Disc The Complete Introduction

The Complete Introduction
Your comprehensive guide to DISC personality assessment.

What it does, how it works and how it can benefit you.
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2 DISC: The Complete Introduction www.discusonline.com
Contents
Page
3 What is DISC? 34 Assessment

4 What DISC Can Do For You 35 Redeployment
5 The Benefits of DISC Profiling 36 Team Building
7 How DISC Works 39 Career Development
8 The History and Evolution of DISC 40 Welcome to Discus
10 The Reliability and Validity of DISC 41 Invitations and Questionnaires
11 DISC Profiles: the Basics 42 The Discus Personality Report
12 The D Factor: Dominance 44 Candidate Profile Feedback
14 The I Factor: Influence 45 Job Matching
16 The S Factor: Steadiness 48 Managing Relationships
18 The C Factor: Compliance 49 Team Building with Discus
21 DISC Factors in Combination 51 Sample Discus Reports
26 Change Across a Series 55 Discus Platforms and Apps
27 DISC Profile Interpretations 57 Customisation and Branding
30 DISC in Practice 58 Discus Languages
31 Recruitment 60 DISC Training
33 Cultural Integration
DISC: The Complete Introduction 3
What is DISC?
Fast and Effective Personality Profiling
Understanding people is an essential skill when recruiting, managing
and team building. Having a comprehensive and objective view of how a
personality works is a major advantage in the workplace and can give you
the competitive edge you’re looking for. DISC is one of the most popular
personality profiling techniques available today; simple to use, but as
detailed and adaptable as your business needs, with powerful and highly
useful results.
What does DISC DISC - The Key Facts

stand for? • A DISC questionnaire is easy to
understand and only takes about
A DISC profile is created from the
ten minutes to complete.
answers to a simple questionnaire,
measuring four core personality • Cloud-based profiling enables
factors: Dominance, Influence, candidates to take a DISC test
Steadiness and Compliance, whose online and see their results
initials give DISC its name. immediately across the Web.
• Instant personality reports:

questionnaires can be scored and
assessed automatically, so you’ll
see a report as soon as the
questions are complete.
• DISC can be used as a consistent

and reliable benchmark for
assessing suitability in recruitment
Assessing the combinations of and team building.
these four DISC factors will give
• There are many personality
you real and valuable insights into
profiling solutions around, but the
a personality.
DISC system has some major
advantages: it’s quick to use,
simple to administrate and it
DISC
The Basic Features gives really powerful and useful
results.
DISC is one of the most

popular personality profiling
techniques available today
What DISC can do for you

Find the right people for the right job
Finding the right people isn’t easy. It takes time and effort to identify high
performers and fit them into your team. DISC provides a professional tool to
make the whole process simpler, enabling you to understand key personality
features, identify strengths, and potential difficulties before they arise.
...and much more How DISC works

DISC personality profiling gives you in practice
far more than a powerful recruitment Creating a DISC profile is simple. DISC can also be used as the basis
advantage. DISC can play a key roll in Profiles are easily constructed, based for a job match, comparing a
understanding and motivating people, on the answers to a quick and candidate’s personal style and
from personal assessment to straightforward questionnaire. suitability against hundreds of
integration, from relationship A DISC system, (like Discus), will potential roles. In addition, DISC is
management to team building, once handle the whole process for you: the perfect tool for developing
you’ve experienced Discus, you’ll sending an invitation, managing the successful working relationships and
wonder how you ever managed questionnaire itself and processing team building, from personal
without it. the answers, all automatically. Once dynamics to leadership to full team
the results are compiled they’re assessment. We’ll cover all these
instantly available to you. topics in later pages.
The Benefits of DISC Profiling

Recruiting with DISC Teams & Leadership
DISC is most widely used in DISC is an essential tool to help build
recruiting, due to its simplicity, cost- dynamic, successful teams. Team
effectiveness and job matching building is a simple exercise when
capabilities, making it practical and DISC interprets and reports on the
affordable to implement personality personality dynamics within a group.
profiling throughout your business.
Additional advantages might include The same approach can be used to
a candidate feedback report, allowing focus on leadership qualities within a
successful applicants to understand group, even describing the leadership
their personal style, helping their Productive Working needed by the group as a whole.
integration into the organisation.
Relationships
One of the strengths of DISC is its
ability to explain how different
personalities will interact. DISC
dynamics identifies both the positive
and problematic areas of any working
relationship, and can even suggest
approaches to help solidify it.
DISC is easy to use, cost-

Assessing & Managing effective and the ideal tool
Regular DISC profiling can keep you to match candidates to jobs
informed about individuals’ job
performance, and provide strategies
to keep them motivated and working
at their best. DISC relationship The same principles used in DISC
assessment can help management relationship profiling can be used to
understand workplace situations and develop a communication strategy
guide them towards successful tailored to an individual personality.
conflict resolution. Understanding another person's
individual style gives you a powerful
ability to build a constructive
relationship in any setting, from
training to sales to management.
ess
sin nly
Bu rs O
se
U
Discus is one of the world’s leading DISC psychometric profiling

tools. You can discover how Discus can benefit your business
with our FREE Discus Evaluation Pack.
FREE Enhanced Discus Personality Report

FREE Job match report for a role of your choice
Request Evaluation Pack

How DISC Works

Building a Picture of a Personality
DISC works by measuring four fundamental factors in a person’s
behaviour and using them to describe their personality. This personality
profile is achieved by a questionnaire, comprising of twenty-four questions, each
question offering four options. The candidate chooses two of these options, one
that best and one that least represents their behaviour. These answers are then
rated and calculated to produce a set of results automatically.
Key Traits The Four DISC Factors

We cannot measure a personality in
for Dominance
its entirety with just four factors, there
will always be other aspects - like The factor of drive, determination and
experience and knowledge - however self-reliance, relating to independent,
DISC focuses on a series of key traits self-motivated types of people.
that directly affect a person’s
behaviour and performance. for Influence
From the questionnaire we construct The factor of sociability, friendliness
a graph showing the DISC factors and enthusiasm, relating to outgoing,
that drives the person’s approach to expressive types of people.
their life and work. In fact we can go
further and build a series of graphs for Steadiness
that look at different motivations in
The factor of patience, persistence
different situations.
and stability, relating to reliable and
thoughtful types of people.
for Compliance
The factor of structure, accuracy and
precision, relating to analytical and
organised types of people.
DISC focuses on a series of

key traits that directly affect
a person’s behaviour ...
The History & Evolution of DISC

A Modern Theory What's important about this view is
that features of the personality can be
with Ancient Roots interrelated and balanced against one
another, with different personalities
The automated, cloud-based DISC
being related to combinations of
profiling of today can trace its core
different factors. Also important is the
ideas back to ancient times.
underlying structure, so that the
various factors can be mapped on a
The idea of building a picture of a
pair of overlapping axes (an approach
personality by combining a set of
we call a biaxial model).
basic elements is a very old one,
though its original incarnations have
little to do with modern personality
profiling. It was the ancient Greeks DISC
Explore the History
who first thought about the human Some five centuries after
personality in this way. The roots of Hippocrates, the Roman physician
this idea may even predate the Galen proposed that the
Greeks, but it was Hippocrates who temperaments could be understood
first made a consistent attempt to in terms of their relations to one
describe behaviour this way. another. For instance, a choleric
personality (ambitious and strong-
willed) was associated with the
element fire, and it had a diametric
opposite in a phlegmatic
temperament (calm and and patient),
connected with water.
...different personalities
related to combinations
of different factors
Hippocrates defined four personality
'temperaments', connected with four
bodily 'humours', each of which was
in turn connected to one of the four
elements.These ideas about
humours and elements turned out to
be utterly wrong, of course, but the
ways in which they were
combined was intriguing.
The History & Evolution of DISC

Four-Factor Models Into the Modern Era William Marston
through History Though the less scientific ideas of and DISC
Hippocrates and Galen were dropped One of these models was developed
HOT
as science advanced, studies based by American psychologist and writer
on the four temperaments continued William Moulton Marston, in his 1928
AIR FIRE
until remarkably recently. As the book Emotions of Normal People.
WET
DRY
concepts behind personality began to This was the ultimate prototype of the
WATER EARTH be investigated more rigorously, DISC profiling technique: a pair of
statistical analysis began to break axes producing a set of four
COLD down personality factors in a more interconnected factors, initially called
scientific way. Dominance, Inducement,
Even the ancient Greek approach
Submission and Compliance.
used a primitive 'biaxial model' to
relate the elements to one another.
NEUROTIC
M C
EXTRAVERT
INTROVERT
P S
STABLE
One of the foremost proponents of
A more modern model, that of Hans
this approach was Hans Eysenck,
Eysenck. Though more rigorously
whose analysis resulted in a biaxial
defined, this model still retains the old
model mapping factors against a pair During the 1940's Marston's profiling
names for the basic types:
of traits. Eysenck himself remarked technique came to prominence, when
Melancholic, Choleric, Sanguine and
on how similar this result was to the it was adopted by the U.S. military to
Phlegmatic (marked M, C, S and P ).
old idea of the temperaments, though help in recruitment during World War
the factors themselves were more Two. Over the following decades its
ASSERTIVENESS
technically defined. simplicity and flexibility meant that it
became more widely used worldwide.
D I
OPENNESS
...four behavioural factors:

CONTROL
dominance, influence In the early days, DISC profiles were

C S steadiness and compliance created from paper questionnaires,
marked and assessed by hand. With
RECEPTIVENESS the advent of personal computers and
There are numerous comparable the Internet, DISC adapted itself
Though DISC is based on a model of approaches (notably that of Carl Jung, easily to a more automated approach,
its own, it maintains the continuity of whose personality work is partly based so that tests can now be managed in
breaking down personality into four on a relationship of this kind). a completely automated way.
quadrants based on two axes.
The Reliability & Validity of DISC

Measuring the an effective profile, we're looking for a factors in one test demonstrate a
high reliability score. Note that consistent statistical relationship with
Effectiveness of DISC people's attitudes and approach those in the other.
change over time, so we wouldn't
To be confident that DISC actually
works, we need to consider its
expect to see a 100% reliability level DISC Assessed:
from one profile to the next.
reliability and validity. These two
(understanding changes like this can The Roodt Report
concepts help to quantify the
be valuable in assessing a person's
performance of all profiling tools. A full analysis of the validity and
performance.)
reliability of the Discus DISC profiling
solution is measured in this
independently-produced paper
known as the Roodt Report after its
author, psychologist Karin Roodt of
Technikon Natal in South Africa. You
can read the full contents by clicking
on the graphic below.
The
Roodt
Report
The most important question about

