Communication Quiz

A company sends a team of employees and one field supervisor to a customer's location for a week. Employees stay in hotel rooms, two employees per room, and receive a daily meal allowance that allows the purchase of one alcoholic beverage. At dinner one evening, the employees have a few alcoholic beverages, and then they return to the hotel, where one employee passes out in the parking lot. The other employees call an ambulance, and emergency personnel ask if the unconscious employee takes any medication. The employee who shares a room with the unconscious employee goes to the room and finds the employee's medication bottles. No one rides in the ambulance or follows it to the hospital. The field supervisor calls HR to report the incident. The HR manager asks if the employee's spouse has been called and which hospital the employee was admitted to. No one knows where the employee has been taken, nor has the employee been in contact with anyone. The field supervisor locates the employee, who is in serious condition. The employee remains unconscious; it is unknown if the employee will recover from the incident. Management wants to end the employment relationship with the employee. What can HR do to ensure that all employees understand the company's daily meal allowance policy?

Distribute the policy to employees and provide a venue to review it and answer questions.

In his initial meeting with the HR team, a newly hired HR director hears several concerns relating to the organization's talent acquisition process including inconsistent questions, different decision-making criteria, and a lack of diversity across departments. The HR director believes these concerns, as he experienced several questionable actions during his own hiring. The HR team is not confident that the organization is hiring the best people, but each department believes its hiring approach is effective and shows no interest in trying a new approach. After confirming that an absence of diversity is an issue in certain departments, which next step should the HR director take?

Explain to interviewers and managers why diversity among employees is good for business.

A company has an outdated applicant tracking system, which upper management has been reluctant to replace. The HR department has had great difficulty managing the large number of applicants with this system. Many hiring-related tasks that the system is incapable of handling have been carried out manually. This has led to administrative errors, delay in application processing, and miscommunication for internal applicants. One day, the HR manager receives a call from an internal applicant who had applied for a position a month ago. This applicant immediately received an email from the HR department about scheduling next steps in the selection process but has not heard back since. During the phone call, the HR manager looks into the tracking system to find that this applicant had been screened out due to not being a good fit with the position, and the initial email had been sent due to an administrative error. The HR manager communicates this to the applicant. The HR manager discovers that the administrative error was caused by one of the company's HR specialists. What should the HR manager do to motivate the HR specialist to be more attentive when processing hiring-related tasks to prevent similar mistakes in the future?

Meet with the HR specialist to determine the root cause of the administrative error.

The largest customer of a small consulting firm demands that the project manager terminate an employee for poor performance or the customer will terminate its contract immediately. The account project manager has documented the employee's performance as meeting expectations, there is no documentation to support a termination, and there is no place to transfer the employee to. The HR manager conducts a comprehensive investigation and learns that the employee and the customer had a verbal disagreement about how the employee had classified specific expenses and how it affects the customer's budget. The confrontation was significant but did not involve any unacceptable language. In addition, the employee's classification was technically correct; however, a reclassification was also acceptable under generally accepted accounting principles. The project manager was unaware of this conflict. The HR manager concludes that the employee did not follow the policy that requires an employee to advise the supervisor of a client issue. Because such a conflict could significantly harm the company's business, the policy states that an employee can be disciplined up to and including termination for this violation. The HR manager and the project manager prepare to meet with the employee. They consider their options. Which is the most effective option that will honor the company's policy, yet maintain the relationship with the company's customer?

Terminate the employee for violation of the company policy.

A company has an outdated applicant tracking system, which upper management has been reluctant to replace. The HR department has had great difficulty managing the large number of applicants with this system. Many hiring-related tasks that the system is incapable of handling have been carried out manually. This has led to administrative errors, delay in application processing, and miscommunication for internal applicants. One day, the HR manager receives a call from an internal applicant who had applied for a position a month ago. This applicant immediately received an email from the HR department about scheduling next steps in the selection process but has not heard back since. During the phone call, the HR manager looks into the tracking system to find that this applicant had been screened out due to not being a good fit with the position, and the initial email had been sent due to an administrative error. The HR manager communicates this to the applicant. The HR manager wants to ensure that employees understand the application process and timeline. Which should the HR manager do?

