8 min read

Reduce Employee Turnover With the DISC Assessment

Key Takeaways

Behavioral misalignment causes many new hires to quit early.
You can match candidate traits to job needs using behavioral data.
Success Profiles give you a clear target for predictive hiring.
Better hiring matches support a reliable retention strategy.

Losing a new employee in the first 90 days creates expensive problems for your business. Time spent interviewing, training, and onboarding vanishes. You are then forced to start the hiring process all over again. One effective tool to fix this problem is the DISC assessment.

When you understand the natural behaviors of your candidates, you can match them with roles that fit their working style. This alignment keeps people happier and keeps them at your company longer. In this guide, we will examine how measuring behavior stops early turnover and helps you hire smarter.

Why Early Churn Happens: The Role of Behavioral Misalignment

Many companies hire based on a resume and a good interview. However, a candidate might have excellent technical skills but still fail in the role. Behavioral misalignment is a leading cause of this early churn.

When a person takes a job that requires them to act against their natural tendencies, they experience stress. Over time, this stress leads to burnout, frustration, and eventual resignation.

Here are common examples of behavioral misalignment:

Pace of work: A careful, detail-oriented person is placed in an environment that demands rapid, unstructured decisions.
Social interaction: A highly social, outgoing individual is assigned to an isolated role with zero team interaction.
Rule adherence: An independent, creative thinker is placed in a highly regulated compliance role.
Communication styles: A direct, assertive manager clashes repeatedly with an employee who prefers gentle, supportive feedback.

If the daily reality of the job does not align with the natural behavior of the employee, they will likely leave.

Using Behavioral Data to Fix Hiring Mistakes

To stop early turnover, you need to understand how candidates naturally behave before you hire them. This is where behavioral data becomes a powerful tool. Relying only on gut feelings during an interview often leads to mistakes. Candidates can easily memorize the right answers to common interview questions.

Instead, objective data gives you a clear picture of how a person responds to problems, people, pace, and procedures. By gathering this data early, you can see if a person naturally fits the working environment you offer.

Here are the benefits of using objective behavioral data:

It removes the guesswork and bias from the interview process.
It provides a shared language for managers to discuss candidate fit.
It highlights potential areas of conflict before an offer is made.
It reveals the management style a candidate needs to succeed.

While technical abilities matter, measuring them alone is not enough. For example, combining behavioral tests with standard skill assessments gives you a complete picture of a candidate. You can confirm they have the ability to do the work and the natural temperament to enjoy it.

Creating Success Profiles for Predictive Hiring

Using behavioral data allows you to engage in predictive hiring. This method relies on creating "Success Profiles" for your open roles. A Success Profile is a benchmark that outlines the exact behavioral traits a specific job requires.

Instead of searching for a vague idea of a "good employee," you build a precise target. When you map out the requirements of the job, you can compare incoming candidates against the profile.

Follow these steps to build a Success Profile:

Analyze top performers: Look at the employees who currently excel in the role and enjoy the work.
Test your team: Have those top performers complete behavioral assessments to identify shared traits.
Review job demands: Look at the daily tasks. Does the job require firm decisions, deep analysis, steady routines, or constant socializing?
Draft the benchmark: Combine the team data and job demands into a single target profile.
Compare candidates: Measure new applicants against the benchmark to see how closely they align.

When a candidate matches the Success Profile, they are much more likely to adapt quickly and stay with the company. This process helps Refhub users make smarter, data-driven decisions that lower turnover rates.

Developing a Long-Term Retention Strategy

Hiring the right person is only the first part of the equation. To keep them, you must support them properly. The information gathered during the hiring process serves as the foundation for a strong retention strategy.

When managers understand the natural tendencies of their new hires, they can tailor their leadership approach. This makes the onboarding period much smoother.

You can use behavioral insights to support your new hires in the following ways:

Customized communication: Adjust your feedback style to match what the employee responds to best. Some prefer direct criticism; others need supportive encouragement.
Targeted training: Adapt onboarding materials to fit the learning pace of the individual.
Task assignment: Delegate projects that align with the natural strengths of the employee, increasing their confidence early on.
Conflict resolution: Anticipate team disagreements by understanding the different working styles within a department.

By continuing to reference these behavioral insights long after the first day, you create an environment where employees feel understood and valued.

Frequently Asked Questions

What exactly does the test measure?

It measures observable behavior and communication styles. It looks at how a person responds to problems, influences others, responds to pace, and follows rules. It does not measure intelligence, skills, or clinical psychology.

How quickly can I see results in turnover rates?

Most organizations notice a difference in early churn within the first three to six months of implementing behavioral benchmarking. Better hiring matches generally lead to immediate improvements in 90-day retention.

Should I use this test for every role?

Many companies use it across all levels, from entry-level positions to executive leadership. Building Success Profiles for every role helps create a consistent, standardized hiring process across the entire business.

Building a Stronger Team Through Behavioral Insights

Fixing early turnover requires a change in how you evaluate candidates. When you stop relying solely on resumes and start looking at natural behaviors, you make better hiring decisions.

By identifying behavioral misalignment early, you save your company time, money, and frustration. Creating precise Success Profiles gives you the target you need for predictive hiring. When you match the right person to the right environment, your retention strategy becomes much stronger. Using objective data helps you build a reliable, long-lasting workforce.

‍