How Two Acclaimed Theorists Laid Groundwork for PXT Select

Posted on August 22, 2017

Job satisfaction, job success and coworker compatibility are top concerns among recruiters, human resource managers and the engineers of the PXT Select Hiring Assessment Tool. When all three aspects are effectively aligned, business flourishes and profits soar.

The science of successfully matching the right person with the right job is largely due to the work of two 20th Century visionaries — Frank Parsons and John Holland. When assessing a recruitment tool like PXT Select for your company, consider the studies it was founded upon.

Delving into the work of pioneers who developed career counseling and modernized effective candidate selection can help you better understand the recruitment selection system as a whole.

Frank Parsons Lays the Groundwork

In 1909, Frank Parsons of the Vocational Bureau in Boston, MA laid the groundwork for career development theory with a simple outline for successful employment decision-making. This triad of factors consisted of self-understanding, available jobs and the relationship between the two.

Essentially, Parsons believed that if you know your strengths and preferences, and if you are aware of what is required to be successful in specific jobs, you could make sound career decisions rather than leaving your future up to chance.

Parson’s philosophy was especially useful in the wake of the Great Depression, when large-scale unemployment created the need to determine the most effective way to classify the exact strengths of an individual. Shortly thereafter, the Second World War had a similar effect from the opposite direction.

This prompted the development of the U.S. Employment Service General Aptitude Test Battery that helped address job placement concerns arising from manpower shortages. Strategies for dealing with both crises were based on Parson’s work, which by this time had been renamed the Trait and Factor Theory.

The Trait and Factor Theory provided the basis for the PXT Select Hiring Assessment an evaluation system that measures eleven specific traits, allowing you to determine exactly where a job candidate can excel in your workplace.

John Holland Expands on Parsons’ Theory

Half a century later in 1959, a Professor Emeritus at John Hopkins University named John Holland expanded on Parson’s premise. He created an in-depth occupational classification system known as the Holland Codes.

Holland distilled the thousands of human personality distinctions down to six fundamental categories, which were then mirrored by six types of workplace environments. The realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising and conventional archetypes (RIASEC) became a sound basis for matching people with careers that best suited their personalities and interests.

Holland’s work affirmed the notion that people search for and thrive in environments that best fit their personality type. This prevents negative scenarios where work environments do not match individual personalities.

The indications of the Holland’s Hexagon (an infographic for RIASEC) allows you to see how an artistically driven person can adapt to social and investigative settings but may not respond well to environments that require a conventional, realistic mindset.

Conversely, the system demonstrates that an enterprising person may get along well with others of the same mindset as well as those inclined towards being social or conventional, but people who focus on work through an investigative or realistic lens may deter them.

The PXT Select Hiring Assessment Tool expands on these proven theories and research, providing detailed graphs, metrics and reports on the strengths of your job candidate. In turn, these point to the specific positions in your company where they will thrive the most.

Minimize Bad Hires and Maximize Employee Skills

The inception and growth of the career assessment has evolved into the sophisticated science behind the PXT Select Hiring Assessment Tool. This tool allows you to minimize the incorrect placement of people throughout your workforce and to avoid hiring the wrong people altogether.

Both of these scenarios can come at great cost to your bottom line, if unhappy employees become prone to being late, combative or absent altogether. On the positive side, saving money on recruiting, you can watch your company’s productivity expand because people are working in areas that suit them alongside others with similar mindsets.

PXT Select provides you with information based on a candidate’s answers to a lengthy inquiry. It begins with a questionnaire measuring skills and reasoning in their verbal and numerical capacities. It also evaluates specific personality traits including pace, assertiveness, outlook, sociability, conformity, decisiveness, accommodation, independence and judgment.

These metrics are then assimilated into a series of reports that show you the best position for a candidate or a current employee. It also gives you insight into areas where the person could benefit from coaching and how they measure up next to other individuals.

Additional reports suggest alternate positions that might suit a candidate, how the person will fit into your team and how you can expect them to interact with you and your managers.

Empower Your Employment Process

Based on these proven theories and actionable formulas, your current employees and future recruits stand an excellent chance to experience career satisfaction. Utilizing PXT, you can take steps to assure that they are working in areas and with others that match their strengths and interests.

As an employer, you can benefit from a high level of productivity while the entire team enjoys a general sense of balance within the workplace. These essential facets of personnel management are the fundamental principles behind the PXT Select Hiring Assessment Tool.

