Personality assessments have broadened the horizons of unlocking each candidate’s special traits these days. Companies are taking advantage of these rather than going through traditional resumes, as they show insights that traditional methods have failed to offer. But how do we know which methods are the ideal ones?
In the debate of 16 personalities vs. DISC, both have their fair share of success and limitations. Each tool works differently but allows companies to judge personality attributes.
The 16 personalities test uses the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), which divides people into 16 types. The DISC method separates employees into four main styles and is used primarily to predict workplace behavior.
Let’s deeply explore these two personality test comparisons to understand which is best for hiring.
What is the 16 personalities test?
The 16 personalities test puts people into 16 types based on four options:
- Introversion vs. Extraversion
- Sensing vs. Intuition
- Thinking vs. Feeling
- Judging vs. Perceiving
Types like ISTJ, ENFP, etc, emerge from here. These types give employers more data to understand how people behave, communicate, and work under stress. Sixteen personalities offer more options to understand a candidate’s thoughts in detail.
What is the DISC Assessment?
Just like the 16 personalities, the DISC assessment also groups people into four main preferences:
- Dominance (D): People who are goal-oriented and determined
- Influence (I): Extroverts, social and convincing.
- Steadiness (S): The quiet, patient, and team player.
- Conscientiousness ( C ): Puts attention to detail, accuracy, and strategy.
DISC is widely used in hiring decisions for its clarity. It is mainly beneficial to predict how a candidate will communicate or behave with others in the workplace.
Advantages of the 16 Personalities Test for Hiring
In the 16 personalities vs. DISC assessment, the 16 personalities can be advantageous for your company’s hiring decisions in many aspects.
1. Thorough Insight
Sixteen personalities provide deeper insights into an individual than DISC. It predicts how candidates will think, feel, and interact. This makes it an ideal tool for roles requiring strategic analytical skills and emotional empathy.
2. Management and Leadership Roles
In management roles, employers often want to know whether a leader is more into thinking or feeling. The 16 personality tests are handy for understanding a candidate’s thinking style and helping employers decide how they will value their teams.
3. Recognizes Unique Traits
Sixteen personalities are best known for spotting particular traits. This helps companies identify different characteristics of an employee, adding variety to the team.
Advantages of DISC for Hiring
1. Quick to Understand
DISCT is fast and straightforward to use. Recruiters can quickly understand someone’s communication style with DISC. Therefore, with DISC, companies can hire a vast majority quickly.
2. Ideal for Forseeing Team Fit
Knowing an employee’s communication style can help boost teamwork and productivity. DISC does it perfectly since it captures how someone will interact, making it the best tool for teamwork.
3. Focuses on Work Habits
DISC can also predict how employees will react to workplace stress. This enables hiring managers to predict which candidates will behave in a variety of workplace environments.
Disadvantages of 16 personalities for Hiring
There are several disadvantages that organizations must remember before evaluating their candidates with 16 personalities.
1. Complicated and Time-Consuming
Sixteen personalities require a lot of training to interpret the 16 types of results. Managers would need more time and skill to understand them, or it would turn into a bias in hiring.
2. Hardly Role-Specific
They cover a broad range of assessments of traits and might not capture a specific role.
3. Risk of Exaggeration
Even though we get detailed results, there are plenty of chances to be misinterpreted.
Disadvantages of DISC Hiring
There are several disadvantages that organizations must remember before evaluating their candidates with DISC assessments.
1. Fewer deeper insights
The simplicity of DISC can also bring limitations. This assessment fails to provide detailed insights into one’s personality traits, so we cannot judge them quickly for critical roles.
2. Not suitable for Complex Roles
DISC may not be a good choice for roles requiring empathy and strategic skills since they mainly provide straightforward answers.
3. Tend to Streamline Personalities
DISC does not capture the full range of human behavior. Its results can oversimplify human behavior, giving us an inaccurate choice for the given role.
When to use 16 personalities vs. DISC for Hiring
| 16 personalities | DISC |
| Leadership and Decision-making roles can provide detailed insights into these skills | Customer Service and Sales Roles: Predicting human behavior makes DISC ideal for client interactive roles. |
| Creative and Analytical Positions: these roles require strategic thinking and innovation, so 16 personalities can detail them correctly. | When companies need many DISCs, simplicity will be beneficial, saving time. |
| Cultural Fit: Companies who target employees whose thinking styles align with the company’s culture may choose 16 personalities | Team work roles: DISC provides better insights for roles that require selecting a team player for a variety of workplace environments. |
Tips for Effective Use of Personality Tests in Hiring
Perssonality should not be the only sole factor in hiring assessments. Managers should get a detailed insights of the workers’ skills too so that their decisions are concrete.
Even after test results show a candidate to be accurate, research into their references and working styles can be conducted in interviews to judge their views on real-world challenges. The 16 personalities test requires managers to be a bit experienced in it, or it might turn into a bias in hiring. So companies might keep these things in mind, too.
Conclusion
There is no clear winner in the 16 personalities vs. DISC comparison. Both are useful in their own ways and serve different purposes in hiring assessments. Sixteen personalities are ideal for roles requiring deep feelings and complex thinking skills. DISC is suitable for quick judgment in communication and team dynamics or if a company suddenly requires a high volume of people.
As each test offers unique ways to help organizations, which assessments will you use to improve your workplace?
FAQS
Can we use 16 personalities and DISC together?
Merging them will give a more detailed view of a candidate’s personality.
Are personality tests legally accepted in hiring?
If they are used ethically, companies are open to using them without any discrimination.
Do personality tests predict job success?
They can be useful in providing feedback on a candidate’s fit in the company or specific traits, but they must not be replaced with skills assessments.
