What the OPQ32r asks you to do
SHL’s fact sheet describes the OPQ32r as 104 forced-choice questions in one unproctored sitting, untimed, with an average of 15 to 25 minutes. Forced choice means you cannot simply agree with every flattering statement: each question makes you choose between statements about yourself.
The r version launched in 2009. SHL said then that it reduced the number of statements in each question from four to three, made the questionnaire twice as fast to complete as the previous version, and kept it compatible with older OPQ32 results. SHL’s fact sheet describes the format only as forced choice and does not publish the scoring.
The 32 characteristics
SHL groups the 32 characteristics into three areas, each split into smaller clusters. Employers map them to the competencies a particular job needs, so the same profile can suit one role and not another.
- Relationships with people. Influence: persuasive, controlling, outspoken, independent minded. Sociability: outgoing, affiliative, socially confident. Empathy: modest, democratic, caring.
- Thinking style. Analysis: data rational, evaluative, behavioural. Creativity and change: conventional, conceptual, innovative, variety seeking, adaptable. Structure: forward thinking, detail conscious, conscientious, rule following.
- Feelings and emotions. Emotions: relaxed, worrying, tough-minded, optimistic, trusting, emotionally controlled. Dynamism: vigorous, competitive, achieving, decisive.
How employers use it
SHL lists selection for graduate, professional and management roles among the OPQ’s main uses, alongside onboarding, leadership development and team building. In hiring, it says the OPQ helps identify the best-fit applicants for a role and improve interview hit rates.
The results come as reports rather than a single score, with versions for HR professionals, line managers and candidates. SHL’s store page says more than 90 independent validation studies have been carried out on the OPQ over 25 years, across 20 countries and 40 industries.
How our practice version works
Ours uses the older OPQ32 shape: blocks of four statements, where you mark the one most like you and the one least like you. It runs 24 blocks rather than 104, chosen so that all 32 characteristics come up at least once, with no clock and no Back button.
That makes it practice for the forced-choice format, not a prediction of your real profile. The OPQ32r uses three statements per question and 104 questions, and SHL does not publish how it scores them, so our profile is directional only.