If you want personnel who love what they do and a company bottom line that shows it, consider the mechanics of Corexcel’s PXT Select career assessment tool. Determine who are the right people for your company and exactly where to place them in your workforce.

Contact us to learn more about streamlining your hiring process, minimizing the costs of turnovers and bad hires and maximizing your recruiting efforts with the PXT Select Hiring Assessment Tool.

[Holland’s RAISEC Model]. (2017). Retrieved from Corexcel’s Ready to Hire Simpler and Smarter PowerPoint Webinar.

Webinar: Overcoming Workplace Negativity, New Tools

Posted on August 10, 2017

Nothing affects employee morale and productivity more insidiously than negativity in the workplace. It is the “noise” that diverts energy and attention from critical initiatives. It is a barrier to positive change, kills morale and blocks productivity. It’s infectious.

In this webinar, we’ll review

What causes negativity
How you enable negativity
What you can do about it
Introduce a new tool to help you turn a negative culture into a positive one

Date: August 31, 2017

Contact Us to request the webinar recording.

Learn more about Everything DiSC Workplace, request a demo or make a purchase.

Webinar Recap: Ready to Hire Simpler & Smarter?

Posted on August 4, 2017

People are the Most Valuable Variable in Business

“My inventory goes home every night.” — Michael Eisner

In case you missed our live webinar and don’t have time to listen to the recording, here’s a high level recap of our June 2017 webinar, “Ready to Hire Simpler and Smarter?

Although technology often drives business success, the number one asset to any company is personnel. Human resources supply the brainpower, capabilities and distinctive personalities to drive the business.

Putting the wrong person in a job can result in negative attitudes, conflict with other employees, poor attendance and high turnover. An assessment that evaluates the strengths, attributes and interests of employees and potential hires can help minimize poor job placement and create an efficient, productive workplace.

With the PXT Select hiring assessment, you can identify the best person for each role. As the business changes, you can use PXT Select to identify future roles for employees that build on their strengths and a maximize productivity within the organization.

Costly Miscalculations

Unsuccessful hires cost money and hurt morale. Resources spent on advertising, interviewing and training an individual are wasted when new hires don’t work out, regardless of the reason.

In November 2016 Career Builder sponsored a poll by Harris on the cost of poor hiring decisions. They surveyed 2,379 HR professionals and hiring managers across private sector companies and business of various sizes. 75% of the managers surveyed affirmed they had made a bad hire. On average, the reported cost of a bad hire was $17,000.

NOTE: 20% of those surveyed knew they had made a hiring mistake within the first week. 53% knew within the first three weeks!

The Challenge of Successful Recruiting

Successful recruiting requires that an organization have a clear description of the skills and attributes necessary to fill a position. They also need a way to compare individual candidates to see if they are a good fit for their positions. Many companies rely on interviews and “gut feelings” alone to determine which candidate they hire.

Most hiring managers admit that even with a good job description, interviewing requires skilled questions and observations. To make matters worse, poor interviewing skills and lack of time to conduct multiple interviews can result in a choice between several unqualified candidates. Picking the lesser of two evils is never the right way to select a new employee.

An Innovative, Easy-to-Use Hiring Solution

Corexcel clients now have access to PXT Select, a new online hiring assessment that tests a candidate’s verbal and numerical skills, verbal and numerical reasoning, behavioral attributes and interests. A series of powerful reports compare the candidate’s results with multiple positions and with other candidates. Most helpful, managers also get a series of questions to ask the candidate and tips on “what to look for” and “what to listen for” during the interview.

An assessment is required for each candidate. Once a candidate logs on to the testing platform, the assessment takes 60-90 minutes to complete. Candidate results are measured against a Job Performance Model that describes the skills and attributes necessary to perform a specific job. Corexcel works with clients to select performance models that match their needs.

The price of an assessment includes 9 reports. We’ve highlighted four of them in our blog. We also have samples of all of the reports posted on Corexcel’s website.

The Comprehensive Selection Report provides insight into a candidate’s verbal skills, numerical aptitude, reasoning facilities, behavior style and interests. It also identifies potential areas of concern such as mathematical deficiency or behavior trait that might warrant further probing, depending on the skills and/or needed for the position. It gives recruiters suggestions on what questions to ask and what to look for in an interview.

