First Move Assessment vs DISC for Contractors

The short answer: a DISC assessment describes how a person tends to act, communicate and make decisions, using four factors: Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Compliance. Its publishers build it first for development and communication. First Move Assessment is built for the hiring decision. It reads the move a candidate reaches for first in situations from the seat you are filling, and scores it against a written standard for that seat. They answer different questions. TTI Success Insights, a long-standing DISC publisher, says DISC can form part of a hiring process but "cannot be the basis for a selection decision on its own".¹ A shop can use both: DISC with the crew it already has, and a hiring assessment for the person it is about to hire.

We checked every DISC fact on this page against TTI Success Insights' public website on 8 October 2026. Sources are listed at the bottom.

Which DISC this page covers

DISC is a model, and many companies sell their own version of it. TTI says the underlying model is not copyrighted, so dozens of publishers sell DISC assessments, and it names Everything DiSC from Wiley, Truity, 123test, Extended DISC and PeopleKeys among them.¹ TTI's own summary: "The model is public; the instrument is not."¹ Versions differ in report depth and in how much research they publish, so check who published the one you are looking at.

This page uses TTI Success Insights as its DISC example. TTI says it has published DISC instruments since 1984 and that its assessments are used in more than 100 countries through a network of over 7,000 partner experts.¹ Other publishers set their own guidance on hiring use, so read theirs before you use their report on a candidate.

Who each one is for

DISC (TTI). TTI says organizations work with TTI or a certified partner to run DISC across teams, functions or a whole company, and that coaches and consultants join its partner network and complete DISC certification.¹ TTI lists team building, communication, workplace culture, professional development, succession planning, and hiring and selection among the uses.¹

First Move Assessment. Built for owners and managers who do their own hiring in nine trades: HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing, garage door, pest control, commercial mechanical, residential cleaning and commercial cleaning. Every seat in the company has its own written standard, from apprentice and service tech through dispatcher, CSR, comfort advisor, estimator and bookkeeper, up to the chief executive.

What each one measures

DISC measures four behavioral factors. In TTI's version they are Dominance (how a person responds to problems and challenges), Influence (how they bring others around to their point of view), Steadiness (how they respond to pace and change) and Compliance (how they respond to rules and established procedure).¹ TTI notes that Everything DiSC and some other publishers call the fourth factor Conscientiousness.¹ TTI says DISC "doesn't measure cognitive ability, motivation, or skill set", that everyone has a score on all four factors, and that there is no way to pass or fail.¹ Its report shows natural and adapted behavior as two separate graphs, with communication do's and don'ts and the conditions where the person works best.¹

First Move Assessment measures work instinct: the move a candidate reaches for first when the work gets hard. The candidate reads situations from the seat and picks the move they would make first. The report scores them out of 100 against the seat's written standard, with a margin of error printed beside the score, and shows where their instincts pull away from what the seat needs. It does not test skills or trade knowledge, describe personality or check backgrounds.

What that means in practice: a DISC profile tells you how a person tends to act and communicate, which helps you manage them and pair them with the right people. First Move Assessment tells you which way a candidate leans on the calls one seat runs on: check first or jump in, fix what keeps causing the problem or the one in front of them, handle it or pass it to the right person.

What the publisher says about hiring

This is the part that matters most to an owner who is hiring.

TTI Success Insights. TTI's own guidance is direct:

"DISC is a development tool first."¹
"Used alone, DISC does not predict job performance and should not screen candidates in or out."¹
"DISC shouldn't be the sole determination of hiring decisions."¹
DISC "was not originally intended as a pre-employment screening tool".²

TTI says DISC can form part of a hiring process when the role is benchmarked first, the link between what is measured and what the job requires is documented, and the employer runs adverse impact analysis on its own hiring data. It adds that under the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures, that obligation stays with the employer.¹

First Move Assessment is built for the hiring decision, as one input. You make the decision, and the report never tells you to hire or not hire.

The research behind each

TTI says its DISC assessment is scientifically valid and calls DISC a reliable measure of self-reported behavioral preferences. It publishes its technical documentation at ttiresearch.com.¹

First Move Assessment is built on situational judgment, a hiring method with 30 years of published evidence. Candidates face real situations from the seat and pick the move they would make first. What the published research on the method has found:

A meta-analysis pooling 118 results found situational judgment tests predicted job performance at .26 (McDaniel, Hartman, Whetzel and Grubb, 2007, Personnel Psychology).
Tests built around teamwork situations predicted at .38, and leadership situations at .28 (Christian, Edwards and Bradley, 2010, Personnel Psychology).
The approach lines up with decades of research on tacit knowledge, the practical know-how that separates experienced performers (Sternberg and Wagner, 1985; Lievens and Motowidlo, 2016).

