying many years of caring for her family as a stay-at-home Wife and Mother, she decided it was time to re-enter the workplace. With a background in Healthcare and Construction, she dove right in to the role with a fresh perspective on what it means to work in the Recruiting field. As a Wife and Mom of a 16-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter, she fully understands the importance of finding the balance between being a working professional and being there for her family. That is why her remote position is absolutely perfect!

In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family, watching football, and traveling. Her hobbies include cooking and interior design.

“I thoroughly enjoy helping people find a career that helps them grow both professionally and personally!”

Yana resides in Greenville, SC with her son. She assists our Clients, Leadership Team, and Recruiters.

She is heavily involved with the company’s hiring processes, activities, and administrative tasks. Her duties include contacting potential candidates, scheduling interviews, assisting the Recruiters during the recruitment process and verifying candidate qualifications and experience.

She also serves as an Administrative Assistant in the Operations and Sales Department. She creates important reports, correspondences, marketing material, and presentations. She also updates CRM and Recruiting databases.

Yana brings 10 years of experience in customer service. Her experience includes diverse duties such as phone communication, appointment scheduling, sales, account management, quality assurance, and light project management. She also has a background in event planning.
In her spare time, she enjoys painting and arts and crafts.
“What I like most about the recruiting industry is helping people, catering to the needs of others, and helping to make a difference.”