Sample practice questions

A few real questions from this free bank, with full explanations. Use the practice tool above for the whole set.

1. 1. Leadership & Ethical Practice

   An HR professional discovers a payroll error that overpaid several executives but benefits the company's cash position if left uncorrected. What does the SHRM competency of Ethical Practice most directly require?

   • a.Delay action until the next audit cycle
   • b.Act with integrity and correct the error transparently, even at a short-term cost
   • c.Let the affected executives decide whether to disclose it
   • d.Keep the information confidential from leadership indefinitely

   Answer: b

   Explanation: Ethical Practice calls for integrity, transparency, and accountability regardless of short-term convenience. Concealing or delaying correction of a known error would compromise the trust and standards HR is expected to uphold.

2. 2. People (Talent & Total Rewards)

   An organization pairs junior analysts with experienced leaders for guidance, career advice, and role modeling over time. This development method is:

   • a.A reduction in force
   • b.Progressive discipline
   • c.Job evaluation
   • d.Mentoring

   Answer: d

   Explanation: Mentoring is a developmental relationship in which a more experienced person supports another's growth and career navigation. It differs from coaching's typically shorter, performance-specific focus and from unrelated HR processes.

3. 3. People (Talent & Total Rewards)

   Which statement about employee recognition programs is most accurate?

   • a.Recognition must always be monetary to matter
   • b.Timely, specific recognition tied to valued behaviors reinforces engagement
   • c.Recognition should be given only in annual reviews
   • d.Recognition undermines performance

   Answer: b

   Explanation: Effective recognition is timely, specific, and linked to behaviors the organization values, strengthening engagement and desired performance. Non-monetary recognition can be highly motivating when it is genuine and frequent.

4. 4. Organization (Structure, Workforce & Employee Relations)

   An employee is injured on the job. The system that generally provides medical and wage-replacement benefits regardless of fault is:

   • a.The FMLA
   • b.Workers' compensation
   • c.COBRA
   • d.Unemployment insurance

   Answer: b

   Explanation: Workers' compensation is a no-fault system providing medical care and partial wage replacement for work-related injuries and illnesses. In exchange, it generally limits the employee's ability to sue the employer for the injury.

5. 5. Workplace (Risk, Compliance & Global HR)

   Which situation is NOT a qualifying reason for basic FMLA leave?

   • a.Bonding with a newborn or newly placed adopted child
   • b.Taking a planned vacation to reduce stress
   • c.Caring for a spouse with a serious health condition
   • d.The employee's own serious health condition

   Answer: b

   Explanation: FMLA covers the employee's own serious health condition, care for a family member with a serious health condition, birth/adoption/foster bonding, and qualifying military-family needs. General vacation or personal time that is not tied to a serious health condition or covered reason does not qualify.

6. 6. Workplace (Risk, Compliance & Global HR)

   The 'triple bottom line' framework evaluates organizational performance across which three dimensions?

   • a.People, planet, and profit
   • b.Sales, marketing, and finance
   • c.Past, present, and future earnings
   • d.Revenue, cost, and profit

   Answer: a

   Explanation: The triple bottom line measures success by social (people), environmental (planet), and economic (profit) outcomes, encouraging organizations to account for their broader impact. It underpins much of CSR and sustainability reporting.

7. 7. Business (Acumen, Consultation, Analytics)

   A root-cause analysis technique such as the '5 Whys' helps a consultant to:

   • a.Move past symptoms to the underlying cause of a problem
   • b.Assign blame to a specific employee
   • c.Increase the number of open issues
   • d.Speed up decisions by skipping analysis

   Answer: a

   Explanation: Root-cause techniques like the 5 Whys and fishbone diagrams push analysis beyond surface symptoms to the true underlying cause, so solutions address the source rather than recurring symptoms. The goal is understanding the system, not assigning individual blame.

8. 8. Leadership & Ethical Practice

   An HR business partner needs support for a reskilling initiative but lacks formal authority over the operating units. The most effective approach is to:

   • a.Issue a company-wide policy requiring participation
   • b.Map key stakeholders, understand their priorities, and build a coalition by linking the initiative to their goals
   • c.Complain to leadership that managers will not cooperate
   • d.Launch the program only in the one unit that already agrees

   Answer: b

   Explanation: Leadership & Navigation (navigating the organization, influence) relies on understanding informal power, stakeholder priorities, and coalition-building to drive initiatives without direct authority. Mandates, complaints, or shrinking scope waste the influence strategy the competency requires.

9. 9. Leadership & Ethical Practice

   Before launching a new performance-management approach company-wide, the HR leader's strongest Leadership & Navigation step is to:

   • a.Align executive sponsors, pilot with feedback, and equip managers before scaling
   • b.Announce it in an all-hands and start immediately
   • c.Pilot it secretly to avoid pushback
   • d.Delegate the entire rollout to first-line managers, at least until circumstances clearly force a different approach

   Answer: a

   Explanation: Leadership & Navigation (managing HR initiatives, change management) sequences major rollouts through executive alignment, piloting, and manager enablement before scaling. Sudden announcements, secrecy, or unsupported delegation set the initiative up to fail.

10. 10. Interpersonal (Relationships & Communication)

    HR's benefits guide is full of insurance jargon employees do not understand. Demonstrating strong Communication, HR should:

    • a.Assume employees will ask if they are confused
    • b.Rewrite it in plain language with examples while keeping it accurate
    • c.Leave it technical to be legally precise and simply move on to the next priority once it is done
    • d.Refer all questions to the insurance carrier

    Answer: b

    Explanation: The Communication competency (clarity, audience awareness) translates technical content into plain, accurate language with examples so employees can act on it. Retaining jargon, assuming people will ask, or outsourcing all questions leaves employees confused.