Developed by Dr. William Marston, DISC is a four-quadrant (Dominance or Decisiveness, Influence or Interactive, Steadiness or Stability, Conscientiousness or Cautious) model that was developed in 1928 with the aim of understanding human behavior. Being one of the most utilized human behavior models around the globe, DISC is available in different versions in the market. Revelian provides the Behavioral Profile Assessment that is based on the DISC theory and which is utilized in recruitment and talent development.
So, why use DISC in the hiring process? One would ask. Well, understanding an individual’s behavior is utterly important for every business entity. It reinforces every aspect of the organization’s culture, compelling performance, teamwork, interpersonal relationships, communication, and motivation on the job.
In the long run, behavior affects the overall success of businesses across numerous industries and sectors. For this reason, organizations are continuously utilizing behavior and personality traits in several business contexts, especially hiring, succession planning and talent harnessing.
The continued popularity and adoption of DISC by more organizations can be attributed to the personal, practical nature of the model and its seamless application across various sectors and levels in a business organization. The four basic factors of the tool make it easy to understand and implement, especially for users without much experience with psychometric tests as well as those with little time to commit and research an elaborate model of behavior and personality.
Primarily consisting of 24 facets and taking about 20 minutes to complete, DISC is a fast and stress-free tool to complete. Most DISC tools are also resistant to manipulation and replication. This is a great advantage especially in situations where the individuals are supposed to present favorably such as during the hiring process. The DISC tools are sensitive to inconsistent responses, and most of them will report to the administrator once they establish inconsistencies in an individual’s profile.
Predominantly, DISC provides an insight into an individual’s prime behavioral and character traits that have a direct impact on workplace performance. The tool allows the hirer to identify traits such as the approach to problems and challenging
situations, interpersonal interactions, compliance with the rules, and environment adaptation pace. With this information, managers and supervisors can seamlessly put measures to improve the individual’s performance, management capability, and team effectiveness.
The use of DISC can play a critical role in the recruitment and selection of new hires by appreciating the conventional recruitment methods and practices. The promoters of the DISC model suggest that the difference between an individual’s natural behavioral traits and how they are expected to behave at work can become difficult and demanding over time. Therefore, close placement between the two is important and can be explored during the recruitment process by utilizing the insight from DISC.
To ensure prime benefits from DISC insights, DISC should be implemented on the shortlisted candidates before the face-to-face interview. Insights derived from the tool can help to facilitate the conversation, especially in areas such as the candidate’s preferred working style, strengths, and development areas. Effective use of the DISC tool allows uncovering of specific behavioral traits that would not have been evident until the individual is already on the job. The insight allows the interviewer to assess the specific behavioral traits against the job role, helping in making a more informed decision.
According to Revelian, the information presented with the DISC report should be treated as accompanying insight into the hiring process. A collection of the individual’s DISC description, the resume, application form, other psychometric tests, plus the interview provides a well-rounded evaluation of the individual that can help in making a comprehensive decision.
So, what are the benefits of using DISC in the hiring process? Here are some of the advantages;
I. DISC is an unbeatable recruitment tool
Considering that the root of DISC lies in recruitment, it is not surprising that this is one of the areas that the tool is used extensively. DISC profiling allows a company to identify and understand a person’s behavioral traits before giving them the job. The tool also allows the employer to learn of how the individual would respond to problems and challenges as well as behave while in a team situation which further allows for the creation of a conducive environment for maximum productivity.
As part of the hiring process, DISC profile helps both managers and supervisors to lead the workforce appropriately. It also helps the new hires to integrate well with their jobs as they can find a match between their strengths and how it affects their new role.
II. DISC promotes smooth working relationships
An important perk of using DISC in the hiring process is that it gives insights on an individual’s behaviors, interpersonal communication capabilities, and personality traits. This means that through the use of the tool, the employer can determine how two individuals will communicate with each other. DISC profile can thus help to pick out a potential problem area while also suggesting approaches that can foster better working relationships with a business organization.
III. DISC facilitates employee evaluation
To many people, the role of DISC ceases as soon as the employee gets the role. The truth is that the tool also plays a vital role in the assessment of the employee. Organizations are now using DISC profiling programs to monitor and determine the performance of an individual in their specific roles. This tool allows organizations to cope up with measures that will not only help to motivate the employees but also keep them performing at their best.
IV. DISC promotes sales
A lot of us tend to dissociate DISC with sales thinking of it as an exclusive Human Resource tool. However, the truth remains that DISC can be implemented by the sales team, especially to learn more about their client’s buying styles. The tool can help to identify the client’s points of stress as well as the kind of relationship that they are looking forward to. Through this insight, the sales team can then craft their selling style to meet the specific needs of the market.
V. DISC promotes team building
It’s breathtaking how people with different personalities come together and work as a union and blend well in a business organization. The dynamics of the different personalities in the team can be measured and understood using the DISC theory. This further helps to identify existing communication gaps and come up with ways to rectify them.
VI. DISC empowers leaders
Leaders are known because of their ability to engineer a dynamic environment for their workforce and inspire positive change. DISC provides a baseline where leaders can use to find a leeway to harmonize their interpersonal relationship with the workforce and inspire positive change that will not only improve the working environment but also make sure the employees’ productivity is at its best.
DISC also allows employees that are looking to escalate into positions of leadership to do it seamlessly by identifying areas that they need to work on regarding their leadership traits.
To sum it up, the benefits of using DISC in the hiring process cannot be overlooked. Disc profiling helps interviewers to have more insight on the candidate before they get the job. This helps to match the candidate’s personal traits with their new role as well as identify any potential problems and come up with measures to counter them.
If you want to go further into DISC give Sheryl Isenhour an email at sheryl@cvccoaching.com or she is also available by phone at 704-425-0211. Let her help you and your team reach a new level that can be achieved by the availability to know the team member behavior and personality, how to communicate with others and if they are in the correct seat. Also, when using for New Hires you can understand the person before you hire and make sure this is the person for you.