Validity
any personality test is how well it
measures what it claims to measure. A more difficult challenge is assessing
We need to be confident that profiles the validity of a set of profile results:
About Scales
accurately represent the personalities do the factors in a profile measure the Statistical values are typically
they describe. personality traits they describe. The expressed on a scale from 0.0000 to
usual approach is to measure profiles 1.0000. This scale corresponds to the
Reliability against another well- stablished more familiar 0% to 100%
personality inventory. The preferred
The first measure is consistency: if we comparison is Cattell's Sixteen
test the same person several times, Personality Factor questionnaire (or
About p-Values
we'd expect to get similar results. 16-PF for short). The 'p-values' in the report describe the
Reliability measures how much
Different profiling techniques probability that a particular correlation
profile results change from test to test
measure different factors, so we occurred by chance, so lower values
( there are different types of reliability,
wouldn't expect to find exact matches relate to more strongly established
and the form we're discussing here is
in the comparison. We can, however, correlations. Conventionally a p-value
specifically test-retest reliability).
look at correlations between factors in of less than 0.0500 is seen as
We'd not expect results to vary wildly the two systems, to establish whether statistically significant.
from profile to profile over time, so for
DISC Profiles: The Basics

Introducing the The three graphs of the profile series The External Profile
might closely resemble one another,
DISC Profile or diverge significantly, depending on Very few people maintain the same
the individual. Different DISC systems approach, instead, they adapt to
After collating and calculating the
use different titles forthe three, and situations and others' requirements.
answers from a DISC questionnaire,
their order can vary, but the meaning The purpose of the External Profile is
the final outcome is a set of three
and significance remains constant. to describe the style of behaviour that
graphs. Each of these graphs (or
profiles) describes a particular side an individual feels is appropriate to
to the candidate's approach. In their current circumstances. The
combination, the set of three is known External Profile can change
as a DISC profile series. considerably over time, as a person's
situation and environment changes -
The graphs all follow the same format, such modifications often accompany
showing the levels of four basic traits: major life events, such as starting a
Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, new job or moving house. The
Compliance. Their initials (D, I, S, C) External Profile is also known as the
create the name DISC. The four Work Profile or the Mask Profile.
points on the graph are connected by The Internal Profile
lines to establish a recognisable The Summary Profile
shape for a profile. With experience, The graph describes a person's inner
the shapes associated with common style, the behaviour when they feel The Internal and External Profiles
styles become easily distinguishable. completely at ease. Conversely, this provide valuable information about a
style can be seen when some people person's attitudes and perceptions. In
are placed under severe pressure, reality a person's behaviour is rarely
because such pressure limits their based completely on one or the other
Graphing a DISC Profile capacity to adapt their style. The of these styles. The Summary Profile
The DISC graph shows how the four Internal Profile tends to remain more combines information from the other
factors are plotted. Each point shows constant over time than the other two two to present a view of a person's
the relative level of one of four factors, graphs. Other names for the Internal actual behaviour. Other names for
always from left to right Profile include the Pressure Profile this profile are the Basic, Composite
and the Underlying Profile. or Snapshot Profile.
• D for Dominance
• I for Influence
• S for Steadiness
• C for Compliance
Each factor might appear at any

point on the graph, leading to a
series of recognisable profile shapes
of personality styles. Understanding
these factors, and how they combine
to describe a personality, lies at the
heart of DISC interpretation.
The D Factor: Dominance

The DISC Factor of Drive and Self-Motivation
The 'D' of DISC stands for Dominance, the factor of determination, ambition and motivation to succeed.
When a set of DISC results shows a high Dominance factor, they're describing someone with an independent attitude and a
motivation to succeed on their own terms. High-D's, (as we call this type of person), have the strength of will to work well under
pressure, and are always ready to take on responsibility.
Low Dominance in a DISC profile Decisiveness: High-D's generally

invariably shows a lack of directness. have little patience, and will prefer to
They'll tend not to confront a difficult make a rapid decision, even it that
situation head-on, though they may involves a degree of risk.
find other effective ways of dealing
Leadership: Their preference for
with things (exactly how they'll do this
independence and their forthright
depends on the other factors in their
attitude means that people of this kind
personality). They also tend to be
will tend to work towards leadership
much readier to work productively as
roles.
part of a group than their more
Highly Dominant people have a clear independent High-D colleagues.
idea of their ambitions and goals, as
well as the directness and ...an independant attitude D
forcefulness to achieve those goals. It
also means that people like this will
and a motivation to succeed
tend to have a competitive attitude, on their own terms
and they will generally follow their
own ideas rather than work co-
operatively with others.
Dominance at a Glance
Self-reliance: High-D's rely on their
Introduction to the D factor -
own independent resources, rarely
Dominance looking for help or support from those
around them.
Competitiveness: People like this

are motivated by success, especially
tangible success in competition with
others.
Ambition:Dominance relates to a
clear set of goals or ultimate aims,
and the determination to work
towards those goals.
The D Factor: Dominance

Common Roles
A High-D's sense of independence
and personal responsibility means
that they will tend to gravitate towards
roles where they have the greatest
possible scope for action. They'll also
tend to avoid situations where they're
reliant on other people for support, or
subject to too much control.
Dominance is often a useful trait in a

manager or leader, especially in
situations where there's a need for
decisive action and clear direction.
Note that this certainly doesn't mean
that High-D's always make effective
leaders - that depends to a huge
degree on the situation - but the core
features of this kind of personality
tend to match well with the challenges
Dominance Scenarios
of leadership. Below are a number of examples of Planning Ahead
ways that a High-D person will act
High Dominance isn't associated with
Dominance is often a and react in some common real-world
situations. the organisation or the natural caution
useful trait in a manager, that go into detailed planning. As we
especially where there's Making a Decision saw in their approach to decision-
a need for decisive action making, a person like this will prefer to
High-D's are commonly described as follow their instincts, and they'll often
and clear direction. 'decisive', but this is meant in the be ready to disregard a planned
sense that they'll prefer to make a
rapid decision, and potentially take a Handling a Dispute
Another type of role classically risk, rather than take time to evaluate
associated with high Dominance is all the options or possible outcomes. High-Ds tend to have
that of sales, especially direct sales. At least, this is the typical approach of uncompromising personalities, and
The factor gives a person the force of a 'pure' High-D, with no other strong aren't afraid to confront other people
personality to make a strong pitch, factors. Additional factors can directly if they think a situation calls for
and the resilience to close a sale in complicate the picture: a High-D who it. So, it's not uncommon to find them
situations that other types would find also shows high Compliance, for involved in disputes with others, but
highly disconcerting. This is example, will tend to be more resolving disputes like this can be
especially true whether Dominance receptive to the details affecting a difficult. A highly Dominant person will
combines with high Influence, decision. need to feel that they achieve some
representing a person with a
persuasive element as well as the
The I Factor: Influence

The DISC Factor of Openness and Positive Communication
The 'I' of DISC stands for Influence, a factor connected to communication, openness and social confidence.
When a set of DISC results shows a high Influence factor, they're describing someone with a positive attitude to other people
and the confidence to demonstrate that attitude. High-I's, (as we call this type of person), are at their most comfortable in a
social situation, and interact with others in an open and expressive way.
Low Influence in a DISC profile, Expressiveness: Their outgoing

implies a personality far less natures means that people like this
concerned with expressing tend to say what's on their mind in an
themselves or interacting with others. open way.
Low-I's tend to turn their focus on
Informality: People like this prefer to
more practical topics, concerning
communication on a personal and
themselves more with achieving
relaxed level rather than be bound by
results than with building
formality.
relationships.
Enthusiasm: When engaged by an
This focus on other people means Influence at a Glance idea or topic, the naturally positive
that High-I's thrive on the attention attitude of a High-I is often highly
and approval of other people, and Self-confidence: High-I's are motivating for those around them.
they're more motivated by praise and conspicuously confident in the
appreciation than most other types. company of others, and generally find
Despite their outgoing attitude, they're it easy to form friendly relationships.
often unwilling to risk causing offence, I
and they'll often avoid possible
...a positive attitude towards
confrontations. In other words, while a
High-I is socially confident, they tend people and the confidence
not to be particularly assertive or to demonstrate it.
forceful.
Sociability: Strong Influence relates

Introduction to the I factor - to a person who goes out of their way
Influence to build warm and positive relations
with other people.
The I Factor: Influence

Common Roles
The social impulses of a High-I
individual mean that they'll be
attracted to roles where these needs
are fulfilled. High Influence individuals
will be at their most motivated
surrounded by other people, and with
the scope to communicate freely.
Conversely, they will tend to avoid
more constrained or socially limiting
situations.
A natural outlet for a High-I's outgoing

style is in the area of sales, marketing
or PR, especially in roles where they
are able to use their communicative
abilities to their fullest. One potential
drawback here is that people with just
high Influence in their profiles tend to
lack the directness to close a sale,
Influence Scenarios
and a measure of Dominance can Below are a number of examples of Working Within a Team
also be important in more challenging ways that a High-I person will act and
situations like direct sales. react in some common real-world In some senses highly Influential
situations. people are ideal team players. They
Those with high Influence are often
are actively interested in building
found in roles that involve teaching or
positive working relationships, and
training, and they can be highly Making a Decision
they have the natural confidence to
effective in not only communicating
High-I's have the confidence to act in help direct the team as a whole. They
ideas, but also inspiring others with
a decisive manner, but their focus on do tend to take a rather informal
their dynamic attitude.
other people means that their approach at times, and this can be
Roles of this kind will usually also decisions are often based on the counterproductive where the team is
need a level of expertise and popularity of the various outcomes,
knowledge, but high levels of
Influence within the personality can Presenting Ideas
High Influence individuals
be an important component.
Of all the factors, Influence is most will be at their most motivated
connected with people who are
comfortable with presenting ideas in
surrounded by other people
front of an audience. Indeed, they
often find situations like this to be
motivating and rewarding, a fact that
The S Factor: Steadiness

The DISC Factor of Patience and Reliability
The 'S' of DISC stands for Steadiness, a factor relating to a person's natural pace, and their reactions to change.
The third of the four DISC factors relates to a comparatively reticent and careful type of person. Compared to Dominance or
Influence, a person whose major factor is Steadiness will tend to be far less open or direct. They'll more usually respond to
events, rather than take pro-active steps.
consideration associated with a High- Determination: High-S

