What is a DiSC Assessment and What is it Used For?
Last Updated on May 29, 2024 / Employee Relations, Training & Development
HR Question:
I keep hearing people mention using a DiSC Assessment. What is it and what is it used for?
HR Answer:
Have you ever been frustrated at work when someone just doesn’t seem to understand your perspective? Or they simply can’t see another way of solving a problem beyond “their way” of doing things? The DiSC assessment is a scientifically validated personality profile tool that can help you understand your own work style and preferences. And it can help you learn how to effectively work with those whose work styles are different than yours.
The DiSC training model is a fantastic solution for organizations experiencing issues with team communication and collaboration, poor employee engagement, leadership team strategy, negative company culture, and coaching skills. It’s a game changer for work productivity and collaboration!
Speaking the Same Language
If you’ve ever utilized a personality assessment in the past, you know that they can often come with unique and confusing language making it difficult to debrief and communicate the results. One of the many reasons the DiSC education model is incredibly popular is that the assessment report and training use commonly understood terminology.
Since the language is easy to understand and used throughout the report and training, the participants are more likely to remember the crucial information, work on their personal development plan, and utilize the recommended techniques to improve interactions with their team. This is what’s led to the long-term success of organizational training and development programs.
The DiSC Model is comprised of four different quadrants:
D – Dominance
i – Influence
S – Steadiness
C – Conscientiousness
No one style or profile is better or superior to another, but rather, provides unique insight into how each person approaches communication and collaboration by highlighting common behaviors, communication preferences, and motivating factors for their behavior within the workplace.
Understanding Ourselves & Others
Because the DiSC Assessment makes the content relatable in a natural way, employers often find their employees get excited to learn more about themselves and their coworkers. This excitement and engagement allow for growth and development in the individual’s self-awareness.
Once self-awareness has been achieved, DiSC takes it a step further by educating participants on the other profile type traits, how to identify the other profile types (even if the person has not taken a DiSC Assessment), and how to improve communication and relationships with differing profile types. Through group discussion during the training, several aha! moments can occur amongst team members that improve understanding of one another and how to best collaborate.
Implementing DiSC in the Workplace
There are multiple types of DiSC Assessments that can be used to address different areas of opportunity with an individual or an organization throughout the employee’s tenure. The following modules are most commonly used for organizational communication and strategy.
Everything DiSC Workplace®
This assessment addresses areas including:
- Communication
- Collaboration
- Motivation
- Building Better Relationships
- Reducing Conflict
Everything DiSC® Agile EQ™
This assessment centers around emotional intelligence within communication and helps participants stretch their emotional intelligence a bit further. It includes:
- Emotional Intelligence Self-Awareness
- Different Communication Techniques
- Identifying the Best Techniques to Use in Various Scenarios
- Areas for Growth
- Reducing Conflict
- Motivating Managers
Everything DiSC Work of Leaders®
This module is focused on participants’ specific leadership styles. Leaders will learn how they operate on a daily basis, personal growth potential, and how they can flex to meet their team’s needs. This assessment addresses areas including:
- Creating Impactful Leadership
- Understanding Leadership Styles
- Role Management
- Action Planning
There are additional DiSC assessments and training that target specific areas including training managers to be effective leaders, how to have productive conflict, and preparing sales professionals for success.
Keep the Momentum Going!
The DiSC Assessment training is most successful when it isn’t just a one-time assessment and training. Tying the DiSC concepts into managerial coaching, navigating difficult meetings or conversations, and incorporating the concepts into the Performance Management models help in keeping it top of mind.
Assessment participants also have access to the Catalyst system long after their initial assessment in order to run comparison reports with other team members and to refresh their memory on various tips on interacting with other profile types. Adding the profile types to the company directory or the internal chat platform is another great way to keep the DiSC model top of mind!
Thank you to Mary Mitchell, MBA, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, CHRS, Senior HR Business Advisor, for contributing to this HR Question of the Week.
It can be hard to get dynamically different individuals to work effectively as a team. As an Authorized Partner for Everything DiSC®, Clark Schaefer Strategic HR can help you to identify and administer the best DiSC assessment(s) for your organization’s needs to help your team work better together. Contact us to learn more!
