Medela Assessment Practice
Two Thomas questionnaires, used to integrate people into teams rather than to rank them. A guide to the HPTI's six traits and to what the report is actually for
What Medela uses and what for
Medela is a Swiss medical device manufacturer, best known for breastfeeding and healthcare suction products, operating internationally from its base near Zug. Thomas International publishes a case study naming Medela as a user of the Behaviour assessment, the PPA, and the Personality assessment, which Thomas powers with the High Potential Trait Indicator or HPTI. The described purpose is team and manager integration.
Integration is a development use rather than a screening one, so be careful about what you infer. What is evidenced is that Medela runs these instruments. What is not evidenced is that they gate a job application. If you are applying, ask whether an assessment is part of your process rather than assuming one is.
The HPTI's six traits
Seventy-eight statements, each rated from one, disagree completely, to seven, agree completely. Every item maps to exactly one of six traits, which makes the scoring a straightforward average per trait. Thomas gives eight to ten minutes, does not time it, and supports computers, tablets and phones.
The optimal range idea, and why it defeats gaming
The HPTI is built around the idea that each trait has an optimal range for a given role rather than a direction of virtue. That is not a softening statement in a marketing brochure; it is how the instrument is scored and reported.
This is why the usual candidate strategy fails here. Answering seven to every flattering statement does not produce a strong profile, it produces a profile sitting outside the optimal band on several traits at once, which reads as either a poor role fit or an inattentive respondent. A medical device manufacturer working under regulatory quality systems is very unlikely to want maximum ambiguity acceptance and maximum risk approach in a production quality manager.
The PPA, in brief
Twenty-four screens, four adjectives each, most like you and least like you. Untimed, under eight minutes, and it produces three DISC graphs rather than a score: work mask, behaviour under pressure, and the difference between them. There is no pass mark and Thomas states you cannot fail it.
Where the HPTI describes traits, the PPA describes behavioural style, and for team integration work the pairing is the point. One says what you tend to be like, the other says how that shows up in a room.
How to answer both well
Use the ends of the scale
Seventy-eight items answered as fours and fives is the most common way to waste an HPTI. If a statement is clearly true of you, say seven. Middling answers produce a profile that cannot distinguish you from anyone.
Answer for the role you are in, at work
Both instruments are about working behaviour. Your weekend self is not the subject.
Do not try to be consistent by memory
Long inventories reuse themes on purpose. Answering each item on its own terms produces better consistency than trying to recall what you said thirty items ago.
Ask for the debrief
In an integration context a debrief is normal and often already planned. It is the single most useful output of the whole exercise for you personally.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the HPTI a test?
No. It is a self-report trait inventory. There are no right answers, no time limit and no pass mark, and Thomas says so on its own candidate page.
What is the difference between HPTI and TEIQue?
HPTI is a 78-item six-trait personality inventory and sits in Thomas's general platform. TEIQue is a 153-item trait emotional intelligence inventory that Thomas says should only be administered by an accredited expert. Both use a seven-point agreement scale, which is why they get confused.
Can I do it on my phone?
Yes for the HPTI and the PPA, both of which Thomas supports on computers, tablets and phones. The Aptitude assessment, the GIA, is the one that requires a desktop.
Does Medela use these to hire?
The Thomas case study describes team and manager integration. Whether an assessment appears in your specific recruitment process is a question for the Medela recruiter, and a normal one to ask.
Practise the format
Our Thomas practice hub includes the HPTI across all six traits and the PPA with its three graphs, plus the GIA in case a timed aptitude stage turns up in your process.