With the workforce being more dynamic, demanding and highly diverse, human resource professionals are getting increasingly dependent on behavioural and personality assessment tools for understanding their behaviour better. Today the market for psychometric testing tools is overwhelming, with multiple options for every testing requirement. This leaves the user confused what to go in for. The other question that may crop up is why a particular test should be chosen over another.
This space is going to be exclusively dedicated to my experiences with DiSC, as a certified trainer and assessor. DiSC is a behavioural assessment tool that has been modeled on William Moulton Marston’s DISC model where human behaviour is primarily assumed to be either a particular type or a combination of multiple types. Marston lists out four primary types or style which is Dominant, Influence, Steadiness and Conscientiousness.
DISC over the years has been compared to many personality models like Myer Briggs Type Indicator, Social Style Model and so on. Each model has given birth to numerous tests , some validated, reliable and trustworthy. With so many options available in the market it is important to make an informed decision lest you end up with an unreliable test where the whole exercise of testing leaves many questions unanswered. Everything DiSC by John Wiley is a globally accepted and objectively validated testing tool, which has been successfully used across the world and has been administered on more than 42 million users .
Unlike personality assessments which may be complex and difficult to interpret, behavioural assessments like DiSC are simple and intuitive, fairly easy to interpret. Most businesses require assessments not to predict the behaviour of an individual, but to help them understand how they can adapt themselves to their environment or situations. Unlike other personality assessments, which measure stable personal preferences or personality traits,behavioural assessments like DiSC looks at surface personality traits and adaptable behavioural styles. Thus by administering DiSC, an organisation can successfully mitigate conflicts and build team cohesion through behavioural adaptation, rather than just looking at each employee as a stand-alone unit.
The biggest challenge that I have faced when it comes to assessing people with personality assessments at a lot of them are abstract and comprehensive?. DiSC is very easy to use, remember and apply. More than looking at what task a person is comfortable undertaking or the manner in which an individual approaches a task, organisations today should focus on interpersonal dynamics like power, locus of control and aggression. This is why a lot of businesses prefer DiSC over other personality type assessments.
When asked to compare DiSC training programs to other personality and behavioural training programs , it has been acknowledged that DiSC offers a richer learning experience which makes it useful and more practical. The criticism leveled on other tests is that they are not solution focused and rely more on presentations and lectures for training. On the other hand DiSC can guarantee high levels of engagement in the trainings, in which rich narratives ,videos and DVD’s play a crucial role.
Read this space more to find out why DiSC is the way to go …