The Multiple Positions Report summarizes a candidate’s fit across several positions within a business while elaborating on their behavior style’s personal interests and showing how their score could affect their success in any given position.

The Multiple Candidates Report measures several potential hires alongside one another. This report also compares the behavior traits and personal interests of multiple candidates along with numerical and verbal ability.

The Coaching Report is designed to offer insight into the mindset, capabilities and aptitude of an existing employee. This helps managers determine areas where a candidate or new employee could benefit from coaching related to the position that they have been hired to fill.

Join the Recruiting Revolution

PXT Select is founded on the belief that people perform best when they are placed into positions that are most suited to their abilities and traits. It simplifies the process of identifying and placing individuals where they are most likely to succeed.

Contact us for a demonstration so that you can streamline your hiring process and save valuable man-hours and recruiting resources. Let us help you put the right people in the right positions.

William Marston: Wonder Woman’s Creator Gave the World DISC

Posted on July 23, 2017

There certainly is a huge buzz about Wonder Woman, the Amazonian princess who is one of the major superheroes in the DC Comics universe. Thanks to actress Gal Gadot, director Patty Jenkins, and scriptwriter Allan Heinberg, she’s now become one of the most successful superheroes to hit the box office.

The Creation Unfolds

When introduced in 1941, Wonder Woman was a rare example of a strong female heroine who didn’t need a man to save her. Later, she came out as bisexual and has become a symbol for both women’s rights and the LGBT community. She’s unique in another way: her creator, William Marston, was not the typical comic book writer or artist.

Unlike the industry hall of fame comic-book writers, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, William Marston was a psychologist. Marston went to Harvard for his education, graduating in 1921 with a Ph.D. in psychology, followed by teaching positions at both American University and Tufts University. During the 1920s and 1930s, he published a number of different research papers and books, including Emotions of Normal People, where he laid out his theory of human behavior that would eventually be used for DiSC.

The Beginnings of Wonder Woman

Marston was interviewed in a Family Circle Magazine article where he discussed his belief that comic books could be used for educational purposes. This article brought him to the attention of Max Gaines, a comic book publisher, who hired Marston to serve as an educational consultant for what would become DC Comics.

Marston suggested the company introduce a hero who saved the day with love and compassion rather than by fighting. With his wife Elizabeth’s suggestion, they created a strong female lead character. In a time where women’s rights were challenged, he planted a seed of gender equality and created a symbol of women’s empowerment.

Marston and DiSC Theory

While Wonder Woman may be Marston’s most well known creation, especially among the general public, many psychologists know him more as one of the fathers of DiSC. His interest in this area can be traced back to 1924 when he began looking at concepts of will and power, and how they affected personality and behavior. Four years later, he published Emotions of Normal People and laid out what he believed were the four basic behavior types: Dominance, Inducement, Submission, and Compliance. From these theories of behavior, they eventually came to be adopted and built into the DISC Personality Profile Test.

Marston believed that the basis of all four behaviors had to do with the environment around the person. It all depended on whether they saw their environment as being favorable or as being unfavorable, and if they had control over that environment. In 1931, he elaborated on his theory even more in his book DISC, Integrative Psychology. While Marston didn’t outline the modern DiSC profile or discuss DISC training or DISC testing, all of his work laid the foundation for these tools.

Later, Walter Clarke would take Marston’s ideas and create an assessment tool that could be used to create a profile of a person’s personality.

DISC and Wonder Woman

Marston’s work on DISC is reflected in Wonder Woman, too. Her dominance over her environment, her influence over others, her steadiness when faced with adversity, and her compliance with the laws and morals can all be linked to DiSC theory.

Both Wonder Woman and DiSC can be summed up with one of Marston’s most famous quotes: “Every crisis offers you extra desired power.” With William Marston’s DiSC theory, every crisis gives a person a chance to gain more control over their environment by adapting to a situation or experience or by Influencing the outcome.

Wonder Woman also illustrates this quote in both the comics and in the movie. In the film, her adversary, Ares, appears to be much more powerful than the hero. Then comes a point of crisis: <Spoiler Alert!> trapped, Wonder Woman is forced to watch her friend and love interest Steve Trevor sacrifice himself to destroy a plane full of poison. This gives her the desired power she needs to defeat Ares and save the day.

