DiSC Training FAQ is provided to assist trainers. If you have questions, please reach out to us at 702.375.6091 or [email protected]
Should I give people their profile before the training workshop?
-
- The answer depends on a few things.
- No, if the group is large, not particularly trusting, if they’ve had a bad experience with another assessment, or if you aren’t able to communicate directly with participants before they take their assessments. Many trainers prefer to take participants through the profile themselves, pointing out the cornerstone principals and providing an opportunity for people to ask questions.Consider limiting how many pages of their report you give them; for example, limiting to a section such as Discovering Your DiSC Style. Then give them the relevant sections only when you are beginning training on those sections.
- Yes, if you’ve already introduced the cornerstone principals and you know everyone will have time to review their own profile before the training session. We recommend giving participants some homework if you give them immediate access to their reports. Ask them to highlight parts of the profile they agree with, disagree with, or have questions about.We highly recommend that you preview the group’s profile results so you know what styles are most common. Knowing that there is a predominance of one style or a style is missing in a group will help you plan your training. You can also look for profiles with a dot close to the center or someone scoring differently than you expect.
- The answer depends on a few things.
-
How long should the workshop be?
- Of course, trainers enjoy having more time rather than less. If you’re using the Everything DiSC Workplace Facilitation Kit, you’ll notice that it suggests around 90 minutes for an overview of the DiSC model. This includes viewing video and group activities. For a solid introduction to Everything DiSC, engagement with the profile, time for questions and interruptions, we recommend allowing 2 hours. This time will provide a solid foundation for additional training you can schedule later.The real power of Everything DiSC is in learning to use it with others, so you’ll want to have an additional training period to cover understanding other styles. This can take about 90 minutes. Additional modules on building more effective relationships and on people-reading take about 90 minutes each. So you might want to schedule these as follow-up trainings.The timing is really up to the trainer. Obviously, the more time you can spend with participants, the more likely they are to take away meaningful insights they can use now and in their future encounters.With the addition of MyEverythingDiSC.com participants will also have information about Everything DiSC available to them from their computer or mobile phone. Everything DiSC isn’t designed to be a short activity to add to an already full training day. It can be used that way, but its effectiveness in the workplace requires investment of time and learning by the participants. If it is to be integrated into the organization’s culture, it also needs to be revisited from time to time.
-
What resources do I have?
- Facilitation Kits: These kits include activities, videos, handouts and detailed instructions to walk you through your training. You can follow the instructions step-by-step or customize them to your own needs.Certification: Invest in yourself and become certified. Courses are available online or in person.Tips and Activities: We know that many of you are looking for additional activities to use with DiSC or some tips to make you a better trainer. We’ve assembled several resources.Sample Everything DiSC introduction letter (MS Word .doc provided by Laurie Friis)
-
How can I make sure the training sticks?
- We have several ideas for helping to integrate DiSC into an organization’s culture. Here are a few.
- Use additional profiles such as the ones for productive conflict, sales, management or leadership development for relevant training programs. Use Everything DiSC 363 for Leaders for the 360° reviews.
- Give participants access to MyEverythingDiSC.com so they can easily refer to their style and share their profiles with others.
- Provide managers with extras they can use in their offices, such as the Everything DiSC® Workplace Style Guides.
- Review the misuses of DiSC and the cornerstone principals with those who went through training.
- Add DiSC to your onboarding program.
- Follow Belmont Consulting and/or EverythingDiSC.com on social media.
- Copy the location of interesting posts you discover and suggest that the manager share them with all participants.
- Ask managers to return to their profiles and comparison reports to look at how to deliver feedback before they have their performance reviews.
- Consult with a certified Everything DiSC trainer to get additional support and ideas.
- We have several ideas for helping to integrate DiSC into an organization’s culture. Here are a few.
-
For people who are not new to DiSC, how do I introduce a new profile such as Work of Leaders, or Sales?
- If there’s a need to introduce another product, share that reason with participants. How will this assessment and training help someone with frustrations at work or just enjoy being at work a bit more? How will going through training help them advance their career? For example, do you have evidence that new managers are struggling with issues such as motivating and delegating? Then let them know how Everything DiSC Management can help them be more successful at their new job.One concern a prior participant might have is about taking an assessment all over again. If someone has taken one Everything DiSC assessment that data can be transferred to another profile. The person only needs to answer questions related to the specific focus of the new profile. So if you’ve taken Workplace, you only have to answer the management-related questions for Everything DiSC Productive Conflict.Taking an additional assessment will build participants’ understanding of themselves and of their colleagues. They will look at the DiSC model through a different lens, such as sales or leadership.Whenever you’re trying to interest someone in a profile, it’s always a good idea to share a sample Report with them. (You can print these from within your EPIC administration account so they show your own logo if you don’t want to share our copies.) Focus how each section of the profile report can address a need you’ve identified in the organization.
For any program it is always good to first get sponsorship from leadership. Ask for an endorsement of the program you’re offering. You might want to create an email template the CEO can use to encourage participation.If you’ve had success with your Everything DiSC training programs, we’d love to hear about it.
- If there’s a need to introduce another product, share that reason with participants. How will this assessment and training help someone with frustrations at work or just enjoy being at work a bit more? How will going through training help them advance their career? For example, do you have evidence that new managers are struggling with issues such as motivating and delegating? Then let them know how Everything DiSC Management can help them be more successful at their new job.One concern a prior participant might have is about taking an assessment all over again. If someone has taken one Everything DiSC assessment that data can be transferred to another profile. The person only needs to answer questions related to the specific focus of the new profile. So if you’ve taken Workplace, you only have to answer the management-related questions for Everything DiSC Productive Conflict.Taking an additional assessment will build participants’ understanding of themselves and of their colleagues. They will look at the DiSC model through a different lens, such as sales or leadership.Whenever you’re trying to interest someone in a profile, it’s always a good idea to share a sample Report with them. (You can print these from within your EPIC administration account so they show your own logo if you don’t want to share our copies.) Focus how each section of the profile report can address a need you’ve identified in the organization.