S. Far from resisting change, people personalities focus intently on a
with low Steadiness enjoy variety and task, and can be remarkably
innovation, giving them a much more resolute in concentrating on a
flexible outlook than those with high project.
Steadiness. As such, they're ready to
Openness: Steadiness also has a
take on new challenges and explore
social side, and people with this
new experiences.
factor are open to building positive
relations with other people.
As the name implies, Steady people Steadiness at a Glance Consideration: The 'S' factor
are consistent and reliable in their relates to people who tend to think
approach. Indeed, they prefer to Patience: High-S's will tend to wait about the consequences of their
operate in situations that follow for events to unfold and respond as actions, especially on those around
established patterns, and to avoid needed, rather than taking direct them.
unplanned developments. Because action of their own.
of this, people with high Steadiness
tend to be quite resistant to change,
High Steadiness Individuals S
and will take time to adapt to new
situations. focus intently on a task and
can be remarkably resolute in
Introduction to the I factor - concentrating on a project
Influence
Persistence: Once embarked on a

course of action, a High-S person
will focus on their task and work
persistently towards its conclusion.
Low Steadiness in a DISC profile
reflects a person with a quite different
attitude. Low-S individuals are eager
to act and impatient for results, and
rarely show the patience or
The S Factor: Steadiness

Common Roles
A High-S is best suited to roles where
their natural advantages can come to
the fore: situations where patient,
reliable work is needed. A consistent
working environment is ideal for this
type of person, with minimal
distractions or unplanned events.
The strengths of a High-S - patience,

reliability, consistency - make them
particularly suited to administrative
work. They have the capacity to apply
themselves and focus in a productive
way. Work like this can often lack
variety, but while many types wouldn’t
find such a prospect motivating, it fits
neatly with a High-S's preferences !
High-S’s openness makes them ideal Steadiness Scenarios

in roles that provide help and support.
This is a broad area covering a wide Below are examples of ways that a circumstances. Steady leaders will
range of potential work. At a practical High-S person will act and react in tend to work best where leadership
level, High-S's will often be suited to some common real-world situations. involves organising other people
technical support or customer service within a relatively predictable and
work. On a more personal level, their Following a Plan stress-free environment, where
understanding and patient approach there's little need for urgent action or
A Steady type of person will feel at
means that they can be successful dynamic decision-making.
their most comfortable and motivated
providing personal support or
when operating within a well-planned
counselling. Adapting to New Conditions
project. Working consistently with
others towards a prearranged goal is A defining characteristic of a High-S
their preferred working method. This type of person is a natural distrust of
High-Ss love consistent will tend to be less true, however, in novelty. They tend to avoid change
situations where deadlines are close, simply because it involves adapting to
working conditions
or the plan needs to adapt to the new and the different. Where
with minimal distractions changing circumstances. change is inevitable, a High-S will
eventually adapt to a new status quo,
Taking a Leadership Role but it will take time for them to
acclimatise to their new conditions.
A highly Steady type of person can be
an effective leader and, indeed, so
can any style, under the right
The C Factor: Compliance

The DISC Factor of Caution and Precision
A high Compliance factor indicates a concern for practicality and detail.
The key to this factor lies in attitudes to authority; High- C's are concerned with working within the rules, and are often
described as 'rule-oriented'. They are also concerned with accuracy and structure, and understanding the ways things work.
Low Compliance people don't Precision

naturally focus on the need to plan
ahead or anticipate problems; Highly Compliance people are
instead, they have the confidence to concerned with getting things right,
rely on their own instincts. While a and take time to ensure their work is
High-C will rarely challenge authority accurate.
or risk breaking a rule, a Low-C
Caution
person has a much more
independent and unconstrained Highly Compliance people will tend to
attitude to their life and work. avoid risks when they can, preferring
People with high Compliance like to to take a cautious approach
have a clear idea of their role, and Compliance at a Glance whenever they can.
what's expected of them, so they are
far more motivated in situations that Rule-orientation Tact
are clearly regulated and planned. In High-Cs tend to be rather reserved in
High-C's like to work within an
general, such people are not communication, using diplomacy and
established and well-planned
independent by nature, and will prefer tact and focusing on matters of fact.
structure, rather than relying on their
not to be left to make decisions or
own resources.
take actions without the support of
others.
High Compliance Individuals C
Introduction to the C factor -

have a concern for
Compliance practicality and detail
Organisation
High-Cs will want to feel that they
understand the details of their
situation and how they fit into it.
The C Factor: Compliance

Common Roles
High Compliance people are naturally
motivated on roles where they can
focus on details, facts and figures.
High-C's - at least those without other
factors in their profiles - tend to be at
their best when they have time to
organise and plan their work.
Their analytical approach, and desire

to follow procedure, makes them well-
suited to roles we might broadly
categorise as 'technical'. That
includes work that we normally think
of as technical, such as engineering
or programming, but the same idea
can be extended to roles needing
similar skills, such as accountancy or
project planning.
Compliance Scenarios
A High-C's affinity for questions of
accuracy and regulation means that Below are examples of ways that a Making a Presentation
their personalities also tend to suit High-C person will act and react in
High-C's can be quite effective at
situations where standards need to some common real-world situations.
presenting information, so long as
be applied. An obvious example
they feel confident in their expertise
would be quality control, but they Planning a Project
and they feel in control of the
might also be effective auditors,
Planning and organising tend to be presentation. They can feel far less
editors, actuaries or statisticians:
second-nature to people with a high comfortable if they need to discuss
work where following a consistent
Compliance score, and indeed they topics without preparation, or field
methodology is crucial to their
will often plan their activities even unpredictable questions.
effectiveness.
when it's not formally necessary.
Their focus on detail means that they Handling a Dispute
can sometimes become so absorbed
A person with high Compliance will
in the intricacies of their planning
High Cs can be effective activities that they lose sight of the
tend to solve problems using rules
and structure, and so in a dispute will
at presenting information, broader goals.
naturally try to work out a solution
so long as they feel using logic and rational argument.
confident in their expertise. High-C's can see the value in
compromise, and are generally ready
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DISC Factors in Combination

Profiles with Analysing Sub-Traits When assessing a sub-trait, the other
two factors (in this case Steadiness
Multiple Factors A 'sub-trait' describes the and Compliance) are not directly
relationships between two different relevant, though of course each has
So far we’ve looked at each of the
factors within a single profile graph. several sub-traits of its own.
four DISC factors in isolation, but in
reality individual personality styles Because there are twelve possible
pairs of DISC factors (D and I, D and To measure the amount of a sub-trait
don’t simply fall into four discrete
S, D and C, and so on), there are in a particular profile, we look at the
types. Instead, each of the four DISC
twelve corresponding sub-traits. relationship between the two factors it
factors exists on a continuum within a
Each of these pairs of factors is given describes. In the example shown
personality, and also coexists with
a meaningful name to help relate it to below, Dominance is very high, while
each of the other three factors.
some particular style of behaviour. Influence is low. This means that this
profile contains high levels of
The result is that a personality, and Example: the sub-trait Efficiency,
Efficiency (we say D is over I). If the
the DISC profile that reflects that which describes the relationship
opposite were the case (high
personality, can be a great deal between Dominance and Influence.
Influence and low Dominance, or I
more complex than just showing Sub-traits are typically described in
over D) Efficiency would be very
one of four personality factors. It’s shorthand with a slash (/) sign, so D/I
low in the profile. In this case, the
more often the case that a profile (pronounced D over I) describes the
profile would describe a Friendly
will show at least two strong factors sub-trait of Efficiency. In this guide, we
individual (see descriptions below).
in combination. have represented this relationship
graphically, as shown on the right.
The ways in which DISC factors D
combine with one another can be
complicated, and beyond the scope
A Sub-Trait Example:
of an introductory guide. We do, Efficiency, or D/I
however, have one useful tool for
The sub-trait of Efficiency is found in
looking at some of the key
profiles where D (Dominance) is
combinations: the concept of the
higher than I (Influence), so the
sub-trait. I
example profile shows high Efficiency.
Remember, there are twelve possible

combinations of factors in a DISC
graph, each with its own attendant
sub-trait. Any given profile can contain
more than one sub-trait - as well as
Efficiency, for example, the illustrated
profile above also contains Self-
motivation (D/S) and
Independence (D/C).
Sub-Traits with High Dominance
Efficiency
D
D/I : Dominance Higher than Influence
Efficiency appears in a DISC profile when Dominance is significantly
higher than Influence. An efficient individual is direct and assertive,
but has little or no interest in personal matters. They take an
objective, analytical view and drive towards their goals ruthlessly
and relentlessly. They need to see results, and are quite willing to
compromise quality or detail to get them.
I
Self-Motivation
D
D/S : Dominance Higher than Steadiness
Self-motivation appears in a DISC profile when Dominance is
significantly higher than Steadiness. Action is a key ingredient of this
sub-trait. This type of person feels a need to be active all the time,
and is impatient with those who are unwilling or unable to keep up
with their urgent pace. They react quickly to new developments, but S
never lose sight of their own goals and ambitions.
Independence
D
D/C : Dominance Higher than Compliance
Independence appears in a DISC profile when Dominance is
significantly higher than Compliance. This type of person feels
frustrated by rules and regulations - they prefer to follow their own
ideas, and often work alone or in positions of isolated authority. This
sub-trait is common, for example, in entrepreneurial styles.
C
Sub-Traits with High Influence
Friendliness
I
I/D : Influence Higher than Dominance
Friendly people love to talk - communication is the strongest
element of this style. They are outgoing and extrovert, but they find it
far from easy to concentrate on mundane tasks, and are easily
distracted from such work by the opportunity for social interaction.
Enthusiasm
I
I/S : Influence Higher than Steadiness
This is an outgoing and extrovert sub-trait that has much in common
with Friendliness, but with the added dimension of energy and pace.
This animated style shows their interest in a topic very strongly, and
their effusive nature can act as a motivating factor for others.
S
Self-Confidence
I
I/C : Influence Higher than Compliance
Self-confident profiles represent people who rarely experience self-
doubt, and feel at ease in almost any social situation. They mix
easily with strangers, and are unafraid to initiate social contact. They
can at times become over-confident, leading them to act
impulsively.
C
Sub-Traits with High Steadiness
Patience
S
S/D : Steadiness Higher than Dominance
This style of person has little sense of urgency and a slow pace,
which means that they are able to work in situations that others
would find repetitive or dull. They are submissive in style, and ready
to accept that there are some things that they cannot change.
Thoughtfulness
S/I : Steadiness Higher than Influence S
Thoughtful individuals plan their words and actions carefully and

never act on impulse. Deadlines and other time constraints are
difficult for this type of person to deal with. Their advantage,
however, is the reliability and steadiness that they bring to their work.
Persistence
S
S/C : Steadiness Higher than Compliance
Persistent people deal badly with change. Once they are
established in a status quo, they find it difficult to break out of this
and adapt to a new situation. They will do what they can to maintain
their current state of affairs, showing great loyalty and resilience in
defence of their present environment and social circle.
C
Sub-Traits with High Compliance
Co-operativeness
C
C/D : Compliance Higher than Dominance
This is the classic rule-oriented sub-trait, of a person who needs to
be absolutely sure of their position and prefers to use established
regulations and procedures as a framework to support their ideas.
This aspect of their personal style extends to the need for practical
support from managers, colleagues and friends, and so they seek to
D
maintain positive working relationships with others.
Accuracy
C
C/I : Compliance Higher than Influence
This sub-trait, (sometimes named Caution),hates to make mistakes
- they check and recheck their work, and are prone to correct errors
in others, whether or not they have been asked to do so. This need
for certainty means that they will never take a risk unless absolutely
necessary. They are also cautious in communication, rarely I
revealing more about themselves than a bare minimum.
Sensitivity
C
C/S : Compliance Higher than Steadiness
People of this kind are extremely aware of their environment and
changes taking place within it, to the extent that they often notice
subtle points that other people miss or ignore. In itself, this is a
positive factor, but it does have the consequence that they have a
very low boredom threshold and are very easily distracted.
S
Changes Across a Series

