TALENT ACQUISITION QUIZ + RATIONALE ANSWERS

It is discovered that an employee misrepresented his education credentials when he applied for his current position. The organization wants to terminate this employee. Which document in the employee's record should the organization use as a basis to justify terminating him for this reason?

ANSWER: Application form RATIONALE: The application form serves as verification that the information submitted is truthful. Resumes or CVs do not include this verification. Both performance reviews and criminal history background checks are not related to the employee's infraction.

An organization is looking to fill an IT position that requires the person fulfilling the role to focus on continuing education. Which type of substantive assessment may help the organization determine if a candidate is able to learn and acquire new skills as required?

ANSWER: Aptitude tests RATIONALE: Aptitude tests measure the general ability or capacity of an individual to learn or acquire a new skill. This would give the organization the best idea of whether or not the individual would be able to continue to learn new technology as it evolves.

The HR director in a rapidly growing start-up needs to secure specific talent for a specialty department with a very short time frame for full productivity. Which type of interviewing will be especially valuable in the selection process?

ANSWER: Behavioral RATIONALE: Behavioral interviewing is built on the premise that past performance is the best predictor of future performance. With a short time to full productivity, prior experience and success in the field will be critical for the success of the individual.

An organization typically measures the engagement levels of new employees via survey on a monthly basis throughout the first year of employment. The surveys show that engagement levels drop precipitously from initial levels, with engagement dropping throughout the first three months and then stabilizing at an unacceptably low level. Which action can the organization take to best combat the issue?

ANSWER: Create a structured onboarding process that lasts through the first three months of employment. RATIONALE: The best option is to create a long-lasting onboarding experience that guides new employees through the first three-month period, when engagement levels historically have tended to drop at the organization.

Which recruiting strategy is likely to ensure a long-term, consistent flow of qualified candidates in a competitive candidate market?

ANSWER: Employer branding RATIONALE: Employment branding is strategic and focused on long-term talent acquisition. The remaining answer choices tend to be short-term and reactive in nature.

Which type of interview would be the best for determining how multiple candidates would handle performing in an environment where the ability to work in changing groups is required?

ANSWER: Fishbowl interview RATIONALE: A fishbowl interview is a type of group interview where multiple candidates are brought in to work in a true-to-life work setting. Understanding how individuals work in a new dynamic group and the ability to directly observe and compare multiple candidates at the same time would be beneficial for hiring for the described position.

Which action should the HR director take to help increase awareness of ancillary benefit programs to newer employees?

ANSWER: Implement an orientation program. RATIONALE: An orientation program can be used familiarize employees with the organization, including benefit programs, facility amenities, and organizational departments. By incorporating available benefit programs into the orientation process, HR can ensure that all new employees are made aware of the presence of the programs and their ability to participate in them.

An internal report shows that many employees do not have a strong relationship with their supervisor or feel aligned with the organizational culture. These employees are considering leaving the company. Which action should HR take to address this issue?

ANSWER: Improve the onboarding program. RATIONALE: The onboarding program should be improved. Onboarding focuses on relationship building. The other answer choices may address some of the listed employee grievances, but onboarding is the most effective option.

What are the repercussions of an organization placing a limit on the application length for a tenured professor position at a public university?

ANSWER: Inability to submit relevant information and experience RATIONALE: Certain positions, such as a professor, are better served by a curriculum vitae (CV) than a resume with references or a cover letter. CVs offer a detailed overview of a candidate's accomplishments, which better lends itself to cataloging the various teaching and research projects that a tenured professor would typically be involved in. By limiting the document length, information highly relevant to the position may be omitted.

Which of the following is a legal consideration that is associated with using social media for recruiting?

ANSWER: Inadvertently discovering information that is illegal to use when considering an applicant RATIONALE: Use of social media in recruiting may inadvertently uncover information such as marital status or sexual orientation that is illegal to use when considering a candidate, which may open the organization up to discrimination allegations from candidates.

What must be true about an employee value proposition in order for it to be successful?

ANSWER: It must be aligned with the organization's strategic plan. RATIONALE: In order for an EVP to be successful, it must align closely with the organization's strategic plan, mission, vision, and values.

Which information should an HR leader review when conducting an analysis of a vacated position?

ANSWER: Knowledge, skills, and abilities RATIONALE: A job analysis looks at the knowledge, skills, and abilities required for a person to have a reasonable chance of successfully performing the job.

HR has identified the need to increase staffing efficiency in order to meet the needs of the organization as it continues to grow. HR particularly wants to reduce search time and time to fill and improve the analysis of the quality of the candidates. Which is the best way to achieve the targets set by HR?

ANSWER: Leverage predictive analytics to analyze and place candidates more accurately. RATIONALE: Leveraged efficiently, predictive analytics can improve the analysis of the quality of candidates.

An organization posts jobs internally before advertising them externally. This increases the time it takes to fill open jobs. To what problem does this point within the organization?

