Behavioural Assessments - What Are They & Why Are They Useful?

Written by: Lisa Magennis, President of Axiom Human Resource Development LLC, Dallas, TX (lisam@axiomhrd.com)

 

Behavioural assessments provide employers with objective and unbiased information about their employees or candidates. We’re all aware that we “judge” people instantly and this impacts our objectivity in most situations. This is human nature, so having tools like assessments can help keep us “honest” and allow us to be open to an alternative perspective, help to confirm what we observed in an interview, or provide us with confidence to move forward with making a job offer to the top candidate. We learn more about an individual’s personality, behavioural perspective, and work style preference. Assessments should never be used in isolation, but rather alongside other recruitment techniques such as interviews, reference checks, simulations, etc. Used together, all this information can help create a “whole-person” perspective of the candidate. Employers use assessments for many reasons: recruitment, assessing top talent; personal development/career discussions - having a powerful discussion about one’s strengths or natural talents; talent management/succession planning; and coaching an employee - individuals understanding their strengths and impact on others. 

 

What are Behavioural Assessments?

 

Behavioural assessments evaluate our “behavioural preferences” and how they “show up” in the workplace or at home. For example, if one has a strong preference for the “Influence” behavioural characteristic, the default preference of being social, relational or concerned with others or how others will interpret them will be paramount. This is very helpful to understand, as we hire or promote people in our workplaces. Harnessing people’s natural gifts, talents, or preferences, is strategic from a business perspective. Hiring the right person means finding someone with the ideal “personality” or “behavioural characteristics” that match those required for the job. Having a clear unbiased assessment that does this, is extremely valuable and confirms what you’ve observed in the interview, what references identify and what the individual shares about themselves. Behavioural assessments, like DISC, a four factor assessment that’s been validated and used since the 1930’s in the business & public sector, has secured its place as a “must have” perspective.  

 

Why? These assessments are generated from the candidates/employees own responses to a standard questionnaire and are “self-assessments” that remove our inherent biases or natural default to judge and in turn come to invalid conclusions. The more “objective and descriptive” we can be about evaluating human capacity and capability, the more we can escape from the prejudice of our “subjective and judgmental” nature.

 

What Does DISC stand for?

 

DISC is an acronym for D = Dominance; I = Influence; S = Steadiness; and C = Compliance. These make up the “four factor model” and combine to form our innate preferences of how we choose to engage our world. We will have a greater or a lesser preference for each of these behavioral characteristics. Dominance is Assertive, Driving, & Controlling; Influence is Communicative, Enthusiastic, & Outgoing; Steadiness is Patience, Dependability, & Thoroughness; Compliance is Analytical, Systematic & Detailed. 

• Dominance is about how people respond to problems and approach challenges
• Influence is how people respond to and generally interact with other people
• Steadiness is how people respond to change and the pace of the environment
• Compliance is how people respond to rules and procedures

We all are born with innate preferences. Identifying and validating these provides valuable insights into how and why we go about doing our work.

What is DISCUS?

 

“Discus” is an online DISC assessment provider and has been in business since 1994. It was the first or “original” online DISC assessment available on the web and has continued to innovate and develop several value added tools that complement the original DISC assessment. The DISC methodology was created by a leading psychologist, Dr. William Moulton Marston, in the early 1930’s. Dr. Marston’s original work was captured in his book titled “Emotions of Normal People” first published in 1928. He was also a thought leader in lie detection methodology. His four factor model is widely used by the business & public sector due to its validation, relatively simple method of understanding human behaviour and how it manifests in the workplace.

To learn more about the DISC methodology, download our free DISC Theory App (at the iTunes store):  https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/disc-theory/id378074422?mt=8  or check out our free “Understanding DISC” online resource at: http://www.discusonline.com/UDISC/about.html. 

Why DISCUS? Benefits:

• Discus is a comprehensive DISC profiling solution for business and public sector
• Discus offers unique business starter packages with value-added items
• Discus offers 4 report options: outline, classic, enhanced, and feedback reports
• Discus is available on the web 247
• Discus management portal is easy to use for business owners, HR or managers
• Discus can match people to jobs to assess fit
• Discus reports are both professional and detailed
• Discus questionnaires take 10-12 min. to complete, ideal for the Web!
• Discus offers value-added reports like team and relationship reports
• Discus has been in business 19+ years
• Discus is a cost-effective assessment solution
• Discus offers feedback reports for candidates

If you would like more information regarding the benefits and/or pricing or a sample of a DISCUS report please contact Deanne Cockell at 204-416-7452 or via email at deanne@leadersinternational.com.