Why DiSC® is Valuable to Growing Companies

DiSC can be very useful to growing companies and teams by providing ways to effectively handle communication with different personality styles. With miscommunication often being the root of conflict, it can be one of the biggest contributors to lost productivity.

DiSC training can help team leaders solve these issues of miscommunication by creating a more cohesive work environment and enabling each team member to learn how to better communicate, leading the team come to a consensus on decisions more quickly.

How DiSC is a Superpower

DiSC training can turn any facilitator, team leader, or supervisor into a superhero by giving them the tools they need to handle miscommunication or conflict. By using the DiSC assessments, a team leader can better understand each team member and facilitate understanding between team members.

Of course, it’s important to remember that DiSC, like superpowers, can be used for evil, too. The DiSC model shouldn’t be used to classify people as hero or villain.

Using DiSC for good allows supervisors to create scenarios that can help motivate their employees and bring them together as a cohesive, efficient team. Doing so can improve productivity and lead to innovative ideas, and more.

Did you notice the change to a small “i” in DiSC? That’s because we’re referring to the Everything DiSC® family of profiles published by Wiley. These profiles are simple to use and supported by years of research.

Are you ready to learn more about DiSC training? If so, contact us today to learn about Everything DiSC Profiles and how they can help you manage your employees.

Recorded Webinar: You’ve Hired The Best, Now What? PXT Select™

Posted on July 20, 2017

PXT Select™ is a new, easy to use online hiring assessment that makes hiring simpler and smarter. PXT Select helps managers select and compare the best candidates for your organization but it also does a lot more.

Join us to continue your discovery of PXT Select .
In this recorded webinar, we covered the history and methodology used to develop PXT Select and how it helps to provide a clear picture of a candidate’s:

Verbal skills
Verbal reasoning abilities
Numerical abilities
Numerical reasoning
Behavioral traits
interests

The webinar covers the importance of onboarding and supporting new hires. It talks about how the PXT Select hiring assessment can help you:

Introduce new hires to your existing team
Understand their areas of opportunity and challenge
Keep them interested and engaged in their job
Coach and develop your new employees

We also review:

All 9 PXT Select reports available for one price!
The training available for your team so you can get started right away!

Contact Us Today for the Recording

PXT Select Part 1 was held on June 15th, 2019. If you missed Part 1, we’ll be happy to send you the recording to review. Simply send your request through our contact form.

“PXT Select” is a trademark of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Avoid 5 Management Mistakes by using the DiSC® Profile

Posted on June 7, 2017

Whether you are a veteran or new to the managing scene, anyone that deals with running a team know that managing people is no simple task. More than 60% of new managers fail within the first year and over 70% report they do not get what they need to be successful in their role.

This is not only stressful for the managers but the employees as well. Bad management can cause employees to feel under-appreciated, frustrated and stressed out, leaving them uninterested in their work and looking for a way out.

DiSC Management Profiles offer strategies to understand your own management style, your teammates’ personalities and finally how you can use this information to better motivate and develop your team.

Use the DiSC® Profile to Avoid These Five Fatal Management Mistakes

1. Not Knowing Yourself

It may sound obvious but all too many managers don’t have a firm idea of their own management style. The first step to being an effective leader is developing an understanding of your own personal motivations as well as individual strengths and weaknesses.

What kind of manager are you? There isn’t one personality mold that fits all managers. What works for the fast-paced and strong willed manager might not work for the analytical and systematic. Learn which of these four DiSC profiles most closely aligns with you and how your management style fits in your team.

2. Misunderstanding Others Priorities and Abilities

When you look at your team what do you see? If you are honest, you have probably neatly categorized and labeled them in your head. But do you really understand your team members on a fundamental level or have you sold some people short? Don’t fall into the trap of defining someone by what you believe they can do. Learn what makes them tick and what motivates them so you can support them in reaching their full potential.

Everyone on your team has different personalities, working styles, and needs. As a manager, it’s your job to work with those differences. Some people may need more encouragement, some more direction, while others may need a greater challenge. By better understanding their personalities you will be able to guide instead of just define them.

3. Giving Unclear, Ambiguous Direction

Unclear direction can be a large stumbling block when it comes to how your team performs. Your team wants to succeed and to deliver what is expected. Though problems can arise when there is a disconnect between your expectations and what your team thinks you expect. Each team member will process and take direction differently. A key factor in their performance is their individual personality style.

