Communication Quiz

What communication method can help promote a feeling of leadership visibility and accessibility by providing opportunities for engagement and may help reduce the discomfort some people feel about contributing in a public situation? A. Open-door email policy B. Virtual town hall meeting C. All-company meeting in an auditorium D. Social media

B.

Which is the best reason to use social media channels for corporate communication? A. Social media channels provide instantaneous feedback to leaders through employee responses. B. Social media channels are widely accepted and used by employees. C. Social media channels provide more control over the corporate image. D. Social media usage confers more credibility to the corporate message.

A.

Which technique is critical to being a more active listener? A. Keeping an open mind, recognizing that she may think differently after the conversation. B. Asking follow-up questions during the conversation, especially if the speaker seems to be changing subjects in mid-speech. C. Engaging in the conversation and avoiding paraphrasing what she just heard. D. Maintaining hard eye contact, not looking away any more than she can help.

A.

A company has an outdated applicant tracking system, which upper management has been reluctant to replace.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? A. Meet with the HR specialist to determine the root cause of the administrative error. B. Tell the HR specialists to pay closer attention to details when processing applications. C. Meet with the HR specialist to discuss any challenges to using the application tracking system. D. Meet with the HR specialist to discuss the consequences of making administrative errors.

A.

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? A. Review company emergency protocols and conduct a needs assessment to identify gaps. B. Survey the field supervisors to determine their desire for training. C. Recognize that emergency situations are unpredictable; therefore, training should focus on previous situations. D. Identify emergency training programs and offer non-mandatory training.

A.

A manager instructs a staff member how to perform the task. The staff member nods to indicate agreement. The task is performed incorrectly. How could active listening have helped prevent this? A. The manager could have made this a conversation by asking the staff member an open question to ensure understanding. B. The manager could have used more nonverbals to engage the staff member's attention. C. The manager could have followed up with an e-mail or other written version of the instruction. D. The manager could have positioned the task as being important to the HR function.

A.

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? A. Present data to managers that shows how the high turnover has affected the company's profit. B. Create a policy that links participation in leadership training with incentives and bonuses for managers. C. Ask employees about their managers' capabilities and provide managers with this feedback. D. Purchase off-the-shelf business competency models to use as a management tool.

A.

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? A. Terminate the employee for violation of the company policy. B. Tell the employee to apologize to the customer. C. Tell the employee to do nothing; it will blow over. D. The employee's behavior toward the customer was wrong, and the employee will be written up.

A.

What is the best way to deliver negative feedback to a subordinate? A. Create a work environment fostering open and honest communication in which employees feel valued even when negative feedback is necessary. B. Start and end with positive feedback, even if it is about a minor performance element. C. Wait for a quiet moment, when any stress related to the issue has subsided. D. Deliver positive feedback in person and negative feedback in writing for the purpose of documentation.

A.

While assisting a customer, a salesperson takes a personal phone call. Which is the best approach for the supervisor to take when providing feedback to the salesperson? A. Discuss the incident with the salesperson immediately and in private, reminding them of policy on personal phone calls. B. Wait for a few days and then discuss the behavior with the salesperson so as to not infuriate him or her and cause dissatisfaction. C. Document the incident and discuss it during the performance review, providing an overall lower rating due to this incident. D. Gather the salespeople together, and explain the incident in detail and why the behavior was wrong.

A.

An HR manager works at a manufacturing company that is hiring new assembly-line employees. The HR manager helped to design and implement the selection system that is used to make these hires. The system includes a physical abilities test, a structured interview, and a personality assessment. The company has evidence demonstrating that each part of the system is a valid predictor of performance. Passing the physical abilities test is the first hurdle in the hiring process. Any applicant who passes this hurdle is interviewed by a plant manager, who then rates the applicant on several competencies. Applicants are not given any information about the competencies or questions prior to the interview. Interview scores and personality assessment scores are combined to rank the applicants. Many plant managers have complained to HR that the test does not assess the level of physical abilities required on the job, and recent hires have not performed well as a result. The HR manager's supervisor meets with the HR manager to discuss these concerns. The HR manager's supervisor mentions that a relative is planning on applying for an assembly-line position at the company. The supervisor is concerned that the relative will not perform well in the interview and asks the HR manager for help. What should the HR manager do? A. Give the supervisor a few generalized interview questions for the relative. B. Tell the supervisor that all applicants must be treated the same. C. Call the relative to discuss the interview process. D. Advise the supervisor to share the job description with the relative.

