Development Dimensions International is an international human resources and leadership development consultancy. DDI works with organizations to make changes related to leadership development, leadership selection, succession management, and execution and performance. The company is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and has more than 1,100 employees throughout 42 offices in 26 countries. William C. Byham, Ph.D., is chairman, Tacy M. Byham, Ph.D., is CEO, and David Tessmann-Keys is president.
Company Overview
DDI was founded in 1970 by William C. Byham, Ph.D., and Douglas Bray, Ph.D. DDI introduced the assessment center approach for identifying leadership skills. Byham’s article, Assessment Centers for Spotting Future Managers,'' led to inquiries about the process, and later, Byham approached Bray about a partnership. DDI later branched out into leadership development. It introduced a leadership development program based on behavior modeling: Interaction Management. DDI next created a stand-alone behavioral interviewing system, Targeted Selection, which ensures compliance with Equal Employment Opportunity laws. DDI’s also works on new HR technology, methodology, and content, including mid- and senior-level development, online assessment for frontline and mid-level leaders, and best practices for succession management.
Selected publications
Your First Leadership Job: How Catalyst Leaders Bring Out the Best in Others by Tacy M. Byham, Ph.D., and Richard S. Wellins, Ph.D.
Realizing the Promise of Performance Management by Robert W. Rogers.
ZappThe Lightning of Empowerment by William Byham, Ph.D., which has sold more than 4.5 million copies to date.
Seventh edition of DDI’s Global Leadership Forecast. Presented with The Conference Board.
"Global Selection Forecast 2012: Know More. Guess Less." Conducted in partnership with Oracle.
Industry Recognition/Awards
In partnership with Cardinal Health, DDI won a Gold Award for Best Advance in Leadership Development from Brandon Hall Group for the program "Pipeline Approach to Leadership."
DDI was named to the 2017 Top 20 Assessment and Evaluation Companies list and the 2018 Top 20 Leadership Training Companies by TrainingIndustry.com.
DDI Malaysia was named the Best Succession Planning Consultant by Human Resource Magazine Malaysia in December 2016. DDI also received the Silver award in the Leadership Development Consultant category.
DDI was the Gold Winner for Best Succession Planning Consultant at Singapore's Vendors of the Year in December 2015.
In April 2014, DDI was named the top large company in the Leadership Partners and Providers category of the Leadership 500 Excellence Awards, presented by HR.com. Rankings were determined by votes among HR.com members, as well as the broader HR community across multiple social platforms. The winning organizations were chosen based on customer satisfaction and adoption.
The Society for Human Resource Management, together with the Great Place to Work Institute, Inc., named DDI sixth on the list of the 25 Best Medium Companies to Work for in America in 2009. DDI was selected from hundreds of applicants based on employee surveys and an extensive culture audit of HR and management practices in the areas of selection and onboarding, training and development, recognition and celebrating, benefits and perks, quality of life balance, and communicating and listening.
DDI was named one of the 25 Best Small & Medium Companies to Work For in America in 2011 and 2010 by the Great Place to Work Institute, Inc..
HRoot.com awarded DDI China "Best Human Resources Provider in China" in 2013.
Bersin & Associates recognized DDI as a top leadership development provider in 2008. Their study, High-Impact Leadership Development: Trends, Best Practices, and Industry Solutions cited DDI for a wide range of strengths, including its ability to support global enterprises with an expansive content library, available in multiple languages and customized for different business cultures.
DDI Germany earned the title “Fair Company” from Karriere magazine, part of the Handelsblatt publishing company. DDI is now one of 301 German organizations that can officially use the "Fair Company" designation.
TrainingIndustry.com named DDI one of the Top 20 Leadership Training Companies for 2018, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, and 2010. "The sixth annual Top 20 Leadership Training Companies list is the strongest we have seen yet," said Ken Taylor, chief operating officer, Training Industry, Inc.
DDI was also listed in TrainingIndustry.com’s list of the Top 20 Training Outsourcing Companies in 2009, 2008, and 2007. The list is based on corporate competencies in the 25 business processes identified in the Training Process Framework. They also looked at the marketing strategy of each company to determine if training outsourcing was considered to be a core service and evaluated the strength of each company's major clients.