The team member with a D (Dominance) personality, for example, is driven, works fast and asks a lot of questions, which can be perceived as challenging. How do you direct and delegate this team member? Well to answer that question you need to understand what motivates them.

A person with a D-personality is highly result-oriented, so when giving direction it is best to show them the “big picture” purpose of a task as well the potential successful outcomes.

If they have proven themselves in the past, show them that you respect their abilities. Give them a little more autonomy, but make sure you see eye-to-eye on the goal of the assignment and the consequences of shortcuts.

4. Failing to Address Basic Needs and Preferences

Harmony, acceptance, action, facts…. What if people had their needs written all over them? It sure would make it easier to give people the support they needed in the workplace. As that is not the case, many managers are left at a loss when it comes to how to best support their team members. With DiSC profiles, managers can better understand what their team members need to thrive.

For example, a team member with an S (Steadiness) personality, needs harmony and stability, and conversely, fears rapid change and letting people down. For this particular style, being in chaotic situations, or being forced to improvise or deal with cold or argumentative people is stressful and demotivating.

How can we go about creating a motivational atmosphere for this personality? Make sure they have ample time to achieve results, even if it means slowing your pace down a bit. Additionally, be sure you provide the structure and security needed for her to feel comfortable and when changes are coming make sure you plan ahead to be able to give her plenty of warning.

Other personalities will have varying needs, but understanding these needs is the first step in creating a supportive environment and a harmonious workplace.

5. Delivering Inappropriate Unbalanced Feedback

Make sure your feedback counts! As you begin to develop a better appreciation of the different working styles, you’ll learn how to approach them individually. Listening, encouraging and helping particular styles are just some of the ways you can deliver the proper response they need to help motivate them.

Once you have a thorough understanding of your team member’s value in the workplace, you can respond with constructive feedback that they can successfully utilize to achieve their goals.

Our webinar provided valuable information on:

How to identify your own management style
How DiSC styles impact management behavior
Ways DiSC helps you delegate, motivate and develop others
How the group’s culture can impact employee relations and retention

DiSC profiles are designed to help you as a manager develop a better understanding of yourself and your team so you can ultimately help them unlock their potential.

Application

If you see yourself falling into these patterns of mistakes or simply want to become a better manager, applying DiSC Profiles can help get you started on the road to success.

It starts with understanding who you are as a manager and how you can learn to better support your team among the different working styles. Everything DiSC Management is the ideal tool to help improve your management skills and, ultimately, your company culture.

Can you benefit from using the research-validated online profile assessments like DiSC? Corexcel can provide the tools and training you need to use for creating a more cohesive workplace. Sign up for Corexcel’s mailing list to get started on your successful management journey today.

“DiSC” and “Everything DiSC” are registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Using DiSC Profiles In Your Hiring & Onboarding Process

Posted on May 22, 2017

The pressure to make the right hiring decision can be overwhelming for many managers. Not only must you ensure that the new hire has all the right skills for the job, but you need to be confident that they can successfully integrate with the existing team. When your employees don’t get along, it can affect the performance of everyone in the office. How can you get insight on whether or not personalities will be in conflict? This is why many companies turn to the DiSC profile assessments for hiring.

This simple test assigns individuals to four basic personality categories. The results provide information on how these personality types can best work together in your office environment. Let’s take a closer look at the way you can use DiSC profiles when hiring and onboarding new employees.

What Makes DiSC the Right Choice?

Unlike some of the more complicated personality profile tests on the market, DiSC is easy to take and easy to understand. The results assign four basic personality traits, as well as secondary traits to each of your team members. You can use this information to determine how each person on your staff may communicate with one another while handling conflict, staying organized, and optimizing productivity.

For this reason, many companies are turning to DiSC profiles for their ease of use and overall value.

When Should You Use the DiSC Profile Test?

We recommend using the DiSC profiles to help you during the hiring process. Once you have determined that the individual fits all the requirements for the open position, administer the test to gain insight on how they will work with others on your team and their personal effectiveness in the workplace. Using these insights, you will be able to better understand their areas of strengths and weakness, and where you can help them grow.

How Do You Use the Results?

Each initial of DiSC stands for a specific category of personality traits.

Dominance
Influence
Conscientiousness
Steadiness

You can begin to see patterns in behavior with your employees to better understand how someone with any given trait will fit in with the team. For example, putting an individual with a D style in a department where the primary personality trait is C could lead to misunderstandings if they aren’t managed correctly. The individual with a C style may feel steamrolled by the person with a D style. They may both benefit from also collaborating with an I style personality.