Create a standardized response email for inquiries that outlines the application timeline from when internal applications are submitted.

In his initial meeting with the HR team, a newly hired HR director hears several concerns relating to the organization's talent acquisition process including inconsistent questions, different decision-making criteria, and a lack of diversity across departments. The HR director believes these concerns, as he experienced several questionable actions during his own hiring. The HR team is not confident that the organization is hiring the best people, but each department believes its hiring approach is effective and shows no interest in trying a new approach. Which action should the HR director take to encourage department heads to use a new hiring process?

Conduct a benchmarking study to compare the organization's hiring outcomes (diversity, etc.) to those of similar organizations.

An HR business partner for a mid-sized company has been asked to investigate root causes of high employee turnover. The CEO thinks that the turnover is the result of HR failing to set clear expectations for managers and has stated that there is a disparity in how managers lead their employees versus what employees think their managers should be doing. The CEO believes that this inconsistency in expectations is the reason for attrition. HR currently conducts annual employee engagement and morale surveys and presents the results to management. However, most of the management team has been with the company for many years and are resistant to change. Past efforts to guide the management team have been unsuccessful due to limited participation. For example, leadership skills training has been held in the past, but most of the management team have declined to attend. The CEO has requested that the HR manager provide a detailed plan to address the turnover by next quarter. Which step should the HR manager take to identify the root causes of turnover?

Examine employee exit interview documentation for trends.

In his initial meeting with the HR team, a newly hired HR director hears several concerns relating to the organization's talent acquisition process including inconsistent questions, different decision-making criteria, and a lack of diversity across departments. The HR director believes these concerns, as he experienced several questionable actions during his own hiring. The HR team is not confident that the organization is hiring the best people, but each department believes its hiring approach is effective and shows no interest in trying a new approach. Which is the best immediate course of action the HR director could take to address organizations talent acquisition issues?

Create a structured interview process that standardizes the questions asked and the criteria for grading.

An HR business partner for a mid-sized company has been asked to investigate root causes of high employee turnover. The CEO thinks that the turnover is the result of HR failing to set clear expectations for managers and has stated that there is a disparity in how managers lead their employees versus what employees think their managers should be doing. The CEO believes that this inconsistency in expectations is the reason for attrition. HR currently conducts annual employee engagement and morale surveys and presents the results to management. However, most of the management team has been with the company for many years and are resistant to change. Past efforts to guide the management team have been unsuccessful due to limited participation. For example, leadership skills training has been held in the past, but most of the management team have declined to attend. The CEO has requested that the HR manager provide a detailed plan to address the turnover by next quarter. Which action should the HR manager take to ensure the success of an initiative to improve employee engagement and retention?

Create employee-led committees to develop ideas and provide support for the initiative.

The largest customer of a small consulting firm demands that the project manager terminate an employee for poor performance or the customer will terminate its contract immediately. The account project manager has documented the employee's performance as meeting expectations, there is no documentation to support a termination, and there is no place to transfer the employee to. The HR manager conducts a comprehensive investigation and learns that the employee and the customer had a verbal disagreement about how the employee had classified specific expenses and how it affects the customer's budget. The confrontation was significant but did not involve any unacceptable language. In addition, the employee's classification was technically correct; however, a reclassification was also acceptable under generally accepted accounting principles. The project manager was unaware of this conflict. The HR manager concludes that the employee did not follow the policy that requires an employee to advise the supervisor of a client issue. Because such a conflict could significantly harm the company's business, the policy states that an employee can be disciplined up to and including termination for this violation. What steps can HR implement to ensure that this type of event does not recur with the company's current employees?

