COMPANY PROFILE
Founded in 1914, Greyhound Lines, Inc. is the largest provider of intercity bus transportation, serving 2,400 destinations across North America. It has become an American icon, providing safe and affordable travel to nearly 16 million passengers each year in the United States and Canada. Greyhound has interline partnerships with a number of independent bus lines across the United States.Key Corporate Facts:
• 2,400 destinations offering over 245,000 city-pair combinations across our nationwide network
• First international coach operator to launch domestic service in Mexico
• 5,900 employees
• 16 million passengers a year
• 5 billion passenger miles a year
• 1,700 vehicles in our fleet
CHALLENGES
We started using the Extended DISC® Assessment here and there for interventions when there was a problem. Then, last year our CIO approached us to complete the Extended DISC® Assessment with his team of 60 employees. There were no outward issues to drive the request. He believed in the tool and wanted to improve communications and build a more cohesive team.
SOLUTION
Today, we’re using the assessments more than ever. It’s mostly driven by our leaders and managers down to the team levels. The assessment has also become a part of our Top Dog Program, which is a program to develop individuals identified as high-potential employees.
In 2020 we hope to publish a story about our CIO and his success with Extended DISC®. We also plan on expanding the use of the Extended DISC® Assessments to even more corporate departments.
Most often, the assessments are debriefed 1-1 with a coach who is Extended DISC® Certified. It is important to us that employees feel comfortable and safe which is why we’ve adopted a 1-1 debrief approach. The only time results are shared in a group setting, or even with a manager, is if we have been given permission. We respect the decision of the employees if they want to share or not.
After the employee takes the assessment, we schedule time to debrief the results. We send the results the day before the coaching session so they don’t have time to stew over results they might not fully understand yet.
We ask the employee to fill out the Action Plan at the end of the assessment and send it back to our department. Then, we conduct a follow-up session with them to discuss successes, roadblocks or other ways we can help.
BENEFITS
The Extended DISC® has been a remarkable tool. We have seen numerous benefits. A few of the benefits we see are:
• More cohesive units and teams
• People who understand each other better
• An increase in productivity
• An increase in employee engagement
• Higher levels of efficiency and execution
• Better relationships
• Individuals and teams talking the language of DISC
• Time being saved, because we are adjusting to others
• Improved working relationships
The benefits have been in both internal and external teams. The biggest benefit is we’re learning to treat others the way they want to be treated. Before it would be “I’m the boss” or “it’s my meeting” so “I’ll run things my way.” Now, the shift has been to “take self out and consider the other person.” Extended DISC® has helped us learn how to do this through our own self-awareness and awareness of others.