Using this information to develop departmental structures can help everyone work together in a cohesive way.

The knowledge gained from learning how your new employees will work together with your staff can help integrate them into your office culture in a more seamless fashion.

Can your organization benefit from using the research-validated online profile assessments like DiSC? Corexcel can provide the tools and training you need to use DiSC for creating a more cohesive workplace, so contact us to learn more.

Resolving Conflict in the Office with DiSC®

Posted on March 2, 2017

DiSC® Conflict Resolution for the Office

Interoffice relationships can be tricky. Having many different personality types in an environment can create challenges for any business. These types also have different communication styles and knowing a bit more about each conflict resolution style can assist in those challenges.

DiSC is an assessment that places everyone into four main personality styles. Personality profiles have become effective tools to consider for helping managers and team members work together more effectively. Here are simplified suggested guidelines you can use to help manage conflict in the office.

Dominance

Individuals with a D style prefer direct communication. Passive aggressive behavior makes them more defensive, so a direct confrontation is a better approach. But that doesn’t mean you have to be overly hostile when approaching your D coworker or manager.

Get to the point immediately, leave your emotions out of the discussion, and focus on the solutions rather than the problem. Know that an individual with a D style is ready to take action right away, so the discussion should be productive and focus on immediate steps to solve the issue.

Influence

On the other hand, the person with an I style is more receptive to a conversational approach. In this case, emotion is a powerful tool for your discussion. Tell them how the problem makes you feel directly, but don’t make any personal accusations. Stay positive, give them ample time to talk, and be a good listener.

It is also important to know that coworker with an I style is not someone who is concerned with deadlines. So, to solve a problem, you may need to implement time management strategies as well.

Steadiness

You aren’t as likely to have a major conflict with an individual with an S style. They prefer harmony in their workplace, are eager to please, and do what is expected. But when you do have an issue that needs to be discussed, know that this style places a lot of importance on interpersonal relationships.

Reassure them that the problem isn’t personal and that you value their contribution to the company. Don’t push them, as they don’t like aggression, but they will listen to what you have to say and respond accordingly. You may need to encourage them to share their opinions candidly.

Conscientiousness

The individuals with a C style in your office are sensitive. They don’t do well with criticism and tend to retreat when it is given. It is best to give someone with a C style some notice before you discuss a problem with them as they dislike feeling ambushed.

Remove the element of surprise, be direct but kind, and give them a chance to think about their response rather than putting them on the spot. C style workers are task oriented and value perfection, so keep this in mind when dealing with office conflicts.

Using a DiSC profile to understand the personalities of everyone in your office can help you better manage conflicts in the office when they arise.
Contact Corexcel to learn more about the process today or visit our profile pages.

“DiSC” is a registered trademark of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Top Benefits of Using DiSC Profiles in the Workplace

Posted on January 24, 2017

With so many companies using DiSC profile assessments in the workplace as a business tool, it is easy to see why they’re widely considered the best on the market. They facilitate communication, improve understanding between managers and employees, and foster good working relationships among coworkers.

DiSC tests are easy to use, and the results are easy to understand. So what are the key benefits of DiSC assessments, and how do you use them for your business? Let’s take a closer look.

Key Benefits

Before you decide to use DiSC for your company, you’ll want to know what the product can do for you. Here are just a few of the ways DiSC benefits organizations.

Better onboarding. Many businesses use personality profiles for new hires to assess how they will fit into the team. After an offer has been made and accepted, you can use the test results to determine how your new hire will interact with the existing team. Assessment results can determine how you approach orientation and training to ensure your new team members are getting the most out of the process.
Team building tools. The DiSC profile informs users how different styles interact with one another. This means you can use the results of the test to build teams who work well together, and, as important, avoid costly personality conflicts that can impact performance. Pairing employees who have complementary profiles on projects can enhance production and results.
Personal development. DiSC is a powerful coaching tool. It helps individuals understand themselves, learn strategies to improve interaction with others and achieve higher workplace satisfaction and results. The profile offers insight into the most product behaviors as well as those behaviors that may create problems.
Motivational tools. Once you know each of your employees’ dominant personality traits, you can also customize your motivational processes to tap into their own specific strengths. An employee’s DiSC results that demonstrate conscientiousness will be eager to maintain both quality and accuracy in their work. Play into this and motivate them accordingly by giving them goals they will want to achieve.

