Using DiSC Profiles for Hiring

Lately I've been reading a lot about people using the DiSC Profile as a sort of hiring test. While DiSC is an excellent tool for evaluating behavioral styles employers need to be extremely careful using it as the sole basis for making a decision. You can gain valuable insight into how a person might handle various tasks but there are a lot of other considerations for hiring someone for a specific position. For instance, you might prefer that a sales person demonstrates influencing characteristics with a little dominance. However, if you're selling a product that requires sales people to collect details, someone with a more conscientious, steady approach might perform more effectively. You definitely don't want the customer to feel details fell through the cracks. It leaves a bad taste in their mouth and hurts the organizations reputation from the start. Here's an example. Recently we switched payment processors for our online payment system. The sales person demonstrated all of the classic sales characteristics. He was personable, knowledgeable and continued to push forward as we moved through the process. Ultimately we decided to go with this company because they were reputable and the sales person appeared to know what he was talking about. However, when it came time to actually set up the account he missed several key details which caused the configuration to misfire and made the transition less than smooth. My view of the company has been changed and it will be tough to change it back. Basically, it's alright to use the DiSC Profile as a piece to the hiring puzzle but it wasn't intended to be used as a hiring test. You have to look at all aspects of the position and try to find balance with all of the different tools available. Just my thoughts on DiSC for hiring.