Sometimes there are those training programmes that everyone seems to know a little bit about, and no one seems to know everything about. DiSC Assessment is one of those training programmes! Here is a quick guide to what DiSC Assessment is, and how it can help your company.

DiSC Assessment is a training programme designed to help people improve their interpersonal skills. It is used by over seventy percent of Fortune 500 companies for exactly this purpose. Through greater understanding of behavioral personality types, employees can improve their relationships with each other, their superiors and their customers. This in turn can increase sales, employee motivation and ultimately overall productivity.

The theory behind DiSC Assessment was first proposed by William Moulton Marston, a physiological psychologist with a Ph.D. from Harvard. His 1928 book, Emotions of Normal People, explains his theory on how normal human emotions lead to behavioral differences among groups of people and how a person's behavior might change over time. This theory was then developed for its practical uses in the workplace which brings us to DiSC and the four main personality types idea.

There are four personality types that every worker should fit into; Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Conscientiousness. People with the D style place an emphasis on shaping the environment by overcoming opposition to accomplish results. They are motivated by winning, competition and success. People with the I style place an emphasis on shaping the environment by influencing or persuading others. They are motivated by social recognition, group activities, and relationships. People with the S style place an emphasis on co-operating with others within existing circumstances to carry out the task. They are motivated by co-operation, opportunities to help and sincere appreciation. People with the C style place an emphasis on working conscientiously within existing circumstances to ensure quality and accuracy. They are motivated by opportunities to gain knowledge, showing their expertise, and quality work.

What DiSC Assessment training will do is teach you how to determine your co-workers personality type from their behavior, and how best to interact with them as such. It teaches you about the differences between these four personality types, and the most likely ways of having successful interactions with each, so as to avoid conflict and encourage teamwork.

This is integral knowledge for any company, especially one based around teams of sales people. DiSC Assessment theory can be used by workers in their interactions with each other, with their superiors and with their customers, all of which can increase productivity and efficiency. DiSC Assessment is also one of the few training programmes that caters to both large and small sized companies. A company can send just one employee to a DiSC Trainer Certification session, without having to send everyone in the company. That employee can then be the trainer for the company, lowering overall costs whilst retaining the knowledge that can be so useful.