So how do you use DiSC in your business?

Consider online DiSC assessments for your entire team to share with your staff and management team and unlock their potential today.

One Company Gets DiSC®

Posted on April 23, 2009

DiSC Management Team By 1978, Marston’s book had been on the marketplace for 50 years but there was no easy way to make his words on paper work as a tool to change businesses. Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) was a household name, being tossed around board rooms and conference rooms as “must have” training, but implementing MBTI practically requires a degree.

By this time, different industrial psychologists had worked with both concepts and tried to build different kinds of tools using Marston’s theory and Jung’s archetypes without much success. John Geier, PhD was the first to successfully operationalize the DiSC model in the form commercialized by Inscape Publishing.

Inscape Publishing offers the original DiSC© instrument, says Barry Davis. “Marston didn’t propose measuring it; he just proposed that the world consisted of these four psychological types and that we could make meaning of them and understand people better if we understand these generalized notions about how people function. Our original tool was called just the DiSC Personal Profile System. Then we created the DiSC Personal Profile Software, which was an electronic way to do DiSC.

Recently, Inscape Publishing changed the way it packaged its DiSC systems, literally. “We used to sell assessments. Four years ago, Inscape Publishing took everything it had learned about DiSC and organized it into a system called Everything DiSC® Facilitation System,” explains Barry Davis, Vice President of Product Development and Marketing at Inscape Publishing.

Introduced in early 2008, this product and approach mark yet another step forward in helping Training and Human Resource Managers successfully use DiSC in their companies.

“We have really moved from just selling assessments, to selling all of the tools that are useful in applying DiSC to a specific organization or training need. That is really a big change,” says Davis. “We still have PhD’s on our staff, psychologists, who develop the assessment and measuring part and the reports but we also have instructional designers, writers, video creatives, editors, web developers and marketing researchers. We have all of the functions under this roof.”

It hasn’t always been that way but one reason that Inscape’s Everything DiSC Application Library and the Everything DiSC Management system is doing so well and Inscape’s products are coming to market and succeeding. Another important reason is how Inscape actually develops its DiSC systems.

Inscape didn’t just create a validated instrument for measuring behavioral styles nor did it stop after developing a toolbox that helps trainers implement DiSC; the company took one more, giant step to ensure that the product they were selling really worked for the businesses buying it.

About five years ago, Inscape moved out of a purely lab environment and began to invest in gaining deep business knowledge in multiple verticals. “We have spent a lot of time and energy in developing relationships with our customers. Our customers invest their energy in helping us connect with their clients – the organizations and businesses,” explains Davis.

What Inscape learned is that there are three levels of customers and end users for their products. “There is the Inscape distributor – independent trainers and consultants. Then there is their client – usually a Training Manager in an organization or an HR person in an organization. The ultimate customer is the learner in the organization – the one who benefits and who is really the customer of everyone.”

Inscape works with closely with its customer base, actually field testing its instruments with their clients’ end users and getting feedback from the learners. “We are actively involved in three levels of feedback at every stage of development.”

“Inscape has an excellent management team, research that backs what they do and a connection to companies like mine,” says Sue Bowlby. Bowlby is President of Corexcel, a continuing education provider and Diamond Inscape Distributor whose mission is to provide programs and training materials that enhance the effectiveness of employees and the organizations they work for.

This inclusive approach to developing DiSC products has helped launch the Everything DiSC Application Library. Everything DiSC Management is the second piece. Davis calls it, “…the latest and greatest.” Inscape will add a third piece in 2009 and plans to publish one or two new pieces to the DiSC Application library every year.

This is the fourth in a series of four articles about the DiSC model, Everything DiSC Management, the history behind it all and how it applies. The first article is titled The Concept Behind DiSC – You do the Math and the second is titled Digging into DiSC History. The previous article, Putting DiSC® Management to Work, discusses the powerful Everything DiSC Management training program and its value in a slow economy.

About the Author
Pat Muccigrosso is the former Director of Training & Development for the Business Services Group of ARAMARK and a guest author of Corexcel, specializing in DiSC-based learning assessments, online continuing education and workplace training. For more information about Corexcel and the training materials they offer, visit www.corexcel.com.