B.

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? A. Since the manager feels bad about what has happened, the company should take the "lessons learned" approach. No other action is necessary. B. 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. C. Management should tell the project manager to work more closely with the customer. D. The project manager should be written up.

B.

Which feedback message will be most useful to the feedback receiver? A. "You need to improve your customer service delivery. We scored low on that in the last quality survey." B. "That was a good call. Please make sure to always follow up with our HR customers to explain the status of an issue." C. "I got an e-mail last month from one of our HR customers who wanted to know the status of a compensation dispute. Not good." D. "I notice that you never check back in with our HR customers. That's the last step in our process. Why do you skip that?"

B.

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? A. Present to management a graph showing the use rate of applicant tracking systems that have been released recently. B. Present to management results of a survey about employee opinions on the current system. C. Present to management a comparison of the capabilities of the company's current applicant tracking system to alternatives. D. Provide management with articles describing best practices for how often applicant tracking systems should be replaced.

C.

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? A. Take no action, since it has not been determined that the employee's medical condition is related to alcohol consumption. B. E-mail the company's daily meal allowance policy to all employees and direct the employees to review it. C. Distribute the policy to employees and provide a venue to review it and answer questions. D. Forward the policy to supervisors and rely on them to review the policy with each of their employees.

C.

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? A. Instruct supervisors to choose the best action; every situation is different, and supervisors should apply common sense to the situation. B. Require the supervisors to always call HR and to avoid any discussion with emergency personnel about the employee's medical condition. C. Use a collaborative approach with leaders to create and communicate a company-wide protocol that outlines steps to take in an emergency situation. D. Coach the supervisors to always call emergency personnel and to avoid any discussion with emergency personnel about the employee's medical condition.

C.

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? A. Assign HR employees to the initiative who have the availability and interest to support it. B. Ask the CEO to provide feedback on the action plan for the initiative. C. Create employee-led committees to develop ideas and provide support for the initiative. D. Ask all managers which aspects of the initiative they are willing to participate in.

C.

An HR manager works at a manufacturing company that is hiring new assembly-line employees. The HR manager helped to design and implement the selection system that is used to make these hires. The system includes a physical abilities test, a structured interview, and a personality assessment. The company has evidence demonstrating that each part of the system is a valid predictor of performance. Passing the physical abilities test is the first hurdle in the hiring process. Any applicant who passes this hurdle is interviewed by a plant manager, who then rates the applicant on several competencies. Applicants are not given any information about the competencies or questions prior to the interview. Interview scores and personality assessment scores are combined to rank the applicants. Many plant managers have complained to HR that the test does not assess the level of physical abilities required on the job, and recent hires have not performed well as a result. The HR manager's supervisor meets with the HR manager to discuss these concerns. A plant manager admits to not following the structured interview protocol when interviewing recent applicants, and the HR manager's supervisor asks the HR manager to talk to the plant manager about the issue. What should the HR manager do? A. Prohibit the plant manager from interviewing future applicants. B. Remind the plant manager of the interviewer's responsibility to use the protocol. C. Tell the plant manager that inconsistent use of the protocol is unfair to applicants. D. Remind the plant manager that using the protocol results in better hires.

C.

