In honor of Black History Month and the individuals who fought for our civil rights, we thought it would be fun to take a look at Rosa Parks and the impact she had on our country. Called “the mother of the civil rights era”, Rosa Parks was a civil rights activist who fought for racial equality when she refused to surrender her seat to a white passenger on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama on December 1, 1955. Her defiance sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott by more than 17,000 black citizens and its success launched nationwide efforts to end racial segregation of public facilities. Although Parks’ refusal to yield her seat to a white man was not premeditated, she was the secretary of the Montgomery chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and once the civil disobedience had already occurred, the NAACP believe that she was the best candidate for seeing through a court challenge after her arrest. Four days after Parks arrest, the boycott began. This was supposed to be a one day boycott, but it lasted 381.  Talk about standing up for your people!

Can you imagine where we would be today if Rosa Parks did not risk her freedom for the rights of others? What if Rosa Parks backed down and decided it was easier to move to the back of the bus instead of standing up for her people? What if she never took that chance? Undoubtedly, Rosa Parks was all about taking a stand for her people…She saw a problem and she was not going to let anyone stop her from being a force of change.

Just as Rosa Parks did, it is important we recognize the importance of taking a stand for our people in today’s business world, as well. While it would have been easier for Rosa Parks to move to the back of the bus, sometimes in today’s workplace, we perceive it to be easier to give up on (or fire) employees that appear to be disengaged and unmotivated, but this may not be the best idea! In fact, according to a recent poll by Gallup, in a typical workforce only one-third of your employees are actively engaged and nearly half, (49 percent), are disengaged while (18 percent) are actively disengaged. Now, that is a lot of employees to give up on!!!

Do we get rid of them all? Being that it costs a company an average of 6 to 9 months of pay for every time a salaried employee is replaced simply giving up on over 65% of your staff may not be the best move for your bottom line. So, what do we do?  Looking at the costs and implications of simply parting ways with that “once star player” on your team, that has suddenly become apathetic and withdrawn, maybe all you need to do is find a position that suits them better! Not only will this increase your employee retention (and overall moral), it will also save you a good chunk of change.

While a beefed up resume, experience and skill-set are inevitably important when finding the best position for every individual on your team, these factors will only reveal if the individual can do the job; not if they will actually thrive at it. Clearly you are not going to move someone in your accounting department to be a graphic designer just because they seem disengaged, but what if  you could gain a better understanding of each of the individuals on your team so you could put each of your employees in a position that is better suited for their personality style. Maybe you will discover that the manager you hired based off of the qualifications on their resume isn’t actually suited for a managerial position at all or you may unlock the potential of individuals on your team that may be going unnoticed. Couldn’t hurt, right? Well…you are in luck, because thanks to advancements in technology, we now have access to gain a thorough understanding of a person’s behavioral profile, driving forces, motivators and emotional quotient to help determine the best position for each of the members of your team and to better predict if that individual will not only do the job, but actually thrive at it.  Now, that’s what I am talking about! 

Have you ever had that employee who looked perfect on paper, yet once they started they just didn’t seem to fit? Or, that once star player on your team that suddenly seems to be disengaged and unmotivated? You know this person has assets, but the role they are in is not working out for your bottom line. So what do you do? Do you fire an employee that you know can provide value to your team in a different role or do you STAND UP FOR YOUR PEOPLE and find a position that suits them better?

We need to recognize that even though an employee may have a resume with the skills and experience for the position they were hired for, education, skills, and experience will only reveal if an individual CAN do the job, not help you to determine if the individual will actually THRIVE at it. What if we could determine the best position for all of your employees based on their behavioral profile? Thanks to advancements in technology we now have the ability to effectively “map” an individual based on a person’s behavioral profile, driving forces, motivators, and emotional quotient to determine if an individual will be the right fit for your organization; not just do the job.