Internal and In this diagram, we have illustrated Example Shift:
the changes, (shifts), between the Dominance Shifted Upwards
External Profiles Internal and External Profiles. In this
case, Dominance and Influence are An upward shift in Dominance
It’s not unusual to see changes from
shifting upwards, while Steadiness suggests that the person is
one graph to another within a
and Compliance shift downwards. attempting to present themselves as
person's profile series. The important
more direct and assertive than they
changes are those between the
Internal and External Profiles, as we Interpreting the would normally. They perceive their
role as requiring a more independent
can see in the example below. Shift Pattern and self-motivated style that they are
naturally comfortable with. This shift
The example suggests a person
Example of a Profile Series in Dominance is often difficult to
trying to present themselves as more
maintain, and may result in stress
assertive and communicative than is
over the long term.
actually the case, while also
attempting to demonstrate a more
urgent, responsive style (the
downward shift in Steadiness) and a
greater willingness to take the
initiative (the shift in Compliance).
This type of pattern is not unusual in
INTERNAL EXTERNAL
the modern workplace.
The important changes

are those between the
Internal and External Profiles
SHIFTS
Each shift has a different significance -
This extreme example describes a

some are relatively common, (such as More Shift Descriptions
the downward shift in Steadiness),
person who seems to be trying to fulfil Discover more about the way that
while others can represent a more
a role completely at odds with their different shifts in DISC factors
difficult adaptation. The size of the
natural style. This is because the affect a person’s behaviour in our
shift is also important. Small shifts of a
Internal Profile (the natural style) is full online reference guide.
few percent are very frequent, and
considerably different from the
unlikely to represent serious
External Profile (which describes the
difficulties, while larger shifts View all
kinds of reactions appropriate to their
(nominally, larger than twenty-five Shift
current circumstances, and Descriptions
percent or a quarter of the graph) will
particularly their work life).
have greater significance. Here are the
eight possible shifts across a series.
DISC Profile Interpretations

Here we review some of the most significant features of a series of
A Note on Notation
common DISC profiles, to show the range of DISC interpretations
The notation used here has high factors
DISC can produce. There are numerous possible gradations within a DISC
and low factors separated by a forward
profile, and this reference section can only cover a handful of the most slash, so for example D/I indicates high
common in very brief terms. For a fuller assessment of a particular profile, a Dominance and low Influence (without
any other high or low factors).
separate report is strongly recommended.
High Dominance (D/ISC)

Decisive, Ambitious, Competitive, Driving
The High-D profile is often described as the Autocrat. Dominance is the factor
of control and assertiveness, and with no other high factors in the profile to
balance this, the pure High-D can be very domineering, and overbearing. This
person has a very high need to achieve, and they are often ambitious and
competitive, striving aggressively to achieve their goals. They are dynamic and
adaptable, and show a decisiveness and a capacity for direct leadership.
High Influence (I/DSC)

Confident, Outgoing, Expressive, Sociable
Influence is the factor of communication. A profile with this factor strongly

represented, showing high Influence with no other balancing factors,
represents a style that communicates easily and fluently with others. It is for this
reason that profiles of this kind are often referred to as 'Communicator' profiles -
they describe confident, outgoing and gregarious individuals who value contact
with other people and the development of positive relations.
High Steadiness (S/DIC)

Measured, Accepting, Neighbourly, Stable
This type of profile, showing a high level of Steadiness with no other balancing
factors, is comparatively rare. Steadiness is the factor of patience, calmness
and gentle openness, and a pure High-S will reflect these qualities. They are
generally amiable and warm-hearted, being sympathetic to others' points of
view, and valuing positive interaction. They are not outgoing by nature,
DISC Profile Interpretations

High Compliance (C/DIS)
Diplomatic, Factual, Organised, Impartial
Unassertive by nature, often reticent and aloof, people of this kind can give
an impression of coldness or disinterest. Often reluctant to reveal
information about themselves or their ideas unless absolutely necessary,
highly Compliant individuals tend to lack assertiveness and are generally
unwilling to become involved in confrontational situations. Instead, they
will tend to rely on structures and rules, and such people typically have a
systematic and orderly approach to life.
Other Common DISC Profiles

High Dominance & Influence (DI/SC)
Pro-Active, Self-Confident, Assertive, Extrovert
High Dominance & Steadiness (DS/IC)

Determined, Resilient, Resolute, Committed
High Dominance & Compliance (DC/IS)

Self-Reliant, Objective, Demanding
High Influence & Steadiness (IS/DC)

Sympathetic, Supportive, Friendly, Confiding
High Influence & Compliance (IC/DS)

Accommodating, Diplomatic, Conforming
High Steadiness & Compliance (SC/DI)

Analytical, Patient, Restrained, Cautious
High Dominance, Influence & Steadiness (DIS/C)

Informal, Emotional, Candid, Talkative
High Dominance, Influence & Compliance (DIC/S)

Flexible, Dynamic, Exploratory, Questioning
High Dominance, Steadiness & Compliance (DSC/I)

Analytical, Precise, Dependable, Factual
High Influence, Steadiness & Compliance (ISC/D)

Co-Operative, Team-Orientated, Courteous
Compressed (-/-)
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DISC in Practice
Putting DISC to Work Assessment Addressing Specific
DISC profiles have a wide range of Regular assessment is becoming Problems
uses. Recruitment is the main area of more widely used in the commercial
From time to time, specific difficulties
application at present, but profiling sector, helping a manager to foresee
arise related to one individual, or an
techniques present possibilities far and preempt problems with staff, and
internal problem within a small group.
beyond this. Now we’ll looks at some improve motivation and morale. This
We’ll show how DISC can be helpful
of the application areas where the section covers the practical issues
in isolating the causes of these
DISC system can be most effective. involved in maintaining a regular
problems, and developing strategies
assessment schedule.
to resolve them.
Redeployment Career Development

Redeployment within an organisation For those seeking a new career
is a similar process to recruitment. direction, or looking for their ideal job,
We’ll look at the issues involved in DISC provides some useful guidelines.
redeploying to fill new roles within an We’ll examine DISC's abilities in the
organisation, or in transferring staff area of career development.
Important Note
members to different positions.
No decision affecting a person's career
should be taken solely on the basis of a
behavioural assessment. Other factors
Team Building
such as skills, training or experience
The behavioural styles of its
must be taken into account.
members and the ways they interact
has a large role in the effectiveness of
Recruitment any team. The use of DISC as part of
the team-building process can have a
The main use of commercial profiling
significant positive impact.
is as an aid to the selection of
candidates during the recruitment
process. We’ll examine DISC's use
throughout the recruitment cycle,
from the preparation of short-lists to
the interview itself.
Cultural Integration
Cultural Integration is the process of
integrating a successful new
candidate into an organisation's (or
new department's) existing culture.
We’ll cover the role of profiling in
easing a candidate's transition into a
new work environment.
Recruitment
Find the Right People with DISC
DISC can be used to perform a wide variety of functions, recruitment being
the one that sees most activity. In fact, many people see DISC systems
simply as a recruitment tool. This section looks at four popular and effective
recruitment applications of DISC, and examines the advantages.
Make Recruitment Shortlisting

Easier with DISC In times of economic hardship, job
Online profiling vacancies attract large numbers of
It is often impractical to arrange potential candidates. Applications
individual testing sessions for a large often run into the hundreds, or even
number of candidates. Instead, a cloud- thousands, far more than can be
based approach allows you to schedule practically interviewed. Most
profiling across the Internet, allowing organisations solve this problem by
candidates to complete their profiles at drawing up a shortlist, interviewing
their convenience, and making reports only the members of this list.
instantly available to you as soon as With so many applications, however,
each profile is completed. producing this shortlist is a time-
consuming and difficult task.
...candidate matching can Standard application forms and
quickly identify candidates curricula vitæ rarely convey enough
to make a solid decision about a
whose personality is well
candidate's suitability. This is where
suited to the job DISC can help.
A DISC questionnaire can be

Candidate Database included with application forms. This
Maintaining a DISC-based candidate will allow a picture of applicants’ styles
database makes it easy to find suitable to be built up relatively quickly.
profile types. It’s also possible to Results can be compared against a
organise candidate profiles to work with predefined ideal profile for the job,
separate recruitment campaigns. expediting the shortlisting process.
It is important to note that in

Candidate Matching shortlisting, DISC is merely a useful
If you have a job profile defined for a aid. To draw up a complete shortlist
role, the process of candidate matching from styles alone is not practically
can quickly identify candidates whose possible, because DISC has no way
personality is well suited to needs of of addressing other important issues,
that role. such as qualifications and experience.
Recruitment
The Interview DISC can also help to improve
communication within the interview.
The ultimate use of DISC results is to This is a more subtle and less
aid the interviewer during the interview tangible benefit, but it can have a
itself. It can do this in many ways. significant impact on the progress of
the discussion. By making
The DISC interpretation of a
themselves aware of an interviewee's
candidate's profile can highlight
motivating factors, the skilful
potential difficulties that would never
interviewer can encourage them to
emerge in the course of a normal
reveal information, and help to relieve
interview. These problem areas can of unsuitable candidates. Some
the understandable pressure of an
be probed by the interviewer to organisations now include a DISC
interview situation and so ease
assess their relevance. Almost all report with rejection letters, giving the
communication. Some interviewers
DISC systems can generate a list of candidate a clear idea of the reasons
actually discuss a candidate's DISC
disadvantages of this kind, but some for their rejection, and offering them
report with them during the interview.
of the more advanced, automated, guidance in the further development
systems are able to go one step of their career. This positive approach
further and generate a list of problem Handling Rejection can not only help relieve the
areas relative to a specific job, and disappointment of unsuitable
A little-used approach, but one that is
even provide a list of suggested candidates, but also improve the
growing in popularity, is the
behavioural questions for the perception of the organisation.
application of DISC to ease rejection
interview.
Cultural Integration
About Organisational Cultures
Any successful recruitment process is followed by a phase of cultural
integration. This describes the process by which a new member of staff adapts to
a new organisation, and the particular culture of that organisation. This important
step is often overlooked by recruiters, but is gradually growing in importance
among human resource professionals.
What is an organisation's culture?

