4. Conduct a DISC Assessment of New Hires to Better Understand Them

Russell strongly urges employers to conduct a DISC assessment – which stands for dominance, influence, steadiness and compliance – for all new hires to ascertain what motivates them and what their most intense behaviors are, Russell said.

By identifying natural strengths in their behaviors, Russell said employers put themselves in a far stronger position to examine how to appeal to and motivate each individual employee. Companies also have to figure out how to balance a worker's values with his or her behaviors, Russell said.