Michael Giuffrida

Your staff is everything in your business; these people are often the ones who directly interact with clients and represent you in the community. They likewise reflect the culture you’ve cultivated in the workplace. It’s, therefore, crucial that you have the right people comprising your team. But finding the right people is not easy, as there’s no assurance that they will be the perfect fit even after a few interviews. It is advisable that, before formally hiring, to require potential staffers to complete a personality profile. A highly recommended profile tool is the ProfileXT, which looks at a person’s intelligence and work traits and matches them with your needs. This will allow you to better interact with them during the hiring process. Keep in mind that your goal is to hire the right person, not just get somebody to fill in the void “right now.” Sadly, sometimes even if you’ve spent much time and used the best tools, you’d still encounter bad hires over time. “Bad”

Technology goes hand in hand with businesses. Though the continual disruptions it brings are deemed unwelcome by some, they are nonetheless a necessity for any modern company’s survival. This, therefore, poses the challenge of accepting and adapting to technological changes, lest businesses get left behind. However, the approach and implementation are what matters here. New technology can either be a propeller for innovation or seen as a toxic imposition. For example, many organizations use technology to implement heavy security controls and time-tracking standards to “watch” their employees. Most employees naturally interpret this as showing distrust; they revert to being protective workers just giving to earn a fair paycheck, with no true care for the company. They may even use their creativeness to exploit the system. On the other hand, if an organization employs innovative technology with the employees’ improved quality of life in mind—such as facial recognition, biome

Michael Guiffrida: Common Leadership Mistakes to Avoid In many situations, people take on leadership positions before they can actually handle them. Why? Sometimes organizations lose key members and need other people to fill their roles as quickly as possible, even if these other people aren’t quite ready for the challenge. In other situations, people are quick to embrace the idea of being a leader but aren’t quick to nurture leadership qualities, according to leadership expert Michael Guiffrida. Here are a couple of the biggest mistakes that leaders make -- mistakes you should do your best to avoid if you want to stand out for all of the right reasons in your organization. Mistake number one? Many leaders confuse delegation and control. The sad reality is that many people think that when they become leaders, they get to boss others around and be the go-to person for any questions their employees may have. True leaders, however, focus on building resourceful teams filled with cap

Michael Giuffrida: How Much Should You Pay Your Workers? If you run a business or are in charge of compensation at your company, you have no choice but to learn how to properly pay an employee. Of course, the process is much more complicated than simply printing a paycheck, according to human resource expert Michael Guiffrida. Here is a glimpse at what you need to consider when putting together the right compensation plan for your workers. One of the most important things you can do when creating a worker compensation plan is to determine your company’s pay philosophy. This includes determining not only an appropriate compensation amount for your workers but also how you wish to handle factors such as performance bonuses, benefits, gym memberships, free lunches, and incentives. For example, maybe you like the idea of incentivizing performance, so you opt to provide smaller base salaries and more in the way of performance bonuses. Once you have your pay philosophy down, you need

Michael Giuffrida: How to Create a Winning Marketing Plan in 2018 Without a plan, you will no doubt fail. This is true in virtually all aspects of life, and it couldn’t be truer in the business world. If you’re a marketer in particular, you’re expected to demonstrate return on investment, so it’s critical that you master the creation of a plan that measures and shows results. Here are a few tips for developing a top-of-the-line marketing plan in 2018, according to marketing guru Michael Guiffrida. First, you must define the challenges you face. Are there certain challenges you’re trying to overcome, or are there particular opportunities you would like to seize? What threats do you need to confront? Keep these big-picture ideas in mind as you flesh out your marketing plan. In other words, don’t get caught in the trap of missing the forest for the trees, if you will. Next, you’ll want to define your objectives and goals. (And yes, they are two different things -- goals are usuall

Michael Giuffrida: Why Your Corporate Culture Matters -- a Lot If you’ve been in business at some point during the past 20 years, you likely already know how important the term “corporate culture” is. The problem, though, is that to many people, it is nothing but a buzzword -- a word used so frequently in discussions that its meaning has virtually become lost. Let’s take a look at what corporate culture truly means and why taking it seriously is so critical today, according to business expert Michael Guiffrida. Corporate culture refers to the behaviors and beliefs that dictate how your organization’s management and employees interact and facilitate external business transactions. Having a unified, strong corporate culture is critical for a variety of reasons. First, it says a lot about your organization’s identity. For instance, let’s say that your business prioritizes the setting and achieving and goals. Your employees will likely be more motivated to define and accomplish thei