Essentially, any close-knit group of Integrating a New Recruit
people will, over time, develop a set of
By comparing a new recruit's in an effective manner clearly takes a
traditions, customs and unwritten
behavioural style with that of the great deal of skill, experience and
rules that define the ways in which
organisation, we can highlight those patience, and this is perhaps the
they work together. One of the most
areas where they will have difficulty in reason why this application of DISC is
stressful times for a newly recruited
adapting to their new environment, as comparatively rare in comparison
member involves coming to terms
well as discovering those areas in with its other uses. Nonetheless,
with this set of cultural factors, and
which they are particularly well suited. many individuals who might be
adapting to work within them.
Using this information, it becomes otherwise suited to a job leave in the
possible to guide an individual's first few months, and this points to the
Cultural integration is induction into a new organisation, need for greater attention to the
growing in importance rather than simply leaving them to fit cultural integration phase.
with HR professionals. in as well as they can. Achieving this
Many of the elements of a culture of this

kind are highly specific, and unsuited to
assessment through a behaviour-based
system. On a more general level,
however, there are often aspects of a
culture that suggest an analogy
between an individual's approach and
the general style of the organisation as
a whole. A very formal, rigidly structured
working environment could be
characterised as a High-C organisation,
for example, while a workplace that
placed emphasis on personal initiative
and internal competition would be more
appropriately described as a High-D
organisation.
Assessment
Managing a DISC Assessment Programme
A regular assessment schedule is part of the human resources policy of a growing number of companies.
By appraising performance through interviews and management reporting, it becomes possible to build a comprehensive
picture of staff performance, and isolate any problems before they grow to serious proportions. The inclusion of DISC profiling
in this process can further enhance its effectiveness. There are a variety of ways that DISC can help to isolate problems and
suggest possible solutions. These include:
Divergent External department's External Profiles adapt

to meet the manager's expectations.
Profiles While this phenomenon might
If a particular individual shows actually be desirable in a highly
marked shifts between their Internal structured environment, it is often
and External profiles, this is an associated with problems of
indication that they feel somehow motivation. This is because members
uncomfortable in their current of staff are being forced to suppress
position. This might indicate that they their natural abilities, impacting on
their performance. Large shifts
are unsuitable for their present work, Profile Tension between the Internal and External
or it simply reflects an inaccurate
perception of the requirements of The stress levels, or profile tension, profiles can also decrease motivation,
their position. Discovering which of in a DISC profile series is a useful again with a negative effect on
these possibilities applies can usually indicator of a person's state of mind. It performance.
be achieved by comparing the profile is possible to assess whether any
series with a Job Profile for the staff such tension stems specifically from DISC is one of the most
member's role. the work environment, or associated
popular personality profiling
with the individual's general lifestyle.
techniques available today
Compressed Profiles In either case, high levels of stress will
have a deleterious effect on
The appearance of a Compressed performance over the long term.
Profile in a DISC profile series is Assessment Intervals
often a pointer to some kind of long Similarity of
term pressure situation. In a work Assessment programmes using
environment, a Compressed Profile is
External Profiles DISC should not be performed at
often a pointer to a lack of direction or Where a large number of people close intervals. This is not normally a
certainty, suggesting that the person working in a department show very problem, because such assessments
concerned feels unsure of the similar External Profiles to one would normally be performed at six-
expectations of their colleagues and another, it suggests a subtle problem. monthly or annual intervals. As a
managers, or the nature of work that Managers with very strong styles minimum, a DISC questionnaire
is expected of them. (dominant and highly assertive ones) should not be applied on a person at
can have a significant impact on their closer intervals than three months.
staff, to the extent where an entire
Redeployment
Reallocating Roles Organisational Individual
Redeployment refers to the Redeployment Redeployment
reallocation of roles within a This term describes situations in Individual Redeployment is far less
department or organisation. In many which new positions or roles are common than its counterpart. This
ways, it is similar to the recruitment opening up within an organisation, term describes the situation where a
process, but with a greater volume of that should ideally be filled by existing person or group has to be relocated
first-hand information available about members. within an organisation. This will
potential candidates. If the normally be due to their current roles
organisation is a regular user of DISC is the ideal tool for quickly and becoming redundant, but other
DISC-based assessment, then this easily comparing individuals’ reasons may also occasionally arise.
information will include DISC profiles. behavioural profiles against the job
This can be of great help in identifying profile to help select the best DISC is ideal for easily
the right candidate for the right role. candidate for the role or position. comparing individuals’
There are two main types of profiles against the job
redeployment, which we call An computerised DISC system, (such
organisational and individual. as Discus), will make it practical to
There are significant differences of assess all members of an In DISC terms, this process is the
approach applicable to each of these. organisation against the reverse of Organisational
requirements of the new position. Redeployment. Instead of matching a
number of candidate profiles against
an individual Job Profile, a number of
Job Profiles representing the
available posts will be matched
against only a few candidate profiles.
This means that the use of

assessment in this field is more
difficult to achieve than
Organisational Redeployment,
because most DISC users maintain
files of recruited candidates' DISC
profiles, but very few possess a
complete set of Job Profiles covering
every role within their organisation.
Such a database of Job Profiles can
bring real advantages, but practical
limitations to its construction will
usually mean that it is only achievable
by an automated DISC system.
Team Building
Building Successful Teams with DISC
Why is it that some teams work smoothly and effectively together, while
others break down into internal conflict and achieve little? One of the main
factors is the interaction of different styles within the team. DISC provides a useful
predictor of team effectiveness by highlighting possible problem areas and
suggesting ways of resolving them.
The ideal composition of any team is We can gain an idea of the parts they
dependent on the team’s play in the development and
task,however, the key to success is performance of the team by looking at
diversity. Each main DISC factor the four DISC factors. Remember, Influence is the social cement of the
draws an individual to play a different this is simplified; in reality, the factors team. Unless they possess
part in the team structure, and a work in combination to produce a specialised skills, highly Influential
variety of factors across team whole range of team attitudes. people often appear to have little
members can help to ensure that the practical part to play in the team's
team performs effectively. Dominance, being the factor of proceedings, and are hence often
control, is most suited to a leadership undervalued. For a team to work
effectively, its members must have a
DISC Factors and role. Dominant people have a natural
sense of cohesion, and this can be
urge to take command, and will fit
their Team Roles easily into such a position. However, achieved by the inclusion of one or
the number of High-D team members two Influential individuals. The
The ways that different DISC profiles
should be kept to a minimum. Several communicative abilities of Influence
break down into roles within a team
people attempting to take leadership can also produce a representative or
are complex. A full analysis can break
will clearly have a negative impact on spokesperson, presenting their
down personality types into no less
team performance.. findings and ideas to others.
than twenty-seven distinct team roles.
Team Building
Steadiness is the team's brake, More Elements of Team Leadership

holding the other members back from
ill-considered conclusions or Team Building Personality has a great deal of
precipitous actions. This is an influence on leadership. Not only will
The following looks at teams in simple
important factor, especially after the the leader’s own approach affect the
DISC terms to give you an idea of the
team has formed its internal social team as a whole, but the personality
ways each factor will affect a team as
relationships and has begun to styles of the team’s members will
a whole. Naturally there’s a great deal
perform its real function. Steady describe their different needs and
more at work in the operation of a
individuals lack assertiveness, which expectations from a team leader.
team, and DISC can give us more
can often prevent them from making
insights in a whole range of areas.
input unless directly requested, and it Team Roles
is often helpful to develop the
structure of the team in such a way
Team Dynamics Breaking down team members
that the Steady members feel that Dynamics refer to the relations of according to roles is a well
their contributions will be valued and different DISC factors from one established approach, and DISC can
accepted by other team members. individual to another. In the context of offer a structured way to do this. A
a team, they can help to highlight the DISC team assessment can describe
Compliance is an important factor in team members as belonging to any of
most important relationship questions
achieving the team’s results. Members twenty-seven defined role types,
at work between group members.
with high Compliance tend to generate based on their personal profiles.
ideas and produce materials and
reports. The less pro-active side of the
Compliant type, however, will normally
require more assertive team-members
( Dominant and Influential types) to
implement and monitor any plans or
suggestions they produce. The
Compliant members of the team often
possess the specialised skills and
knowledge appropriate to a project.
For any team to be effective over the

long term, it must pass through an
initial period of flux and uncertainty
before it performs, during which
relationships and roles are formed.
This formative period is an ideal time
to introduce any formal structures
considered necessary to the smooth
running of the group.
Good team building is not easy, and the larger the team the larger
the potential headache - it can be a nightmare trying to achieve the
perfect balance. But help is at hand with Discus Team Builder which
easily and effectively profiles, analyses and compares potential teams,
offering the best matches, how team members are likely to work
together, and areas for improvement. If you’re building teams, don’t
build them without Discus - take advantage of our special offer now.

