In today’s fast-paced professional landscape, technical skills and education alone aren’t enough to set you apart. Employers are increasingly prioritizing something deeper: your personality traits.
As you prepare for career advancement or a new role in 2025, understanding the role of personality traits—and how they are evaluated through tools like the SHL OPQ Test—is a strategic advantage.
Understanding Personality Traits: The Foundation of Behavior
Personality traits are enduring patterns in how individuals think, feel, and behave. These characteristics influence our interactions, decisions, and performance in both personal and professional settings.
The Big Five Personality Traits
One of the most widely accepted models in psychology is the Big Five Personality Traits, also known by the acronym OCEAN:
- Openness to Experience – Creativity, curiosity, and a willingness to try new things.
- Conscientiousness – Organization, dependability, and attention to detail.
- Extraversion – Sociability, assertiveness, and energy.
- Agreeableness – Compassion, cooperation, and kindness.
- Neuroticism – Emotional stability and ability to manage stress.
While the SHL OPQ doesn’t strictly follow the Big Five model, it incorporates similar themes across a wider set of 32 personality dimensions, each providing insights into workplace behaviors.
Why Personality Traits Matter in the Workplace
Employers aren’t just looking for the most skilled candidate—they’re looking for the right fit. Hiring someone who doesn’t mesh with the company’s culture, values, or team dynamics can be costly. That’s where personality traits come into play.
Key Reasons Personality Traits Are Critical:
- Team Dynamics: Teams function better when members’ traits complement each other.
- Leadership Potential: Certain traits, like emotional stability and decisiveness, are linked to effective leadership.
- Job Fit: Roles require different personality strengths.
- Long-Term Success: Personality often influences job satisfaction, engagement, and retention.
By understanding personality traits during the hiring process, employers can make better, more informed decisions—and employees can find roles where they thrive.
Introducing the SHL OPQ
The SHL Occupational Personality Questionnaire is a psychometric tool developed to assess personality traits in the workplace. It is widely used by companies around the world to gain insights into how individuals are likely to behave at work based on their core personality characteristics.
Purpose of the SHL OPQ
The SHL OPQ is designed to:
- Highlight key personality traits that affect workplace behavior
- Help individuals understand their strengths and potential development areas
- Support decisions in hiring, promotion, and leadership development
Structure of the SHL OPQ
The SHL OPQ typically includes 104 to 230 items, depending on the version used. It evaluates 32 personality characteristics across three main domains:
- Relationships with People: Traits like persuasion, empathy, and teamwork.
- Thinking Style: Traits related to creativity, analytical thinking, and decision-making.
- Feelings and Emotions: Traits such as resilience, confidence, and emotional control.
The questionnaire offers insights into how an individual’s personality traits align with the demands of different job roles and organizational cultures.
The Importance of SHL OPQ in Understanding Personality Traits
Objective Trait Analysis
The SHL OPQ provides a scientifically validated approach to measuring personality traits, offering an objective lens through which employers and individuals can understand behavioral tendencies.
Trait-Based Hiring and Development
Using personality traits identified through the SHL OPQ, organizations can make informed decisions about recruitment and employee development, ensuring a strong match between personality and role expectations.
Self-Awareness and Growth
For individuals, SHL OPQ results offer a roadmap to greater self-awareness. Understanding one’s personality traits can guide career planning, improve interpersonal relationships, and highlight areas for growth.
Practical Applications of Personality Traits in the Workplace
Recruitment and Selection
Understanding personality traits allows recruiters to match candidates with roles that suit their natural preferences and strengths. This leads to better performance and lower turnover.
Conflict Resolution
Personality assessments can help identify the root causes of workplace conflicts. For example, a mismatch between assertive and passive communication styles can lead to misunderstandings.
Career Planning
Employees who are aware of their personality traits can make informed decisions about their career paths. Someone high in openness might thrive in creative roles, while a conscientious person may excel in structured environments.
Coaching and Feedback
Managers can use personality profiles to tailor their coaching strategies. Knowing that an employee values autonomy, for example, can influence how tasks are delegated and feedback is given.
Conclusion: Harnessing the Power of Personality Traits
In the modern workplace, personality traits are just as important as technical skills and experience. They shape how individuals interact, solve problems, and contribute to their teams. Tools like the SHL OPQ provide a structured and scientific way to understand these traits, making them invaluable in hiring, development, and team-building efforts.
