A great team isn’t just a collection of skilled individuals — it’s a carefully balanced mix of personalities, communication styles, and motivations that work well together. For hiring managers, understanding how a new employee will fit into that balance can be the difference between a thriving, high-performing team and one that struggles to collaborate.
Personality assessments can offer valuable insights into how people work, think, and interact with others. When used thoughtfully, they can help hiring managers identify candidates who not only perform well individually but also strengthen the team as a whole.
Understanding the Role of Personality in Team Success
Personality shapes how people communicate, handle conflict, and respond to stress. Research in organizational psychology consistently shows that certain traits—like conscientiousness, openness, and agreeableness — tend to predict cooperative, effective teamwork.
Hiring managers who understand these traits can build teams that are more cohesive, adaptive, and engaged. For example, a team composed entirely of assertive, high-dominance individuals might experience tension or competition, while one made up only of agreeable personalities may shy away from disagreements when they are most needed for change and growth. A mix of complementary traits creates balance and resilience.
Using Assessments to Identify Complementary Strengths
When reviewing a personality assessment report, hiring managers should look beyond individual performance potential and consider how the candidate’s traits complement existing team members.
For instance, if a team already has several highly analytical, but introverted, members, adding someone with strong interpersonal traits can help balance group dynamics. Likewise, pairing a high-detail, process-focused employee with a big-picture thinker can strengthen project execution.
This approach requires understanding not just who a candidate is, but how they will interact with others. Assessments built for workplace use — particularly those based on the Big Five model — provide detailed trait data that can be used to map out potential interactions before a hiring decision is made.
Supporting Team Development with Ongoing Assessment
The benefits of personality assessments don’t end after the hire. They can also serve as a roadmap for team development, helping leaders understand how to communicate effectively with each member.
If a manager knows one team member prefers structured direction while another thrives with autonomy, they can tailor their management style accordingly. Personality assessments can also highlight areas where teams may need training or support—for example, if many members score low on openness to change, a manager can prepare for more gradual transitions during periods of organizational growth.
Regular use of these assessments as part of performance development, rather than only during hiring, can help teams maintain cohesion as they evolve.
Some of Resource Associates’ pre-hire assessments include an optional Career Development Report that helps managers and employees collaborate on targeted growth opportunities. The CDR turns assessment results into actionable insights that guide employee coaching, performance planning, and professional development discussions — transforming hiring data into a continuous tool for success.
Building a Data-Informed Team Strategy
Team chemistry doesn’t have to rely on instinct or chance. Using personality data, hiring managers can make evidence-based decisions about who to hire, how to pair people, and where to invest in development.
Assessments grounded in industrial-organizational psychology—such as those modeled after validated frameworks like the Big Five—offer predictive insights about workplace behavior. This allows hiring managers to identify potential challenges early and proactively design strategies that keep teams performing at their best.
For more on how personality testing relates to workplace outcomes, see Resource Associates’ Personality Testing Blog, which explores topics like teamwork potential and the link between personality and performance.
Team success depends as much on personality fit as it does on technical skill. When hiring managers incorporate personality assessments into their decision-making, they gain a clearer understanding of how candidates will complement and strengthen their teams. Over time, this insight leads to more balanced collaboration, improved communication, and higher overall performance.