An HR manager works at a manufacturing company that is hiring new assembly-line employees. The HR manager helped to design and implement the selection system that is used to make these hires. The system includes a physical abilities test, a structured interview, and a personality assessment. The company has evidence demonstrating that each part of the system is a valid predictor of performance. Passing the physical abilities test is the first hurdle in the hiring process. Any applicant who passes this hurdle is interviewed by a plant manager, who then rates the applicant on several competencies. Applicants are not given any information about the competencies or questions prior to the interview. Interview scores and personality assessment scores are combined to rank the applicants. Many plant managers have complained to HR that the test does not assess the level of physical abilities required on the job, and recent hires have not performed well as a result. The HR manager's supervisor meets with the HR manager to discuss these concerns. The HR manager's supervisor wants the HR manager to review the physical abilities test to determine if it can be made more realistic. What should the HR manager do? A. Ask all current employees to take the physical abilities test. B. Search online for physical abilities tests used by other manufacturing companies. C. Ask plant managers to specify what physical abilities are required. D. Examine the documentation regarding the development of the current physical abilities test.

C.

During a team meeting, one member is dominating the discussion while others are quietly listening. What should the manager leading the meeting do? A. Allow the meeting to flow without interruption. B. Tell the talkative team member that they manager is in charge of the meeting. C. Encourage participation from less active team members by asking questions of those team members. D. Summarize what the talkative team member has said and then move to the next agenda item.

C.

One month into working in a new department, an employee asks their new supervisor for feedback. The supervisor responds by listing three ways in which the employee's performance is inadequate. How is the employee likely to react? A. The employee will work harder to correct performance deficiencies because of the specific feedback. B. The employee will disregard the criticism because it was not delivered in a timely manner. C. The employee will be discouraged and may ask someone else for an assessment of their performance. D. The employee's performance will deteriorate further because of excessive negative feedback.

C.

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? A. Implement a "buddy system" so employees always have a fellow employee to seek advice from. B. Review the onboarding agenda to make sure that employees are aware of workplace policies that are related to customer interface and that they are clearly understood. C. Meet with the entire project manager group to review policies, their job descriptions, and how to handle issues faced in day-to-day supervision. D. Send a company-wide e-mail with the policies attached.

C.

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? A. The CEO of the company should contact the customer's CEO and blame his employee for the termination. B. The HR manager should conduct a problem-solving meeting with the project manager and the customer's counterpart to review the situation in total and develop a communications plan so conflicts are handled effectively. C. 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. D. The company and the customer do not need to meet.

C.

What is a good way to demonstrate active listening in a face-to-face conversation? A. Encoding thoughts B. Repeating back what was said C. Eye contact D. Written summary

C.

When communicating with neurodiverse persons, what should an HR professional be prepared to do? A. Accommodate their needs by communicating in a different way with them than with others. B. Listen rather than talk. C. Notice when their social cues may be signaling a miscommunication. D. Communicate with them via electronic means only so that noise won't get in the way of understanding.

C.

While applying for a job on a computer in a company's employment office, an applicant made a statement to an office staff member that there was a sticky substance on the keyboard. Later that day during an on-site interview, the same applicant complained that a rash emerged on his fingers from the sticky substance. At the end of the day, the applicant was not hired because the background screening process revealed criminal charges two years ago. Instead, the hiring manager selected a different applicant who more closely matched the needs of the position and passed the background screen. Before leaving for the day, the applicant who was not hired filed a grievance with the HR manager claiming he had not been hired because he complained during the interview of an unknown substance causing a rash on his fingers. Upon investigation, the sticky substance was identified from the observation camera to be strawberry jelly from the applicant's sandwich eaten at the desk just prior to completing the application. After the sticky substance has been identified as jelly from the applicant's sandwich, which action should the HR manager take to prevent a recurrence of this situation? A. Clean and visually inspect each workstation prior to applicant use. B. File an ISO 31000 risk management report. C. Post a sign prohibiting all applicants from eating at the workstations. D. Have a risk management officer attend and monitor the application and interview process.

C.