Career Development
Planning Career
Paths with DISC
In the earlier parts of this section, we
have seen a number of ways in which
DISC can be used to help in purely
business-oriented matters, mostly
relating to either the recruitment or
assessment of staff.
Outside this corporate arena,

however, DISC can also contribute to
personal development. The clearest
example of this is in helping with an
individual's career development and
their career path.
A person's DISC profile

series is compared
against an ideal job profile
DISC Career Matching
Using DISC for career development is kind, incorporating hundreds of
a similar process to that seen in possible matches, are impractical for
Important Note recruitment or assessment scenarios. manual DISC systems, but this kind
It is important to note that there are A person's DISC profile series is of matching is sometimes provided by
multitude of factors that must affect compared against an ideal job automated DISC applications. This
the decisions a person takes about profile for a particular career, and the can be a very effective means of
their careers. DISC alone cannot closeness of the match between the raising new career ideas that a
provide a definitive conclusion, but it two styles will give an indication of person might not have considered.
is able to provide guidance in how well that individual's style is
Once a career decision has been
deciding whether a particular career suited to the career being investigated.
made, DISC can also help in
path is suited to an individual or not. While this is an appropriate method, it preparing application letters and
Also, DISC results tend to be less becomes inappropriate if a person curricula vitæ (or résumés). DISC
reliable for young people under the has no clear idea of the type of career profiles help to highlight the particular
age of twenty, because before this they might be interested in. This areas of strength within a person's
age the behavioural trends tend to be situation might apply, for example, to style, and these can be included in
in a state of flux. The precise age at students leaving college or university. applications. Because so many
which a behavioural style reaches a In this case, a library of job profiles is organisations use DISC, it may even
stable form will naturally vary from needed, representing a wide variety be useful to include a full printed
individual to individual. of different job styles in different DISC report with a job application.
career areas. Comparisons of this
Welcome to Discus
Hire and Manage the Best Talent
with the Discus DISC Profiler
Whether you're looking to evaluate
candidates, match them to jobs,
understand people or create
effective teams, Discus is the
perfect solution. Thousands of
clients worldwide rely on Discus for
their personality profiling needs. Over
23 years, Discus has created millions
of individual DISC profiles, with a Set up and create DISC profiles in
client portfolio of some of the largest moments, including online profiling.
companies in the world.
Discus Advantages
Independently validated
Expanded and improved for 23 years
Profiling across the Web
Unlimited questionnaires View richly detailed profile interpretations,
created instantly.
No profiling subscription fees
Reporting to suit your needs
Matching candidates to jobs
Free relationship profile
Free team profiling
Feedback reports for candidates
Discounts on credit purchases
Match candidates against hundreds of
Your own branded profiling portal predefined job profiles, or create your own.
Multilingual profiling
Exceptional report quality
Introducing Discus
Use advanced features like relationship and

team assessment, free and unlimited.
Invitations & Questionnaires

Managing DISC Profile Questionnaires with Discus
The first step in creating a DISC profile is to collect the questionnaire
answers, and Discus gives you a whole range of ways. The simplest and
most efficient way is to use Discus' Invitations feature. Additional ways Send an Invitation
include multiple questionnaire types and techniques in many languages. Discus handles online profiling
automatically, sending out invitations
• Send reminders to candidates as and managing the entire process.
Discus Reports appear on your account as
Profiling Procedure required.
after each questionnaire is completed.
• Receive an e-mail notification as
soon as results are available,
optionally including a copy of the
newly created report.
Invitation: A Complete Discus Invitations offer you efficient

Print a DISC Questionnaire
and direct online profiling, but Discus
Online Solution also gives you plenty of other options
Discus gives you the option to print as
many DISC questionnaires you like,
The most powerful Discus testing to suit your individual profiling needs.
choosing from a many languages.
option is the Invitation feature, so-
called because it invites a candidate More Questionnaire
to complete a profile online. All that’s
required is their e-mail address, and
Options
Discus will take care of everything - If you prefer to conduct supervised
setting up an online questionnaire testing on your own premises, Discus
and inviting that person to complete it. also provides real-time questionnaires. Start an On-Screen Test
Discus will then immediately compile These can be run directly on the If you want to supervise your testing
their results for you to view their report. screen, or if you prefer to use paper more closely, Discus will provide an
questionnaires, Discus will print as interactive DISC test directly on the
Discus provides a host of options and many as you need at no charge. screen. Once completed, the report
services to make this feature truly will be ready to view immediately.
powerful. All these direct questionnaires are
also available in the range of standard
• Send invitations to multiple different Discus languages, and if you're using
candidates with a single click. printed question sets, Discus even
provides a specially designed entry
• Set up questionnaires in any of a system that lets you enter and check
huge range of different languages.
Enter Questionnaire Answers
the answers in a matter of moments.
This is a straightforward way to enter
• Display the questionnaire to your manual responses on printed
Discus gives you four different ways
candidates using your own questionnaires into Discus. This
to create a DISC profile.
branding and colour scheme. option makes it easy to create profiles
from printed questionnaires with just
a handful of keystrokes.
The Discus Personality Report

Discus - the Ultimate in DISC Reporting The Textual Report
Discus provides some of the most advanced, wide-ranging personality The Discus Textual Report can
profile reports available, with each report tailored to the person's profile. cover all of these subject areas
(though note that some of these
The unique advantage of a Discus report is the way that its content is put together. are only available in a full
While many DISC reports simply break down profiles into a handful of types, Enhanced report).
Discus is different: it includes a powerful reporting system that can describes a
person's profile in detail, using plain language to cover numerous business topics. • Overview
• Keynotes
Reports are available at various
levels to suit your needs, with the top- DISC Report Contents • Behavioural Adaptation
level Enhanced report running to • Advantages and Disadvantages
eighty pages or more. Discus offers a Each Discus report can cover all of
these topics, though you can choose • Communication Style
whole range of other reporting
features, including the option to add which appear in any individual report. • Decision Making
your own branding to a report.
• Organisation and Planning
You can view Discus DISC reports • Motivation
directly through your browser with just
• Managing Style
one click, or you can recreate them in
high-quality PDF format. That makes See a • Style of Management Required
it easy to make printed copies, or to e- Sample
Discus • Guidelines in Management
mail a report for review by others
Report
(Discus has built-in report e-mailing • Guidelines in Sales
facilities to make this even easier). • Guidelines in Service
You also have the option to customise
• Guidelines in Technical Work
the report, focusing on just those topic
that are directly relevant to you. • Exploratory Questions
• Candidate Details
• Career Directions
• DISC Profile Series
• Relationships
• Style Cards
• The Team
• Trait Summary
• Pressure
• Profile Tension
• Ambition and Development
• Textual Report
• Relationship Keynotes You can view Discus reports

• Job Match Analysis directly through your
• Appendix: DISC Profile Shapes browser with just one click
• Glossary of Terms
The Discus Personality Report

A DISC profile starts with a
breakdown of each factor,
explaining how it contributes to a
person's overall behaviour and A Discus Textual Report
working style. Graphical content
includes Style Cards that
explains a personality in
summarise a person's behaviour in terms of up to twenty-one
contexts like leading and learning, different business topics
a Trait Grid showing how a person's
approach might change over time,
and a Profile Tension section to
look at potential sources of stress. Choose any of your candidates, and
Discus will display a complete DISC
At the heart of a set of Discus DISC report in your browser right away.
results is the Textual Report, From here, you can adjust the report's
explaining a personality in terms of contents, and create a full PDF copy
up to twenty-one different business ready to share.
topics.
Each part of the Textual Report is

crafted from a database of
commentary that's matched to the
exact details of a personality style,
which can combine in literally
millions of different ways. The
report covers broad topics such as
motivation and decision making, as
well as performance in specific
types of roles such as management
or sales. Also included is a set of
behavioural questions, so the DISC
report can help you to design a
customised interview.
A Discus report also looks at the

ways a person is likely to relate to
others, plus a full appendix
covering all technical terms used in
the main report. You can also add
an optional job match, tying the
report in to a particular role, and
rating the personality against the
needs of that job.
Candidate Profile Feedback

A DISC report from the candidate’s point of view
A Feedback Report is an alternative way of looking at a set of DISC results:
from the perspective of the person who answered the questionnaire.
It's only natural that a person completing a DISC questionnaire will be curious to
see the outcome. Providing them with access to their own results is not only best
practice, but also a great way to engage them with the profiling process and help
to drive discussion.
The level of detail in a full Discus DISC The Feedback Report is much briefer
report isn't ideal for feedback of this than a full Discus report, written in a the Feedback Report automatically
kind, especially if it includes Job friendly accessible second-person as soon as a candidate completes
Matching information. For that reason style, with lots of explanatory text. their questionnaire. The candidate
Discus includes a second reporting feedback report is instantly available
option, the Feedback Report, that's for review in your browser. Create a
designed specifically for the candidate PDF copy instantly, or mail the report
to review their own results. directly to the candidate using Discus'
built-in e-mailing facilities.
The Discus See a
Sample
A great way to engage
Feedback Report Feedback
Report them with the profiling
Discus Feedback Reports are broken
process and help
down into seven topics, covering a
range of subjects relating to both the to drive discussion
reader's work and personal life.
The report shows an overall summary
• About You of the personality, and sections
• Your Core Values covering topics of interest to the
• Abilities, Strengths, Limitations candidate. For example, it provides a
• Personal Development comparison against the population as
• Relating to Other People a whole, and topics like personal
• Your Work Style development and relating to other
• Planning Your Career people. The report finishes with a brief
section on career planning, as a
The Feedback Report is an optional helpful guide to the kinds of roles that
feature of Discus, with no requirement suit the reader best.
to provide candidates with feedback.
Discus doesn't just provide the
Feedback Reports are provided free Feedback Report itself, but also some
with all Enhanced Discus reports, and useful features to help you make the
are available at other report levels most of it. For example, you can
through a subscription service. choose to have Discus send a copy of
Job Matching
Matching Personalities with Ideal Jobs and Roles
Job Matching compares a person's DISC profile with the ideal for any job or role, and sums up how well their
personality matches that role's needs. DISC describes a personality in terms of four numbers, that quantify a person's
behaviour, giving us the possibility of job matching. Using DISC to predetermine the ideal personality style for a role, Discus
matches the factor values in a DISC profile against that ideal, then calculates how well a candidate is suited to it. It's also
possible to highlight strengths, or areas where a person needs development.
Job Matching
and Job Profiling
with Discus
Job Matching
Discus matches the factors in a
candidate's personality against an
optimum job profile to describe how
well they fit the needs of that role.
Candidate Matching
Based on the needs of a role, Discus
also matches a group of candidates
or applicant to find the best suited for
that role's personality needs.
Discus also highlights

strengths, or areas
where a person apply matches and create job profiles
Job Profiling
needs development Building a profile for a job is easy with without any restriction.
Discus' built-in Job Profiler suite. In addition to finding how well a
Create a Job Profile from a simple personality matches a job, Discus can
questionnaire, or use more advanced also reverse the process to create a
tools to specify your needs exactly. candidate match. If we have a job,
Job Profile Library
and a set of DISC results for each
Discus includes a library of over three
Free and Unlimited applicant, Discus can search through
hundred different job templates
the applicants to find the ones whose
covering a wide range of different Job matching and job profiling are a
personalities are closest to the ideal.
commercial roles. free and unlimited part of the Discus
service. Registered Discus users can
Job Matching
Job Profiling The best approach is to create your
own custom job profile to match the
Both job matching and candidate exact needs of a job. Discus includes
matching rely on having a predefined a complete built-in Job Profiler service
personality profile for the job we're to help you achieve that. You start by
matching against - a job profile. This answering a set of questions about a
ideal DISC profile can be created in job that's analogous to a normal DISC
two ways. questionnaire, and from those
answers Discus will build a job profile.
For more advanced cases, the Job

See a Profiler provides a host of other Discus provides a huge library of
Sample profiles for potential roles for you to
Job Match options, so you can, (for example),
Report base a Job Profile on the personality match candidates against, or you can
of a really successful candidate, or create your own custom Job Profiles
tweak the profile's settings to match using Discus' range of built-in profiling
your needs perfectly. tools.
The simplest and easiest is to select a

template from a library of predefined
profiles. Discus includes hundreds of
templates for the most common types
of roles, from categories as diverse as
sales or administration, or as
specialised as education or media.
See a
Sample
Job Profile
Report
Create your own

custom job profiles
using Discus tools
No other personality and behavioural
profiler offers as many versatile and
useful tools as Discus. Discus helps
you recruit the best staff, build better
teams and help individuals fulfil their
potential. What’s more, many of these
tools come free of charge when you take
out one of our superb business
packages. Take advantage now and, in
addition, receive a special introductory
offer - but please hurry - it’s only available
for a limited time.

