SHL OPQ32 and TT38
OPQ measures behaviour. TT38 shows if it lasts.
OPQ32 is one of the most widely used personality tools in the world and provides a nuanced behavioural profile: 32 traits linked directly to a competency framework for action. But not what it costs individuals to maintain that behaviour.
OPQ32
OPQ is well-documented and available in many languages. The 32 traits across three domains provide a nuanced picture of work behaviour that few tools can match. And the link to competencies makes it concrete in a recruitment or development process.
TT38
A match between 32 traits and a competency framework can look convincing on paper, but cost the person every day. TT38 checks whether the abilities are present or are being maintained through willpower. And when the bill will come, before anyone puts it into words themselves.
SHL OPQ32 is strongest in some areas, TT38 in others. But they complement each other well. The table shows which – green for a solid answer, yellow where the other picks up the slack.
OPQ32
TT38
Behavioural profile - how do they act on the job?
OPQ32 provides a nuanced picture of preferred work behaviour across 32 traits in three domains. TT38 looks behind the behaviour at the talent patterns that activate and energise.
Competency link - do they match the role requirements?
OPQ32 is directly linked to SHL’s competency framework and is strong at assessing behavioural fit against a role profile. TT38 adds whether the person’s talents sustain the role over time, not just whether the behaviour matches now.
Honest answers - how robust is the profile against embellishment?
The ipsative, forced-choice format reduces social desirability and makes the profile difficult to embellish. TT38 does not measure behaviour, but the recurring talent patterns behind it.
Comparing candidates - can you rank them?
The ipsative OPQ32 profile is relative within the individual: it shows what takes up the most space for the individual, but scores cannot easily be compared directly across candidates. TT38 provides a talent profile that does not depend on the individual’s internal ranking.
Energy - what does it cost them?
OPQ32 measures preferred behaviour. It does not show whether the behaviour is natural or costs energy to maintain. TT38 maps the talent patterns that provide energy rather than draining it.
Match over time - do they thrive in the job?
An OPQ32 profile can match competency requirements precisely without the person thriving. Behavioural match is not the same as talent match – and well-being depends on the latter.
New role - is the known behaviour enough?
OPQ32 asks the candidate to describe their typical work behaviour, based on roles they know. TT38 shows the natural potential for a role they have not tried before.
Potential - who can grow?
OPQ32 describes how people typically act. TT38 shows who has the natural talent foundation to grow into a new and larger function.
If you need to know more, let's dive deeper
The candidate hit the competency profile exactly, got off to a good start, and 4 months in she has stalled, without anyone really being able to say why. That sort of thing rarely lies in how she behaves.
It lies in what it costs her to keep her behaviour going.
A fine-grained map of work behaviour tells you a lot about how people act. It just doesn't tell you if they act that way because it comes naturally to them, or because the role pressures them to do so. Or she pressures herself.
Therefore, read the table as more than just differences. It shows where OPQ32 and TT38 answer the same thing – and where only one reaches what your challenge is really about.
In short: if you need to select against a competency profile, map behaviour in detail, or have answers that are hard to embellish, OPQ32 is hard to beat.
But if you need to know if a match will last when everyday life sets in – whether people will continue to perform without running dry – you are asking something else, and that is what TT38 was created for.
Hopefully, the table above has made it easier to spot what matters when the choice has to be made.
If you have built your process around the richness of detail in OPQ32, there is no reason to tear it down. Most people keep it and bring in TT38 where the question shifts from behaviour to talent. It is rarely one or the other.
Weigh your own needs against the two. If you need to match candidates against a competency profile, read behaviour in detail, and make decisions that can be defended with data, OPQ32 stands strong. If it is more about whether people thrive in what they do, far beyond the first few months, it points towards TT38.
If you don't already have a behavioural tool, TT38 works perfectly as the core itself – from when you hire someone, to when you develop them, and on to how you retain them.
So what should you choose?
Do you have a talent for what drives you?
Unfortunately, a good match on paper does not always last.
With a talent advisor's review of your free TT38 profile, you will see what sustains you in the long run. And you will become better at assessing who will last in a job.
Not just who fits it right now.