Using the DiSC Assessment in the Workplace

Are you looking for ways to promote self-awareness and teamwork at your company?

The DiSC Assessment may be your answer.

You might be familiar with personality assessments like Myers Briggs, Enneagram, or True Colors, which have traditionally played a role in the hiring process. Similarly, the DiSC Assessment (DiSC), a four-quadrant assessment first published by John Wiley, has been used by thousands of companies to categorize strengths and weaknesses and identify productive ways for team cohesion.

How Does the DiSC Work?

The goal of the DiSC is to better understand nuances of individuals and how to effectively interact with others. This can improve teamwork, communication, and productivity, which is why it’s often used in a workplace.

Participants take a 15-20 minutes questionnaire that results in a personalized profile based on how they answered the questions. The profile will include specific letter(s) (either D, I, S, or C) that are above 50% on the ranking system. A DiSC score can range from a single letter to a combination of two to four letters. They are ordered using whichever letter scored highest first, second highest, and so on.

So, you might be a D or an I/D or a C/S, etc.

Your profile will include the following:

Words that describe you
Your strengths
Ways you can succeed
Complimentary DiSC styles
A visual representation of your overall scores.

These resources can be used to not only best understand yourself but also help other people within your organization learn how to best engage with you.

Utilizing DiSC for Hiring

It’s important to strive for a well-balanced team, and the DiSC will assist you during the employment process.

How could an unbalanced team potentially hurt you?

A concentration of D’s: Could have clashing ideas and nobody to help mediate them.
A concentration of I’s: Too much conversing about things and not enough work getting completed.
A concentration of S’s: Everyone trying to be too harmonious, so no true opinions are shared.
A concentration of C’s: There’s a lot of data digging and analysis but no true execution.

What does each type of personality bring to the team?

D’s will push your team.
I’s will sell ideas to others.
S’s will blend everyone together.
C’s will provide order.

The DiSC can be an important part of connecting key skill sets with the type of role being hired for. For example, the hiring approach of someone in accounting or risk management (C) would be much different from hiring someone for sales or HR (I).

Secondarily, it’s important to keep in mind the bandwidth and size of the team as you hire. More bandwidth and people allow for more hands-on training opportunities, whereas a small team could mean you’re searching for a self-starter. Similarly, it’s important to pay attention to a team’s existing composition. How would the new hire engage with a potential supervisor and what direct reports will they be working with?

Utilizing DiSC as a Manager

By understanding and knowing your team’s DiSC, you can better lead and guide your team to success. A few examples of how managers can incorporate this information into the day-to-day of there team are:

Communication Style
If you’re deciding whether it’s worth it to have an in-person meeting with someone or if sending them the cliff notes version via Slack will suffice, you can use DiSC to decide. A strong D would probably be okay with the slack while a “high S” would probably prefer face-to-face interaction.

Management Style
You may have someone on your team who values lots of check-ins throughout a project with weekly touchpoints while someone else prefers larger check-ins halfway through and at the completion of a project.

Review Style
Some team members might respond positively to walking through an assessment orally, allowing them to react in live time to the feedback. This might be the case with someone who is “high S.” Other team members might want to receive the feedback in a written format, allowing themselves time to process, and then discuss at a later time once they have had a chance to collect their thoughts. Someone who is a “high C” might appreciate this.

Environmental Style
It’s often a struggle to decide on an office set up, and you could use the DiSC to help drive those decisions. A “high I” might do well in an open concept set up with lots of space for collaboration. A “high C” might do well in a private office or a cubicle where they can allow themselves to work independently and focus.

How Premiere Uses the DiSC

At Premiere, the DiSC is utilized in two main instances:

1. To predict the success of a new hire

2. To enhance team communication through a shared understanding of working styles

Predicting Success of a New Hire
During the hiring process, a DiSC profile can support or discourage decision making regarding hiring a potential candidate. Different DiSC profiles can better align with skill sets needed for particular positions. For example, you might look for someone with a “high C” for accounting or “high I” for sales. Using a DiSC profile can pulse check whether or not what is on someone’s paper resume matches up with the day-to-day needs of a position.

The DiSC enhances self-awareness and understanding of team dynamics. It could help you with assigning roles and tasks based on strengths and weaknesses, and hopefully, eliminate conflict or rise to resolutions faster since everyone understands DiSC verbiage.

A Shared Understanding
The most actionable aspect of the DiSC is it creates a shared language that teammates can utilize to interact and learn from one another. For example, if you know someone is a “high D,” they are most likely going to have strong opinions and the desire to push forward without delay. Someone with a “high C” is going to need more time to be cautious and critical. When a “high D” and a “high C” work together, they are going to be more successful if they understand each other’s working styles and can navigate them accordingly.

The DiSC creates a common metric system in which people can discuss personalities and tendencies, allowing employees to and coexist with others who are different from them.

DiSC Implementation in the Workplace

Truly understanding the power of the DiSC is a key factor in its success. A few ways to ensure this are…

Sharing DiSC profiles: Oftentimes, an applicant will take a personality test for an employer, and they never see the results. Premiere takes pride in sharing this information with applicants and employees, so they can thoroughly dive into their profiles.

Displaying DiSC letters: Each employee’s DiSC is listed on their name tag at the office. It’s something people see frequently and double check when engaging with a department or person they might not regularly work alongside.

Training on DiSC Profiles: Lunch-and-learns or team overviews about the DiSC, how to utilize it, and ways to embrace it at the office are important to the longevity of the tool.

Manager/Employee Relationships: DiSC language is commonly used and discussed in 1:1 interactions and check-ins. That way it’s continuously encouraged and part of frequent conversations.

By incorporating this tool into both Premiere’s hiring processes and regular workflow, the company culture defaults to a space of effective understanding. Employees feel heard and supported, and it’s easier to proactively approach working situations knowing each other’s DiSC’s.

Interested? We would love to know more about how your DiSC affects your experience in the workplace.

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