Today’s world is filled with labels from political groups, religious preferences and generations to low performers, high potentials and star performers. What does this mean? More importantly, when did we start becoming labeled groups instead of human beings?

Every week articles are published about what to do with certain groups of people. How do we change them; how do we minimize their damage? I challenge each of you to start asking this:

• How can I understand people who don’t think the way I think, act the way I act or value the way I value?
• What makes me right and them wrong?
• What can the different groups bring together to make a better organization?

People are complex and cannot be described by one group or label. As humans, we bring more to our careers than our political or religious views, generational stereotypes and current level of performance category.

So where does a business begin when trying to determine job fit, development plans and succession planning? How can a company be strategic in times that don’t allow for thinking and planning? It starts with understanding a company’s most valuable asset, their people. In order to truly value your team, you need to understand people beyond their typical labels.

• How do they think?
• What drives them?
• How do they prefer to get things done?

We utilize Employee assessments which go beyond typical assessment offerings and explores the total person.

What could removing labels and re-engaging your workforce do to your bottom line and your most valuable asset—people?

Myth: Assessment tools are not necessary or cost-effective for all positions.

Perhaps many of you have heard the argument that assessment tools are only useful for top-level positions. Or that it is cost prohibitive to assess the entire organization. So are assessments important in every level of your organization? The answer is YES.

Any building is only as robust as its foundation. And so any organization is only as strong as its foundational workforce. Regardless of the position, all organizations benefit from understanding every role. A person’s assessment identifies strengths and weaknesses in the individual and the team. We often learn of organizations that identify undiscovered talent hidden within their organization as a result of utilizing assessments. This initial discovery leads to tapping the potential of future leaders and getting them started on the right development path.

When employees are in positions that are not a fit with their skills, the entire organization suffers. The benchmarking process uncovers the key performance indicators that drive results in the job critical to success. By understanding what the job needs and rewards, you should understand the best way to manage people, develop training and implement strategies.

Best of all, benchmarking is a simple, cost-effective way to set the foundation for the leaders of any organization to increase morale, improve employee retention and enhance overall employee satisfaction.