According to the recent CIPD report ‘investigating the untapped potential of UK skills’ 88% of employers say communication skills are either ‘fairly’ or ‘very important’ employee skills. Meanwhile 85% say the same thing about team working skills. But how do you quantify those skills? The problem is these so called ‘soft skills’ are notoriously difficult to measure or capture. It just so happens psychometric personality tests claim to help measure communicative and behavioural skills. But do these profiles work or are they just gimmicks and if they do work what are the basic lessons we need to be mindful off?
For the purposes of this blog I will write predominantly about DISC which is one of the most commonly used psychometric tests. How does it work? Psychometric profiles like DISC are amazingly easy to complete and users complete their profiles by answering questions via an online questionnaire. The tests use accumulated results and algorithms to ensure reliability and validity. Things to avoid when using DISC
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In conclusion psychometrics such as DISC can contribute to enhanced team and communication skills. Just remember they are only a tool and like any other tool it’s all about how they are used! Comments are closed.
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