Today we’d like to introduce you to Michelle Griffin.
Hi Michelle, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Thank you for having me and for the opportunity to share my story. I am Michelle Griffin, CEO and founder of Griffin Resources, an HR consulting firm based here in Tampa, FL.
Human Resources is one of those industries that most people fall into rather than purposely pursue. However, on career day in second grade, I told my teacher that I wanted to be the person who helps a company with paperwork and people. As a child of the ’80s, I was told that was personnel and not very glamorous like a doctor, lawyer, firefighter, or astronaut. While I did not hold on to that as an absolute dream, I knew that I wanted to learn business operations while studying people. I earned a Bachelor’s in Psychology from the University of Tampa and became an auto theft and arson investigator for six years before soul searching for my career path in HR.
I went back to school for a Master’s in Industrial-Organizational Psychology, and was quickly promoted to Head of HR at ConnectWise after two years with the organization. I was given the opportunity to have a “seat at the table” with Homes by Westbay as their Director of HR. With 10 years of experience, I went back to school again for a Ph.D. in Industrial-Organizational Psychology and transitioned from a corporate executive to an independent consultant. I wanted to provide executive-level knowledge of HR to small and mid-size businesses. My husband, James Griffin, trained me for sales and provided marketing, technology, and business development support. With market research, we quickly realized the demand and need for affordable executed-level HR operational solutions for small businesses. After establishing Griffin Resources LLC in December 2019, I hired two full-time employees by February 2020 to support our eight clients.
The shutdown for COVID through 2020 was difficult for our clients, my new employees, and me. I personally struggled with uncertainty and doubt. With the support of my husband, dedicated team members, and wonderful clients, we all kept each other going through the toughest parts of the year. As the economy gained confidence and allowed for more remote work, we were able to partner with more clients throughout the US and Tampa Bay. Currently, we have grown the team to 16 amazing professionals who embody the expertise, values, and vision of Griffin Resources to provide superior support for each client. We work closely as part of the team within the client’s organization, typically taking on the internal role as acting executives for daily operational functions and provide the tactical HR solution. This unique approach allows our team to support our clients seamlessly, filling operational gaps as needed.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Starting the company a few months before the COVID lockdown created many unique challenges that were unprecedented for our clients and ourselves. Many companies leaned on HR for guidance regarding the safety, work from home processes and policies, employee engagement and morale, COVID protocols, government regulations, and eventually return to work programs. We stayed connected to the CDC, WHO, and government updates to help guide companies as best as possible. These past couple of years demonstrated the value of HR with organizations, and we embraced the challenge.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Griffin Resources?
We work as an extension of the company’s in-house HR team to provide daily operations such as recruitment, onboarding/offboarding, employment relation issues, benefits administration, system implementation, policy and handbook drafts, performance management, and projects unique to our clients. We also provide leadership development, team training, offboarding outplacement for layoffs, business coaching, and custom operational development packages. We are able to bring HR and operations to companies that otherwise cannot afford the executive-level expertise and do not need it full-time. This allows small to mid-size companies to create and document internal processes, fill gaps, and grow confidently.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
Luck has played a unique role in the opportunities available for my business. Before COVID, companies did not trust HR to work remotely, restricting the service model to a local drive radius within the Tampa Bay area; however, after COVID, companies trust us to provide HR services remotely, increasing our reach throughout TampaBay, the US, and internationally.
Contact Info:
- Email: michelle@griffin-resources.com
- Website: www.Griffin-Resources.com
Image Credits
Sunshine Smiles Portraits