Managing Relationships
Understanding and Developing Working Relations
By comparing the factors in two DISC profiles, we can explore the dynamics
between two personalities. A DISC relationship assessment is created by
comparing the DISC factors in their personality profiles. The ways in which these
factors match, or otherwise, give us a basis for understanding how they will relate.
Relationship assessment is based on

Relationship
the concept of DISC dynamics -
connections between factors in two Assessment with Discus
different personalities. For example,
when two independent High-D's work Assessments in Summary
By comparing the DISC profiles of
together, there will be a competitive
two different people, we can build a
DISC Relationships
element, whilst High-D working with a
patient, steady High-S will result in a picture of the ways that those two in Practice
different relationship dynamic. people will interact with one another.
Understanding a relationship from
DISC Dynamics both perspectives makes a
The connections between different relationship assessment very useful.
factors on different DISC profiles Seeing where expectations and
See a
Sample define a set of DISC dynamics, and motivations differ means that we can
Relationship they form the basis of the Discus anticipate or defuse conflicts. We can
Assessment relationship assessment. even use a relationship assessment
Report to judge the likely compatibility of
Different Perspectives individuals who have not met, and so
Each relationship assessment use relationship assessment to build
comprises of a pair of mirrored effective partnerships and develop
results: the relationship as viewed truly effective teams.
from the perspective of each of the
When we compare two complete
two people involved.
personality profiles, the result is a
network of dynamics that give us a Free and Unlimited
rounded picture of the working
Relationship Assessment is a free
relationship in personality terms.
and unlimited part of the Discus
service. Registered Discus users can
A relationship can appear different to
analyse the relationship between any
the two people involved, therefore a
pair of DISC profiles without
Discus relationship assessment is
restriction.
always compiled from two parts,
explaining the relationship from each Discus builds a picture For any combination of two
person's point of view. Depending on candidates from your database,
the profiles, these perspectives can
of the ways two people will
Discus will create a relationship
be similar, or remarkably different. interact with each other assessment describing the dynamics
within their working relationship, from
the perspective of each individual.
Team Building with Discus

Building Powerful members for a potential team, and Team Profiling
experiment with different combinations
Teams with DISC to find the optimum group.
and Reporting
Creating profiles for the members At the heart of the Discus team
within a team takes DISC into a new assessment is its Team Profile, which
dimension of analysis with Discus draws in all the factors of the team's
See a
Team Building. members to create a single graphic
Sample
Team describing the team as a whole.
There are many factors that influence Building
the effectiveness and performance of Report This team profile follows the familiar
a team, but the team members' four-factor layout as a conventional
personalities will clearly be among the DISC profile, but the factors
most important. themselves are different, using terms
like Direction and Participation to
By creating a DISC profile for every measure the process at work within
member of a team, it’s possible to the team.
cilitates all this with an easy-to-use
model the workings of that team, and
team management system that lets
to anticipate the ways it will operate.
you model and adjust any
In fact, we're not limited to existing combination of profiles, and
teams: it's just as possible to combine immediately view the results.
Team Building with Discus

Discus Team Building-
Key Facts
Discus Team Profiles
The basis of team assessment with
Discus is the team profile, combining
members' DISC profiles into a single
overall form.
Modelling Teams
Discus allows you to set up and adjust
any team, seeing the outcomes of
your changes in real time.
Team Reporting
Based on the makeup of a team,
Discus will produce a detailed team Combining all the members' profiles, This approach can categorise
assessment report, discussing the with the overall team profile, Discus members into roles such as
team's structure and its internal can compose an extensive report of Brainstormer, Consultant, Explorer,
relationships. the team and its workings. The report plus many other types, each with a
includes an overview of the team as a clear definition and explanation.
Leadership Assessment
whole, with keynotes and comments
If you assign a leader for a team, Taken together, all these features and
on its structure, plus it explores a wide
Discus will provide an assessment of reporting options make Discus
array of other aspects of the team.
their leadership style, and how that indispensable in planning or
style fits with the needs of the group. One of these aspects is leadership. If managing the operation of a team.
you choose to assign one of a team's
Team Roles members as its leader, Discus will
Team members can also be broken provide a thorough analysis of that
down into any of a set of DISC-based person's leadership style, and also
roles, helping to show how they see look at how that style matches the
themselves as a part of a working needs of the team. This makes it easy
team. to highlight areas where the leader
needs to focus to get the most out of
Free and Unlimited
the other team members.
Team profiling and reporting are a Discus makes it easy to set up a
free and unlimited part of the Discus Understanding the roles at work within team, allowing you to define existing
service. Registered Discus users can a team is a crucial part of team groups or model potential
create any number of teams, and assessment, and Discus includes this combinations of personalities. You
view Discus reports on those teams aspect by drawing a set of twenty- can check the Discus team report at
without restriction. seven possible roles specifically any time to review the ways that any
designed to be compatible with team will work together.
members' DISC profiles.
Sample Discus Reports

Discus Personality Reports
Discus provides some of the most detailed and extensive DISC profile reporting available anywhere. Not only are
Discus personality reports filled with relevant information, they're also created individually to reflect the precise patterns in a
set of personality results.
Classic Personality Report 30+

PAGES
A Classic Discus report includes everything you need to get a full overview of a
personality style. As well as extensive and accessible graphs and diagrams, it
also includes a textual analysis describing the individual details of a personality
profile, covering a range of ten different subject areas.
See a Sample Classic Personality Report
Enhanced Personality Report 60+

PAGES
The Enhanced Report extends the Classic format to include no fewer than eleven
extra sections of analysis, covering topics ranging from specific work roles to
behavioural interview questions. Creating an Enhanced report also automatically
unlocks the Feedback Report for the same set of DISC results.
See a Sample Enhanced Personality Report
Outline Personality Report 10+

PAGES
An Outline report is designed for DISC experts. It includes basic DISC

information such as graphs, but without the full analysis features of a Classic or
Enhanced report. Outline reports are a highly cost-effective solution for
experienced DISC users.
See a Sample Outline Personality Report


Feedback Report 15+
PAGES
A Discus Feedback Report is a DISC report designed to be accessible to the

person completing the questionnaire, giving them useful feedback on their results.
It discusses broad topics directly relevant to the candidate, covering subjects from
communication style to work style and career options.
See a Sample Feedback Report
Discus Job Matching Reports

Job matching involves matching a candidate's personality profile against an ideal pattern for a given role, a pattern
we call a job profile. Discus' job matching suite includes a range of reports to help you find a candidate for a job, or a role that
suits a candidate. You can also use the Job Profile report to review the requirements of any role.
Job Match Report FREE &

UNLIMITED
A Job Match report is an optional part of the personality report, looking at ways a
person fits the ideal personality needs of any job or role. It includes an assessment
of any strengths for the role, plus a discussion of potential limitations. Job Match
reports can be freely incorporated into the personality report for any candidate.
See a Sample Job Match Report
Candidate Match Report FREE &

UNLIMITED
A Candidate Match report searches your database to measure appropriate

candidates against a role's personality needs. It looks in detail at a single
candidate's suitability, but also includes a comparison of related individuals to help
find the optimum matches for the role.
See a Sample Candidate Match Report


Job Profile Report 15+
FREE &
UNLIM
PA SD
ITE
GE
A Job Profile describes the personality requirements of any role, and Discus
includes everything you need to create and manage Job Profiles like this. A Job
Profile Report summarises the key features of any role, whether its profile comes
from Discus' extensive library, or from your own custom profile.
See a Sample Job Profile Report
More Reports
Beyond personality and job reports, Discus can go further and look at the ways that individuals work together.
There are two different approaches available: a relationship report that examines the dynamics in a single working
relationship, and a team report that examines the workings of an entire group of different personalitytypes.
Relationship Report FREE &

UNLIMITED
Discus relationship reports highlight the most important dynamics in action

between two individuals, helping to explain the way those two people will build a
working relationship. Relationship reports include an analysis from the point of
view of each of the two personalities involved.
See a Sample Relationship Report
Team Report FREE &

UNLIMITED
Discus can create a team report for any size of team, looking at the ways the
personalities of individual members interact with each other to affect the team as a
whole. The report looks at distinct team roles and team dynamics, and highlights
key issues surrounding the team's leadership role.
See a Sample Team Report

Everybody is fighting for the best talent. Why should you be left behind?
Discus uses DISC theory, with the latest technologies, to help put you in front
of the competition. Recruit the best staff, build better teams and encourage
personal development with one of the worlds foremost personality profilers -
it’s an essential tool no business should be without.
For a limited time, we’re offering a superb deal of 20% extra profiles when
you subscribe to any of our already discounted special business packages.

