Technical experience, crop knowledge, a track record of results and command of the operation are essential when hiring an agribusiness professional. But depending on the position, looking only at the résumé can leave important questions unanswered.
How does this professional tend to react under pressure? How do they relate to others? What is their leadership style? How do they make decisions? Which characteristics may help or hinder their adaptation to the role?
This is where behavioral and profile assessments can complement a selection process.
Among the tools available on the market are DISC, Líder Profile and PEAKS. Although they can all be part of people-assessment processes, they don’t deliver exactly the same reading.
DISC: a focus on behavioral tendencies
DISC organizes behavioral tendencies into four dimensions: Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Conscientiousness/Compliance, depending on the naming used by the tool. It can help understand aspects such as communication, pace, reaction to challenges and interaction with rules and people.
In agribusiness, this reading can complement the assessment of positions where behavior and relationships have a significant impact on daily work, such as sales, team management and certain leadership roles.
Everything DiSC’s own material points out, however, that the instrument measures behavioral tendencies and preferences — not intelligence, aptitude or mental health. Its results should therefore not be mistaken for a complete assessment of professional capability.
Líder Profile: a broader reading of personality and competencies
Líder Profile works with five personality dimensions, 30 traits and more than 65 competencies in its solution for companies and consultants. The dimensions presented by the platform include Striving and Achieving (Lutar e Alcançar), Social Intensity (Intensidade Social), Deferring and Yielding (Deferir e Ceder), New Experiences (Experiências Novas) and Emotional Robustness (Robustez Emocional).
This breadth makes it possible to go deeper into characteristics related to the professional’s profile and the competencies expected for a given role.
In a farm management position, for example, it may be worth exploring characteristics related to leadership, decision-making, relationships and the ability to handle the specific challenges of that operation.
PEAKS: potential and performance from a broader perspective
PEAKS presents itself as a Human Capital Analytics platform focused on identifying potential, strengths, skills and performance. Its methodology states alignment with the Big Five personality model and uses industry benchmarks and empirical data in its analyses.
The approach therefore allows for a more comprehensive reading of potential and development, especially when the company wants to understand the professional beyond immediately observable behaviors.
So, which tool should you choose?
The answer starts before the test.
What does your company really need to find out about this candidate?
If the need is mainly related to behavioral tendencies and communication, one tool may be enough. If the company needs to go deeper into personality, competencies or potential, other methodologies may make more sense.
And, depending on the complexity of the position, combining different sources of information may be more relevant than looking for a single test that answers everything.
In agribusiness this is especially important. A farm manager, a technical sales representative (RTV), a sales director and a technical specialist face completely different contexts. As a result, the assessment also needs to consider the critical competencies of each position.
A tool doesn’t replace assessment
There is also a fundamental caveat: no test should decide on its own who gets hired.
Profile assessments work best when they complement structured interviews, analysis of career history, technical skills, references and an understanding of the position’s context. Even materials about DISC stress that behavioral assessments do not replace interviews, work history or technical evaluation.
The value isn’t simply in applying a test.
It lies in knowing what to assess, choosing the right tool and interpreting the results within the reality of the position and the company.
It is this combination that turns data about behavior and personality into useful information for a hiring decision.
At AGROSearch, specialized recruitment starts with understanding the business, the position and the competencies needed for each agribusiness challenge.
Because knowing a candidate goes far beyond knowing their résumé.
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