Meet with the entire project manager group to review policies, their job descriptions, and how to handle issues faced in day-to-day supervision.

An HR business partner for a mid-sized company has been asked to investigate root causes of high employee turnover. The CEO thinks that the turnover is the result of HR failing to set clear expectations for managers and has stated that there is a disparity in how managers lead their employees versus what employees think their managers should be doing. The CEO believes that this inconsistency in expectations is the reason for attrition. HR currently conducts annual employee engagement and morale surveys and presents the results to management. However, most of the management team has been with the company for many years and are resistant to change. Past efforts to guide the management team have been unsuccessful due to limited participation. For example, leadership skills training has been held in the past, but most of the management team have declined to attend. The CEO has requested that the HR manager provide a detailed plan to address the turnover by next quarter. Which step should the HR manager take to ensure buy-in from the managers when implementing an initiative to address the turnover?

Present data to managers that shows how the high turnover has affected the company's profit.

A company has an outdated applicant tracking system, which upper management has been reluctant to replace. The HR department has had great difficulty managing the large number of applicants with this system. Many hiring-related tasks that the system is incapable of handling have been carried out manually. This has led to administrative errors, delay in application processing, and miscommunication for internal applicants. One day, the HR manager receives a call from an internal applicant who had applied for a position a month ago. This applicant immediately received an email from the HR department about scheduling next steps in the selection process but has not heard back since. During the phone call, the HR manager looks into the tracking system to find that this applicant had been screened out due to not being a good fit with the position, and the initial email had been sent due to an administrative error. The HR manager communicates this to the applicant. What should the HR manager do to convince management to replace the applicant tracking system?

Present to management a comparison of the capabilities of the company's current applicant tracking system to alternatives.

A company sends a team of employees and one field supervisor to a customer's location for a week. Employees stay in hotel rooms, two employees per room, and receive a daily meal allowance that allows the purchase of one alcoholic beverage. At dinner one evening, the employees have a few alcoholic beverages, and then they return to the hotel, where one employee passes out in the parking lot. The other employees call an ambulance, and emergency personnel ask if the unconscious employee takes any medication. The employee who shares a room with the unconscious employee goes to the room and finds the employee's medication bottles. No one rides in the ambulance or follows it to the hospital. The field supervisor calls HR to report the incident. The HR manager asks if the employee's spouse has been called and which hospital the employee was admitted to. No one knows where the employee has been taken, nor has the employee been in contact with anyone. The field supervisor locates the employee, who is in serious condition. The employee remains unconscious; it is unknown if the employee will recover from the incident. Management wants to end the employment relationship with the employee. Which action should the HR manager take first to ensure that field supervisors are prepared to handle emergency situations in the field?

Review company emergency protocols and conduct a needs assessment to identify gaps.

A company sends a team of employees and one field supervisor to a customer's location for a week. Employees stay in hotel rooms, two employees per room, and receive a daily meal allowance that allows the purchase of one alcoholic beverage. At dinner one evening, the employees have a few alcoholic beverages, and then they return to the hotel, where one employee passes out in the parking lot. The other employees call an ambulance, and emergency personnel ask if the unconscious employee takes any medication. The employee who shares a room with the unconscious employee goes to the room and finds the employee's medication bottles. No one rides in the ambulance or follows it to the hospital. The field supervisor calls HR to report the incident. The HR manager asks if the employee's spouse has been called and which hospital the employee was admitted to. No one knows where the employee has been taken, nor has the employee been in contact with anyone. The field supervisor locates the employee, who is in serious condition. The employee remains unconscious; it is unknown if the employee will recover from the incident. Management wants to end the employment relationship with the employee. The leadership team wants to implement a policy that prohibits sending employees who have medical conditions out of town on business. How should HR handle this request?

Schedule a meeting with the leadership team to address their request and offer other options that are focused on the best interests of the business.