The limits page explains how these findings on the method relate to this assessment.

Trade-specific content

DISC describes the person, using the same four factors in any industry. For hiring, TTI describes benchmarking a role "before candidates are assessed against it", which lets a company describe what a seat needs.¹ The TTI pages cited here do not describe situations written for an HVAC, plumbing, electrical or cleaning seat. If that matters to you, ask the publisher or partner what a benchmark for your seat looks like.

First Move Assessment is trade-specific all the way through. Each situation is written from inside one seat in one trade, in that trade's own words: a night crew cleaner alone in a locked building who finds a floor that is not on the route sheet, or an estimator with a bid due and a scope question the general contractor has not answered. A dispatcher is read against what a dispatch board demands, a bookkeeper against what the books demand.

Pricing

TTI DISC. TTI's DISC page lists no price. It offers a 20-minute consultation and works through TTI or a certified partner.¹ Ask the partner for the per-profile price and any setup or certification fees.

Free DISC quizzes cost nothing. TTI notes that because the model is unprotected, the DISC category includes free online quizzes alongside professionally normed instruments.¹

First Move Assessment charges per assessment. One assessment is $149. Packs run $595 for 5, $995 for 10 and $1,995 for 25. The Practice License is 100 assessments a year for $4,950. Every seat costs the same, assessments never expire, and the first one is covered by a 30-day refund. Full details are on the pricing page.

How to compare: a DISC profile you already use with your team keeps paying off after the hire, in coaching and communication. A hiring assessment is spent on candidates. Get the partner's per-profile price, then compare it with what you would spend on the finalists you actually run in a year.

Setup and support

TTI DISC. Delivered by TTI or a certified partner, starting with a consultation to scope the use. TTI's DISC certification for practitioners carries SHRM and ICF credit, and assessments are available in multiple languages.¹ You can download a sample DISC report from TTI's site before committing.¹

First Move Assessment takes almost no setup. Your account email arrives within a minute of buying, and you set a password from it. Pick the seat, type the candidate's name and email, and the link goes out. The candidate finishes on their phone in about 10 to 20 minutes, with no app and no account, and the report lands in your inbox. AI tools helped draft the seat standards and the situations, and every standard had to pass fixed rules and be approved before use. No AI takes part when a candidate sits the assessment, when it is scored, or when the report is written.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use a DISC assessment to hire?

TTI says DISC can form part of a hiring process but cannot be the basis for a selection decision on its own, and that it should not screen candidates in or out when used alone.¹ Other DISC publishers set their own rules, so read the guidance from the publisher of the report you use.

What does a DISC assessment measure?

Behavioral style across four factors. TTI's version measures Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Compliance, and TTI says it does not measure cognitive ability, motivation or skill set.¹

How much does a DISC assessment cost?

TTI does not list a price on its DISC page and sells through TTI or certified partners.¹ Free online DISC quizzes also exist. First Move Assessment is $149 for one assessment and drops to $49.50 a candidate on the Practice License.

Is DISC accurate?

TTI says its DISC assessment is scientifically valid and calls DISC a reliable measure of self-reported behavioral preferences.¹ It also says accuracy and research vary between publishers, so evaluate the specific instrument and its published research.¹ For a hiring decision, follow the publisher's own guidance above.

Should I use DISC with my current crew?

That is what TTI says DISC is built for first. It lists team building, communication and professional development among its uses, and calls DISC a development tool first.¹

What is the difference between DISC and First Move Assessment?

DISC describes how a person tends to act, whatever the job. First Move Assessment reads the move a candidate reaches for first in situations from one trade seat, scored out of 100 against that seat's written standard, with interview questions for the spots where they pull away.

Which one works for commercial mechanical and cleaning companies?

DISC uses the same four factors in any industry. First Move Assessment has written seat standards for commercial mechanical, residential cleaning and commercial cleaning, including project managers, estimators, night crew cleaners, day porters and commercial supervisors.

Sources

DISC facts checked on ttisi.com on 8 October 2026.

TTI Success Insights, DISC Assessment: https://www.ttisi.com/disc
TTI Success Insights, Can DISC Be Used for Hiring?: https://www.ttisi.com/blog/can-disc-be-used-for-hiring/

TTI Success Insights is a trademark of its owner. Everything DiSC and the other DISC products named on this page are trademarks of their owners. First Move Assessment is not affiliated with or endorsed by TTI Success Insights or any other DISC publisher.

First Move Assessment reads the first instinct a candidate brings to one seat in your trade before you hire: get the three sample reports.

First Move Assessment vs DISC: Which Actually Fits a Contractor?