ANSWER: Managers do not understand the benefits of providing a fair and equitable system of job posting, promotions, and lateral moves. RATIONALE: HR managers need to explain how the disadvantage of a slow hiring process is offset by having a fair and equitable system. Managers and HR should work together to find ways to speed up the hiring process.

The statement "Must possess a working knowledge of customer security requirements and incident investigation" is included in a job description for a security specialist position. What does this best exemplify?

ANSWER: Minimum qualification RATIONALE: This statement indicates the minimum knowledge required to perform the job satisfactorily, an example of a minimum qualification.

The CEO of a company with an experienced but aging workforce has tasked HR with developing a succession plan. Which approach is likely to be most effective in sourcing a diverse pool of applicants?

ANSWER: Offering a structured mentoring program that offers a clear path of career progression RATIONALE: Utilizing the experience of an existing workforce through mentoring and offering a path of career progression is the most likely way to secure the next generation of workers. Employee referral programs and marketing toward a CSR strategy may incentivise current workers, but no guarantee of identifying a new generation of talent. Tenure bonuses may reduce turnover and increase retention, but has little impact on a sound succession planning strategy

Which process allows a new hire to become familiar with departmental processes and specific job tasks and tools?

ANSWER: Orientation RATIONALE: During orientation, new employees learn what they will do, whom they will interact with, and what tools and processes they will use. Onboarding is a longer process in which new hires deepen their relationships with coworkers and become part of the organization's culture. Realistic job previews are a hiring tool, a way of letting recruits know what a job really involves. Peer mentoring could be part of an onboarding program.

An international organization is creating a new position that will be implemented simultaneously in several countries. The HR VP wants to make sure that the organization is able to attract talented, qualified individuals in every location. What can the HR VP do to help ensure that they are able to do so?

ANSWER: Perform a compensation study to ensure that the salary meets market expectations in each location. RATIONALE: Performing a compensation study based on a consistent job description is the best way to ensure that the position will attract the desired number of qualified candidates in each location.

Service specialists are given a lot of discretion when dealing with customers, and those interactions have a big effect on the organization's sales. The difference in revenue generation and customer satisfaction between high performers and low performers is significant. What best describes the high performers?

ANSWER: Pivotal talent pool RATIONALE: These service specialists would be an example of what Boudreau and Ramstad call "pivotal talent pools." Boudreau and Ramstad maintain that these can lead to improved organizational decisions and performance.

What is the biggest risk of bringing HR into a merger and acquisition (M&A) process only after the deal is done?

ANSWER: Poor top talent retention RATIONALE: It is critical to have HR practitioners play a major role in M&A due diligence to ensure that all potential costs are identified beforehand. Following a merger or an acquisition, new talent resources become part of the organization, and retention of key/top talent becomes a major issue.

Which is a major talent management issue faced by organizations during mergers and acquisitions?

ANSWER: Retention of key talent RATIONALE: Retaining key talent is a major issue faced by organizations during mergers and acquisitions.

An organization's yield ratio for offers rejected compared to offers extended for qualified applicants increased from 50% in year 1 to 75% in year 2. What recommendation should HR make to improve the selection results for an organization in a growth mode?

ANSWER: Review the employee value proposition along with newly hired attrition data and recent exit interview surveys. RATIONALE: It is probable that pay, benefits, and the employment brand suffer from lack of attention and resources.

A company is designing a structured onboarding program. The new program includes a comprehensive orientation and buddy system and has a focus on the company's culture. What additional component should the company add to the onboarding program?

ANSWER: Streamlined interview process RATIONALE: The company should streamline the interview process because onboarding begins during the interview process, before an employee is hired. The other answer choices are individual benefits but will not necessarily improve a new hire's knowledge of and commitment to the organization.

A small nonprofit organization that assists with improving the energy efficiency of homes cannot offer a truly competitive wage and benefits package. However, they pay their employees above minimum wage and recent employee survey results indicate a highly engaged workforce that is dedicated to the organization's mission. What should be the focus of the organization's employee value proposition (EVP)?

ANSWER: The ability to make a difference alongside highly dedicated team members RATIONALE: An EVP must provide an accurate picture of employment for employees and candidates. Any inconsistencies in the work environment can erode the credibility of a branding strategy, so the organization needs to be honest about its wages and benefits. In this case, many people will be drawn to the organization's mission because they want to make a difference, so the EVP should lead with this.

An HR practitioner would need to justify the use of which job analysis method since it could make the process of translating data into information more difficult?

ANSWER: Work diary or log for a task- or process-oriented job RATIONALE: Work diaries provide an enormous amount of data. The method can be applicable to task- or process-oriented jobs. Designing a job analysis needs to consider how easy it will be to obtain, summarize, and process the analytical results with minimal effort. Work diaries may nevertheless be necessary, but their use should be justified.