Management Business Solutions Promotes Employment among Underrepresented Communities

Management Business Solutions (MBS), a Grand Rapids-based staffing firm, was built on the personal journey of co-founder Floriza Genautis, who faced barriers navigating the U.S. job market as a new immigrant. Together with co-founder Amy Marshall, the duo has channeled their experiences into creating pathways for others—connecting individuals from underrepresented and immigrant communities with direct-hire, contract, and temporary employment opportunities.

Through longstanding participation in the West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and other community-based organizations, MBS continues to bridge access gaps in the workforce for people of color, women, and immigrants.  

Diversity in the workplace has many benefits for organizations: it can improve learning and innovation, create an inclusive environment, and accelerate problem-solving. Genautis emphasizes that representation goes beyond just the workplace. “It’s that representation part that is really important,” she says. “We’re not just placing candidates—we’re helping reshape systems of access.”

Delivering Talent, Advancing Equity

In 2020, MBS began documenting the demographics of those they are able to help find employment. Through voluntary information, it tracks the percentage of women and people of color that are hired through their staffing service. 

Seventy five percent of their placements are women, and close to 50 percent of their hires are candidates from traditionally underrepresented communities. Candidates from these groups make up the majority of MBS’s candidate pool, allowing people who usually would not have a chance to compete for quality employment equal access to opportunities.

Their approach promotes diversity in industries like manufacturing and engineering that tend to be male dominated, improving the overall diversity of those companies. And their work is not limited to Michigan: MBS has clients nationwide and in Canada. 

MBS continues to make impactful placements in leadership roles that align with its mission of equity and representation. Most recently, Alejandra Guillen-Berrueta was placed as Executive Director of Latin Americans United for Progress (LAUP). Previous successful placements include Milinda Ysasi-Castañon as CEO of GROW and Eric Brown as CEO of the Urban League of West Michigan. These placements reflect MBS’s long-standing commitment to finding the right fit and building lasting partnerships with the clients and communities it serves.  In the future Genautis hopes to further MBS’s work in DEIJ, growing the minority hiring rate to 75 percent.

Outside MBS, Genautis Floriza is a member of the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce’s Mosaic Business Council, a professional council that supports c-suite leaders and business owners from underrepresented groups. The council promotes civic engagement, advocacy, and leadership development across West Michigan’s business landscape.  She also continues to serve on the certification council for the Great Lakes Women’s Business Council (GL-WBC), where she helps other women-owned businesses achieve certification and visibility.

Recognizing their dedication to underrepresented communities, their work in the community, and their focus on DEIJ, MiSBF named Management Business Solutions a 2023 Sustainable Business of the Year. The award is selected by a committee of past honorees, local business and community leaders to highlight organizations that are advancing decarbonization goals and climate solutions, racial equity and environmental justice, green stormwater infrastructure, and the development of a circular economy.