As a little girl, Mandy Smith knew she wanted to change the world. Today, as the Vice President of Training and Employee Development at Southwest Business Corporation (SWBC), Mandy has realised that she can do exactly that by using Everything DiSC®, a proven workplace solution that helps people develop effective communication strategies and teamwork to build healthier workplaces.

Since the late 1970s, SWBC’s workforce has grown at an increasing rate thanks to their strong relationships with financial institutions and insurance companies.

However, the company had no formal processes to pursue training and development opportunities for their growing staff. As they continued to expand, SWBC knew they needed to invest in their employees in order for the company to thrive.

SWBC found the perfect solution through one of their longtime clients who used DiSC® to help improve teamwork and communication within their own organisation. Not surprisingly, this quickly caught the attention of SWBC’s executive leaders. With the guidance of Authorised Everything DiSC Partners, SWBC decided to implement Everything DiSC, which has become the cornerstone of the company’s corporate training programme.

Every year since 2012, SWBC has been voted one of the Best Places to Work in Texas, and received the Brandon Hall Group Award for Best in Compliance Training in 2013. Through the help and expertise of Peak Performance Solutions, SWBC has embedded Everything DiSC into the company culture. “Just yesterday I received an email from our CIO who wants to make sure everyone has completed a DiSC profile”, says Smith. The DiSC model offers a simple, memorable way of understanding four basic personality styles: Dominance (D), Influence (i), Steadiness (S), and Conscientiousness (C). With Everything DiSC, participants learn their own DiSC style and how to effectively work with their peers. “People have a tendency to assume that they know someone’s intentions, potentially misinterpreting them in a negative way. Everything DiSC strips away any notions that people behave with anything but the best intentions,” Smith says. “The power of that insight cannot be overstated.”

The training department has implemented Everything DiSC Workplace® into their dynamic curriculum and offers a number of specialised solutions such as Everything DiSC® Sales, Everything DiSC® Management, and Everything DiSC 363® for Leaders. Additionally, all participants have access to MyEverythingDiSC, an interactive learning portal that extends DiSC knowledge beyond the classroom and directly into the hands of each Everything DiSC participant. The variety of opportunities and immediacy of results that Everything DiSC offers has generated excitement around employee development throughout the company.

SWBC recognises the value that each DiSC style brings to the workplace. They’ve used this to their advantage to form balanced teams that offer unique perspectives, collaborate on ideas between departments, and ultimately move the company forward. With a 90% retention rate, the training team models the effectiveness of Everything DiSC and continues to find ways to maximise this solution. They even took DiSC a step further and created the “DiSC Field Edition,” a four-week course that delivers Everything DiSC to employees working outside of SWBC headquarters.

The impact of Everything DiSC has been invaluable to SWBC. It has empowered employees to live out their core values and created a sense of unity across the organisation. “Everything DiSC is life changing” says Smith. “We make a difference for the people we serve by creating a positive environment for people to follow their passions at SWBC, at home, and in future careers.”