While applying for a job on a computer in a company's employment office, an applicant made a statement to an office staff member that there was a sticky substance on the keyboard. Later that day during an on-site interview, the same applicant complained that a rash emerged on his fingers from the sticky substance. At the end of the day, the applicant was not hired because the background screening process revealed criminal charges two years ago. Instead, the hiring manager selected a different applicant who more closely matched the needs of the position and passed the background screen. Before leaving for the day, the applicant who was not hired filed a grievance with the HR manager claiming he had not been hired because he complained during the interview of an unknown substance causing a rash on his fingers. Upon investigation, the sticky substance was identified from the observation camera to be strawberry jelly from the applicant's sandwich eaten at the desk just prior to completing the application. What should the HR manager do first to address the applicant's filed grievance? A. Forward the grievance to the hiring manager who made the decision not to hire the applicant. B. Inspect the keyboard with the risk manager, collecting a sample of the sticky substance for further analysis. C. Tell the applicant his sandwich left the sticky substance on the keyboard and his complaint did not impact the hiring decision. D. Suggest that the applicant reapply for the position when the rash has cleared up.

C.

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? A. Send a company-wide email notifying employees of HR's estimated processing time for internal job applications. B. Create a message board on the company's intranet to address internal applicants' questions. C. Post a flow chart on the company's intranet that illustrates the application process and timeline. D. Create a standardized response email for inquiries that outlines the application timeline from when internal applications are submitted.

D.

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? A. Tell the applicant that the HR department is working to prevent such issues in the future. B. Warn the applicant that such behavior will be recorded as misconduct if it does not stop. C. Instruct the applicant to re-apply for the position once the system has been updated. D. Tell the applicant that HR understands why the applicant is upset about the error.

D.

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? A. Agree with the leadership team and create the policy that forbids employees with medical conditions from company travel. B. Ignore the leadership team's request because it is impractical and hope that they will forget about it C. Require all new hires to pass a physical exam and, if the exam isn't passed, don't allow them to travel. D. 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.

D.

A large organization is faced with a sudden and severe downturn in revenue and must suspend contributions to employees' retirement accounts. What is the most effective way to communicate this? A. Implement the change immediately and have HR include an announcement and explanation in the next pay statement. B. Announce the change via a broadcast email, stressing that it is a temporary measure only. C. Inform unit managers of the change and instruct them to meet individually with their direct reports. D. Prepare front-line managers for the change and then have the CEO communicate the information to the entire workforce.

D.

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? A. Read comments from past employee engagement surveys. B. Review previous employee complaints related to manager behaviors. C. Set up an anonymous employee suggestion box in a common area. D. Examine employee exit interview documentation for trends.

D.

When presenting a business case to senior management for HRIS technology, which type of presentation would be most effective? A. Glossy presentation that states only what the customer wants to hear B. Bold presentation that glosses over negative points C. Detailed presentation that shows proofs for all points D. Dynamic presentation that focuses only on key points

D.

Which action would best support a group brainstorming session? A. Make a list of rebuttals for concerns that will likely be raised. B. Generate a conscious idea of what the various contributors will likely say. C. Think of possible responses to facilitate smooth transitions as others speak. D. Listen to what each person has to say before thinking about responses.

D.

While applying for a job on a computer in a company's employment office, an applicant made a statement to an office staff member that there was a sticky substance on the keyboard. Later that day during an on-site interview, the same applicant complained that a rash emerged on his fingers from the sticky substance. At the end of the day, the applicant was not hired because the background screening process revealed criminal charges two years ago. Instead, the hiring manager selected a different applicant who more closely matched the needs of the position and passed the background screen. Before leaving for the day, the applicant who was not hired filed a grievance with the HR manager claiming he had not been hired because he complained during the interview of an unknown substance causing a rash on his fingers. Upon investigation, the sticky substance was identified from the observation camera to be strawberry jelly from the applicant's sandwich eaten at the desk just prior to completing the application. The hiring manager asks for guidance in the event an applicant challenges the results of the background screening process in the future. What should the HR manager advise the hiring manager to do if such a challenge occurs? A. Evaluate the business risk associated with hiring someone with the applicant's background screen results. B. Ask the company's legal counsel to respond to the applicant's challenge of the background screen results. C. Present the background screen results to senior management, asking them to make the final hiring decision. D. Give the applicant a copy of the results of the background screen and allow time for the applicant to provide a response.

D.