A company has an outdated applicant tracking system, which upper management has been reluctant to replace. The HR department has had great difficulty managing the large number of applicants with this system. Many hiring-related tasks that the system is incapable of handling have been carried out manually. This has led to administrative errors, delay in application processing, and miscommunication for internal applicants. One day, the HR manager receives a call from an internal applicant who had applied for a position a month ago. This applicant immediately received an email from the HR department about scheduling next steps in the selection process but has not heard back since. During the phone call, the HR manager looks into the tracking system to find that this applicant had been screened out due to not being a good fit with the position, and the initial email had been sent due to an administrative error. The HR manager communicates this to the applicant. The applicant becomes furious about being misinformed and starts swearing at the HR manager over the phone. How should the HR manager respond?

Tell the applicant that HR understands why the applicant is upset about the error.

The largest customer of a small consulting firm demands that the project manager terminate an employee for poor performance or the customer will terminate its contract immediately. The account project manager has documented the employee's performance as meeting expectations, there is no documentation to support a termination, and there is no place to transfer the employee to. The HR manager conducts a comprehensive investigation and learns that the employee and the customer had a verbal disagreement about how the employee had classified specific expenses and how it affects the customer's budget. The confrontation was significant but did not involve any unacceptable language. In addition, the employee's classification was technically correct; however, a reclassification was also acceptable under generally accepted accounting principles. The project manager was unaware of this conflict. The HR manager concludes that the employee did not follow the policy that requires an employee to advise the supervisor of a client issue. Because such a conflict could significantly harm the company's business, the policy states that an employee can be disciplined up to and including termination for this violation. What steps should the company take with the customer to improve communication and ensure that all employees are aligned with how information should be communicated going forward?

The HR manager and the project manager should meet with the customer to define what effective communication should be, and they then should share the new communication plan during an all-employee meeting.

The largest customer of a small consulting firm demands that the project manager terminate an employee for poor performance or the customer will terminate its contract immediately. The account project manager has documented the employee's performance as meeting expectations, there is no documentation to support a termination, and there is no place to transfer the employee to. The HR manager conducts a comprehensive investigation and learns that the employee and the customer had a verbal disagreement about how the employee had classified specific expenses and how it affects the customer's budget. The confrontation was significant but did not involve any unacceptable language. In addition, the employee's classification was technically correct; however, a reclassification was also acceptable under generally accepted accounting principles. The project manager was unaware of this conflict. The HR manager concludes that the employee did not follow the policy that requires an employee to advise the supervisor of a client issue. Because such a conflict could significantly harm the company's business, the policy states that an employee can be disciplined up to and including termination for this violation. What can management do to improve the communication between the project manager and the project manager's employees so that this type of event does not recur?

The manager's supervisor should meet with the project manager for coaching on the responsibilities of day-to-day supervision and communication with employees and the customer.

A company sends a team of employees and one field supervisor to a customer's location for a week. Employees stay in hotel rooms, two employees per room, and receive a daily meal allowance that allows the purchase of one alcoholic beverage. At dinner one evening, the employees have a few alcoholic beverages, and then they return to the hotel, where one employee passes out in the parking lot. The other employees call an ambulance, and emergency personnel ask if the unconscious employee takes any medication. The employee who shares a room with the unconscious employee goes to the room and finds the employee's medication bottles. No one rides in the ambulance or follows it to the hospital. The field supervisor calls HR to report the incident. The HR manager asks if the employee's spouse has been called and which hospital the employee was admitted to. No one knows where the employee has been taken, nor has the employee been in contact with anyone. The field supervisor locates the employee, who is in serious condition. The employee remains unconscious; it is unknown if the employee will recover from the incident. Management wants to end the employment relationship with the employee. Which action should HR take to ensure that supervisors act appropriately in emergency situations without fear of violating employee privacy?

Use a collaborative approach with leaders to create and communicate a company-wide protocol that outlines steps to take in an emergency situation.