Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)

Listed below are some of the more frequently asked questions concerning the use of OMS. If you have additional questions, we will be pleased to address them. Simply click on the Contact link and send an email, or telephone ADGI.

1. We use behavior description interviewing, so why would we need OMS?

Included in the OMS suite of training modules is a intensive one-day program on Behavioral Interviewing, so we know that well-planned and constructed interviews can be very helpful in hiring situations. However, even the best interviews using well-constructed questions cannot uncover every job-relevant behavioral dimension, clearly differentiate talents from skills, determine the amount or degree of particular traits in comparison to other candidates, or always discern the roles people project in their efforts to adapt to jobs. In fact, studies have shown that good testing instruments are more predictive of potential job performance than are interviews. OMS is a decision-making process with many beneficial applications other than hiring, so behavioral description interviewing is a complement not a replacement.

2. What does the OMS Questionnaire measure?

The OMS Questionnaire measures two dimensions of personality – a person’s Basic Characteristics or natural behavioral predisposition, and the Job Adaptation the person is attempting to make within his or her work situation. Knowing the Basic Characteristics allows managers to understand a person’s motivation, natural talents, and capabilities, and knowing the Job Adaptation allows them to see how the employee perceives job responsibilities, and how the person is reacting to supervision, training, or the forces within the work environment.

Within the Basic Characteristics scale OMS measures seven source dimensions – Assertiveness (achievement and ego-drive), Sociability (social initiative and manner of communication), Patience (initiative and self-starting), Discipline (need for order and structure), Behavioral Adaptability (stress resiliency and ability to cope with change), Emotional Containment (emotional management), and Originality of Thinking (inventiveness).

3. We employ well-educated, skilled people – at what levels can we use the OMS Questionnaire?

The OMS Questionnaire can be used at all levels of an organization, from entry-level positions to senior management posts. Comparing the OMS results to the JAX job analysis results is what makes the information job relevant and specifically predictive of job behavior and performance.

4. Isn’t OMS just like other testing programs we have considered?

ADGI and our associated consultants do not market OMS as a testing program, and several important features differentiate OMS from traditional testing offerings. The critical program element is the Maximizing Human Performance Seminar – equipping managers to understand individual personalities and how they differ along with workplace behavior, and to manage people as individuals. Without an understanding of behavior and motivation and the implications of people decisions, test users can have difficulty applying and communicating test information effectively. Secondly, OMS is used for diagnostic, problem-solving, management, and organizational development applications for which hiring tests or simple team-building diagnostics are unsuited.

5. Can OMS help us reduce turnover and retain employees?

Yes. Study after study has reconfirmed what Scott Myers and Frederick Herzberg told us forty years ago: people stay in jobs and with organizations that allow them to meet their personal needs for growth and achievement. Placing people in the right roles and managing them in the most effective personal manner is the very essence of management today, and this is the primary application of OMS.

6. Can we implement the program by training several people in our HR department?

Yes, because clients have to decide what is best for their organizations. However, using OMS as you would a testing program offers only limited benefits, and has little impact on vital day-to-day management behaviors and actions. Selection and hiring could be improved, but it would not be possible to apply OMS to the more critical organizational management applications which we believe offer the most significant bottom-line return.

7. What is the minimum number of managers who should attend the Maximizing Human Performance Seminar in order for it to produce significant results for us?

There is no minimum as such. However, we recommend that an organization commencing OMS initiate the training at the senior management or top team level. Strategic applications of OMS affect the more tactical applications, such as candidate assessment, and require the knowledge and commitment of the company’s leadership. Once this group establishes a direction and focus for OMS, then other operational and staff managers should be involved.

8. How are the OMS Questionnaires administered?

OMS is a fully on-line, automated technology. Client users have secure access to their OMS site, are able to administer the OMS Questionnaire in different ways, and are able to develop job behavior models using several different techniques. Fully databased, and offering unique industry-leading data management and diagnostic functions, the OMS website offers valuable features for every size client organization.

9. Our major problem is recruiting – could we use the OMS Questionnaire just in that aspect of our business?

Yes. It is only one application for the program, but it can be very rewarding. We recommend a broader usage of OMS, though, because for many business organizations retaining valuable, skilled employees is even more of a priority, and without effective management of people, even the best hiring programs would still not make up for the difference.

10. Can we use the OMS Questionnaire as a pre-screening tool for job candidates?

Yes. OMS offers client organizations the unique capability of pre-screening job candidates on the basis of job-relevant personality attributes and job fit. To ensure legal defensibility, as a preliminary step we recommend that we undertake a job study on the position being pre-screened. This procedure, offered as an optional support service, provides the client with a statistical profile of the job-related traits and characteristics, and ensures that the essential traits are being included in the hiring screen.

11. We have job candidates applying from many locations and we don’t have offices everywhere they are. How can we arrange for them to complete an OMS Questionnaire?

Your candidates complete the OMS Questionnaire on-line by accessing a link forwarded to them in an email. Regardless of where they may be located, or when they actually want to fill in the Questionnaire, once they have completed the process, you receive email notification and can immediately review their OMS results and run comparative analyses against your various job behavioral models.

12. We operate internationally. Can OMS accommodate our diverse language needs?

Indeed. OMS is offered in many different languages, including English, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Castellan Spanish, Latin Spanish, Russian, Romanian, Polish, Swedish, Chinese, Japanese, Tagalog, Hindi, and Punjabi. Candidates completing the OMS are able to select their preferred language when they receive their OMS Questionnaire link.

For more information on OMS, please contact us.