Discus Platforms and Apps

Discus gives you DISC
Profiling on Every
Platform and Device
Whatever your DISC profiling
needs, Discus has the answer.
Whether you're working on a desktop
or mobile device, you'll find a Discus
solution to match your needs. The
main Discus system is a completely
cloud-based solution, meaning that all
your account details, and your profile
data, are available however you
access the service.
The Discus Service

at a Glance Web-based Profiling Sign in From Anywhere
Because Discus works across the Whatever computer or device you
Compatibility
Web, you can use it from any device use, because your Discus account is
Discus will work on just about any
with a Web browser. held in the 'cloud' your DISC results
platform, including Windows, Mac,
are always accessible.
iOS (iPhones and iPads), Android Profiling With Apps
and Linux. For mobile devices, DISC profiling is Because Discus has its own Web-
even easier with dedicated Discus based interface, you can use it on any
apps for the iPad and iPhone. device with a browser, regardless of
operating system - Discus works just
as well under Windows, Mac, Linux or
any other Web-capable platform. To
make Discus even more accessible,
we provide a range of free apps for
tablets and mobile devices.
Discus works on all

major platforms, including
Windows, Mac, iOS,
Android and Linux
Discus Platforms and Apps

Discus HD for iPad Approach for iPhone Understanding DISC
Discus HD gives you all the power of Approach is something different: not for iPhone
the main Discus system, but built into a direct Discus app, but a quick and Understanding DISC is not a profiling
an app that takes full advantage of the simple profiler built on the same app as such, but a handy reference
iPad's capabilities. principles that underlie a Discus guide to DISC, including all the basic
analysis. information you need to understand
how DISC profiles are developed,
and how to effectively interpret them.
Sign into your Discus account, review

your DISC reports, set up candidate
invitations and even run a
questionnaire directly on your tablet.
Discus HD on the App Store Approach is designed to help you

quickly understand a person's major
Discus Mobile drives and motivations from their

behavioural cues, and from those
Understanding DISC is by no means
essential to using Discus, but it
for iPhone results build a useful guide to help provides plenty of useful background
Like Discus HD for the iPad, Discus boost productive communication with material to help you get the most out
Mobile gives you instant access to all that person. of Discus profiling.
of the major Discus profiling features
Approach on the App Store Understanding DISC on the App Store
directly through your iPhone.
The Discus Mobile app includes everything

you need to set up and create DISC profiles
and read personality reports, all in an app
specially designed for the iPhone.
Discus Mobile on the App Store

Customisation and Branding

Add Your Corporate Identity to Discus Profiles and Reports
For an added level of professionalism, you can easily set up your own branding on all Discus services and
resources you need to share. There are many scenarios where you'll need others to use or view Discus materials. Most
commonly, when you invite a candidate to complete an online profile questionnaire. You might also want to share that
candidate's personality report with colleagues, or to give them a copy of their own Feedback Report.
Setting Up Your Brand Setting up branding within Discus is

Setting up your branding options is simple. Just upload a copy of your
all handled through Discus itself. logo and pick a colour scheme, and
Just post your logo and choose Discus will take care of the rest. The
your colour scheme, and you're whole process takes just a minute.
ready to go.
With branding in place, when a new
candidate visits the Discus site to
complete their questionnaire, they'll
The same level of branding can be see a portal site that matches your
extended throughout Discus, business' own look and feel.
covering all printable material.
Whether you're sharing a report with
a colleague or providing a printed
More Customisation
questionnaire, your corporate livery Services
appears on all your Discus materials.
Discus can also provide a more
sophisticated customisation or
Customising Discus integration solution. It can connect to
Advanced Integration other websites and systems using its
Branding Options
For more sophisticated needs, Discus built-in Synergy interface. For example,
You can use Discus’ branding options
includes advanced branding features. Discus can integrate DISC profiling
to add your logo and colour scheme
Using these tools it's possible to directly into your site, or store DISC
to the Discus profiling portal, used by
integrate the service seamlessly into data in your systems. Whatever your
candidates to complete online tests
your own site, and even integrate it needs, we offer consultancy to get you
and optionally view reports. In
with your database systems. up and running quickly and easily.
addition, you can brand all printable
material within the Discus system,
including printed questionnaires and
all reports created in PDF format.
You can integrate Discus

into your website and even
into your database system
Discus Languages
Discus Provides Truly Discus questionnaires and reports Independent Support
don't need to be in the same The report is independent of the
Multilingual Profiling language. You could have a candidate language used in the questionnaire,
Discus profiling isn't limited to just complete their questionnaire in so a candidate can create their profile
English; it can provide questionnaires Russian or Hindi, and read the in one language, and you can read
and reports in dozens of major resulting report in English or German. their report in another.
languages. Discus will also offer each candidate
the option to select their preferred Candidate's Choice
Discus includes an automatic language, ensuring that their If you're uncertain which language
translation service that immediately questionnaire appears in the most a candidate would prefer, you have
converts its content between more understandable form possible. the option to allow them to select
than thirty professionally translated their own preference before
languages. It can also provide content starting the questionnaire.
in international variants (eg: Discus
Using Discus Languages
questionnaires and reports are Free and Unlimited
A Wide Selection
available in both UK and US English). Discus' language options and
Reports are currently available in nine
translation services are a free and
When you set up a questionnaire, or languages, and questionnaires in
unlimited part of Discus. Registered
view a Discus report, you're given an more than thirty, and we're adding
Discus users can translate between
option to choose your preferred new translations all the time.
languages without any restriction.
language. With a click of the mouse,
you can create a questionnaire in Quick and Easy The following list shows the current
Finnish or Malay, or translate a report You can pick a language with just a Discus language options. New
into Chinese or Norwegian. single click. If you're reading a report, options and translations are being
that report will instantly reappear in added all the time.
the language you chose.
Discus Languages
A Huge Choice of Languages
Reports are currently available in nine languages, and questionnaires in more than thirty, and we're adding new translations
all the time. You can pick a language with just a single click. If you're reading a report, that report will instantly reappear in the
language you chose.
English (UK) Greek Portuguese

Questionnaires and Reports Questionnaires Questionnaires
English (US) Hebrew Portuguese (Brazilian)

Questionnaires and Reports Questionnaires Questionnaires and Reports
Arabic Hindi Romanian

Questionnaires Questionnaires Questionnaires
Chinese (Simplified) Hungarian Russian

Chinese (Simplified) Italian Serbian

Czech Japanese Slovak

Danish Korean Spanish

Dutch Latvian Swahili

Estonian Lithuanian Swedish

Finish Malay Thai

French Norwegian Turkish
Questionnaires Questionnaires and Reports Questionnaires
German Polish
Questionnaires and Reports Questionnaires
DISC Training
An Interactive Online DISC Video Course
Discus provides the ideal introduction to the DISC profiling system through an online interactive certification course.
An Introduction to DISC is a great way to get up to speed on the workings of the DISC personality profiling system. Starting
from first principles, this video training course builds over four sessions to cover advanced topics such as factor combinations
and profile shifts.
The course is divided into four

sessions that break the material into
convenient parts, each session
consisting of a series of video units
with additional interactive material.
Typically course sessions are
completed on consecutive days, with
each lasting about sixty minutes,
though the courseware is flexible, so
that trainees are free to complete the
course at their own pace.
Each course unit consists of an

engaging video explanation to the
material, followed by an interactive
assessment that helps to reinforce
the topic. Units can be repeated if
necessary, and also include
downloadable course notes to explain
the subject in even more detail.
Each unit includes a video sequence Course units at every level include Units within An Introduction to DISC
working through a topic in detail, their own interactive exercises, giving each have their own course notes for
backed up by clear explanatory a trainee immediate reinforcement reference, downloadable as that unit
graphics and demonstrations. and feedback. is unlocked.
DISC Training
Inside An Introduction to DISC
Session 1: Core Principles
Session One introduces the basic concepts behind DISC, working through its
theoretical underpinnings, as well as looking at practical matters such as how to
administer a DISC questionnaire and interpret the results.
Session 2: The Four DISC Factors

Session Two focuses on the four DISC factors, with an entire unit given over to
each of them. These units not only look at the factors themselves, but also the
ways they interact with other factors to describe the complexities of a personality. Take the Course
Online Today
Session 3: Advanced Interpretation You don't have to be a Discus user to
Session Three moves into more advanced areas, especially the ways the sign up for An Introduction to DISC.
different factors combine to form personality patterns, and how DISC graphs The full course is available to anyone
interact. This session also looks at the practical applications of DISC. online, and it focuses on the DISC
profiling system rather than Discus
specifically, so the course content is
Session 4: Exercises and Certification useful to anyone with an interest in
Session Four has a different structure from the others, and consists of only a DISC profiling at any level.
single unit. This is a series of interactive exercises covering the entirety of the
To sign up today, just visit us at:
course content. After this final session, the course will provide a customised
certificate of completion. www.axiomsoftware.com/training
Congratulations - you’ve just learned the basics of DISC profiling.
Now discover how you can use this invaluable resource with Discus, one of
the world’s leading personality and behavioural profiling products, to recruit
the best staff, build the best teams and encourage personal development.

ess
sin nly
Bu rs O
se
U
Discus is one of the world’s leading DISC psychometric profiling

tools. You can discover how Discus can benefit your business
with our FREE Discus Evaluation Pack.
FREE Enhanced Discus Personality Report

FREE Job match report for a role of your choice
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The Complete Introduction

Your comprehensive guide to DISC personality assessment.

© 1994-2018 Axiom Internet Group Limited

3 What is DISC? 34 Assessment

What does DISC DISC - The Key Facts

• Instant personality reports:

• DISC can be used as a consistent

DISC is one of the most

What DISC can do for you

...and much more How DISC works

The Benefits of DISC Profiling

DISC is easy to use, cost-

Discus is one of the world’s leading DISC psychometric profiling

FREE Enhanced Discus Personality Report

Request Evaluation Pack

How DISC Works

Key Traits The Four DISC Factors

DISC focuses on a series of

The History & Evolution of DISC

The History & Evolution of DISC

...four behavioural factors:

dominance, influence In the early days, DISC profiles were

The Reliability & Validity of DISC

The most important question about

DISC Profiles: The Basics

Each factor might appear at any

The D Factor: Dominance

Low Dominance in a DISC profile Decisiveness: High-D's generally

Competitiveness: People like this

The D Factor: Dominance

Dominance is often a useful trait in a

The I Factor: Influence

Low Influence in a DISC profile, Expressiveness: Their outgoing

Sociability: Strong Influence relates

The I Factor: Influence

A natural outlet for a High-I's outgoing

The S Factor: Steadiness

consideration associated with a High- Determination: High-S

Persistence: Once embarked on a

The S Factor: Steadiness

The strengths of a High-S - patience,

High-S’s openness makes them ideal Steadiness Scenarios

The C Factor: Compliance

Low Compliance people don't Precision

Introduction to the C factor -

The C Factor: Compliance

Their analytical approach, and desire

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DISC Factors in Combination

Remember, there are twelve possible

Sub-Traits with High Dominance

Sub-Traits with High Influence

Sub-Traits with High Steadiness

Thoughtful individuals plan their words and actions carefully and

Sub-Traits with High Compliance

Changes Across a Series

The important changes

This extreme example describes a

DISC Profile Interpretations

High Dominance (D/ISC)

High Influence (I/DSC)

Influence is the factor of communication. A profile with this factor strongly

High Steadiness (S/DIC)