Women In Propane Council examines the keys to communication

The Women in Propane Council (WIP) is bringing better communication practices to the propane industry using a behavior assessment tool called DiSC training.

DiSC is a unique workplace training program that helps employees and managers better understand how they communicate in the workplace and learn how to effectively play to the specific needs of their co-workers based on their communication styles.

According to WIP, DiSC training is the highest-rated behavior profile tool in the country. The tool is based on psychologist William Moulton Marston’s DiSC theory, which centers on four personality traits: dominance, influence, steadiness and conscientiousness.

An individual exhibits one or several dominant personality traits and these determine how they communicate with others. The training helps employees better understand their own communication style and how it impacts their interactions with co-workers.

WIP began offering DiSC training in 2016. The group had been holding leadership forums for about six years and was looking for a vehicle to help with communication, according to Laurie Irish Jones of Irish Propane, the chair of WIP.

“When we started, we decided we would start with the everyday-workplace DiSC, which was run by Kelly Bosak and Sarah Knight,” Irish Jones says. “When we looked at the format of what DiSC offers, there were management and sales modules where they do team training and leadership training. There are a lot of different areas and we thought it would be a good thing for our group to tap into to bring it to a larger audience.”

According to Milissa Lord of A.R.M. Solutions, the treasurer of WIP, DiSC provided a type of training that wasn’t being offered in the industry. The council thought it was a good fit because it helps companies and the people within them grow as they move into management positions, or toward other goals.

One of the prime objectives of WIP is to provide avenues for continuous improvement, Irish Jones explains. DiSC offers this by giving employees a way to find out about themselves and improve their communication skills. The program also offers learning in areas where an employee might want to advance, so there is a leadership aspect as well.

WIP was drawn to DiSC training because of the emphasis on learning about oneself. According to Irish Jones, the program focuses on how to communicate with others and seeks to improve one’s own communication skills, rather than focusing on how others can change their communication.

The ultimate goal of the program is to help companies become teams that are more effective, efficient and close, Lord says.

“It changes the atmosphere of the business. It helps with retention, sales, all different types of things when you can bring a company together and help people understand each other,” she notes. “It shows a company’s investment and interest in their employees and their happiness. The culture of the company can become more positive.”

The learning process

The DiSC training process is fairly simple. After a company decides to implement the program, the attendees take an online assessment to develop an individual profile, which is provided by the trainer during the workshop.

“Each of the people that attend receives a personalized profile that is more relevant and exact than I would have ever imagined,” Lord says. “It’s as if they followed your entire career around and walked with you day to day and saw how you interact and what your management style is and what your everyday workplace style is.”

According to Lord, the training features various video clips, role playing and other hands-on techniques that help individuals understand how they interact with people who have different communications styles.

“At the beginning of the training, we land them on the fact that everyone is different and our approaches have to be modified to get different results,” Lord says. “It’s not really rocket science; it’s just people don’t know how to read people. It’s a knack for some people, but it’s not an instinct.”

The program is completely planned to make sure the companies realize the full impact, Lord says. WIP currently has three volunteers who can perform the training. Each is certified and has been through the DiSC training with the company.

“One of the neatest things about DiSC is that it’s fun and people really enjoy it,” Lord says. “It’s a lot of fun to learn about yourself and learn communication styles and how you can look at things from a different perspective. We keep it very high energy and there are a lot of laughs.”

The group is receiving a lot of positive feedback on the program, the leaders say.

One piece of the training that stuck with most people was learning how to manage managers. Individuals who have gone through the training appreciate the chance to learn how to better communicate with management and improve those relationships.

“Everybody really liked that section of learning how to manage your managers,” says Jennifer Jackson, of ThompsonGas, chair of the Knowledge Exchange Program. “How to read that personality style of different people that you work for, what their expectations are based on their personality and how you can speak their language to get the end results.”

DiSC training in practice

Kimmie Marler, a regional business analyst for ThompsonGas, participated in a DiSC management training program held in April at the National Propane Gas Association’s Southeastern Convention & International Propane Expo. The class was taught by Jackson and Lord.

According to Marler, there was a lot of interaction, whiteboarding, demonstration of communication styles and group discussion. She also noticed, like Lord, that the pretraining assessment was strikingly accurate.

Since participating in the training, Marler has noticed a marked difference in how she communicates with her co-workers.

“I brought home a handout that talks through the different types of attributes for the different personality types,” she says. “So, when I’m talking to someone when I first meet or communicate with them, I’m reading through those to try to pinpoint their dominant personality.”

The cheat sheet helps her think about the way people are presenting information to her. If they are sharing details or are detail oriented, she knows they are probably an S or C, she says. If they are passionate or emotionally driven, they’re probably a D or I.

Marler says this assessment helps her better communicate with others so that everyone benefits from the conversation. According to Marler, when a co-worker pauses, her instinct would typically be to fill the dead air with ideas. Since the training, she waits for those individuals to share their thoughts and encourages them to bring their ideas forward.

Marler hopes to see many propane industry companies benefit from the training program. When companies invest in their employees and help them become better communicators, their wealth of knowledge and that of the industry’s increases, she says.

Not only is this good for individuals and companies by increasing communication skills, but it is also good for the overall development of the propane workforce. According to Irish Jones, this program is both a way to attract people to the industry and a way to retain them.

“The continued investment is priceless,” Marler says. “You will retain more employees by investing in them and encouraging growth. They will be more productive if they feel they’re valued as employees. The web of communication is stronger and understanding challenges is better because there is mutual respect and common language. I don’t feel there is a negative side to investing in any training for your workforce.”

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Let’s take this show on the road

WIP is taking DiSC training on the road. In order to bring the training to a wider audience, the group is offering to travel to companies and perform the training on-site.

Large and small organizations have reached out to WIP about the program, says Laurie Irish Jones of Irish Propane.

WIP has three DiSC-certified volunteers who perform the training, with a fourth and a fifth volunteer expected to join the group. The group’s goal is to have volunteers in each region to help make the program more cost-effective for propane industry members.

WIP is asking $195 per attendee for the training as well as reasonable reimbursement for travel.

According to Irish Jones, individuals who are interested in becoming certified trainers should contact her or Milissa Lord of A.R.M. Solutions.
“There are a lot of great trainers and speakers throughout the industry who could really help us make a difference,” Lord says.

For details and more information about how to bring DiSC training to your company, contact WIP@npga.org and use the subject “DiSC.”