SHRM-CP Practice Exam — All Questions

An organization redesigns from functional silos into cross-functional product teams. This is an example of a change in:

• a.The employee value proposition only
• b.Payroll processing
• c.Organizational structure and design✓
• d.Total Rewards philosophy

Moving from functional silos to cross-functional teams changes how work, authority, and reporting are organized, which is organizational structure and design. It is not primarily a rewards, payroll, or branding change.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives contribute most to organizational effectiveness when they:

• a.Are handled entirely outside of HR
• b.Are limited to a single annual awareness day
• c.Are embedded in talent, culture, and business practices rather than treated as a one-time event✓
• d.Focus only on meeting a numeric quota

DEI is most effective when integrated across recruiting, development, culture, and everyday practices so inclusion is sustained. Quota-only, siloed, or one-day approaches rarely produce lasting change.

An HR risk assessment identifies that a single employee holds all knowledge of a critical payroll system. The best risk-mitigation response is to:

• a.Increase that employee's salary and take no other action
• b.Ignore the risk since the system currently works
• c.Cross-train others and document the process to reduce single-point-of-failure risk✓
• d.Eliminate the payroll function

Cross-training and documentation reduce the single-point-of-failure risk by spreading critical knowledge. Raising pay alone, ignoring the exposure, or removing the function does not manage the underlying risk.

A positive organizational culture is best sustained when leaders:

• a.Consistently model the stated values in day-to-day decisions✓
• b.Rely only on annual engagement surveys
• c.Delegate culture entirely to the HR department
• d.Publish a values statement and take no further steps

Culture is reinforced most powerfully when leaders visibly live the stated values in everyday decisions and behavior. A posted statement, a survey alone, or full delegation to HR does not embed culture.

An employee raises a harassment concern. To manage both people and organizational risk, HR should:

• a.Take the complaint seriously, investigate promptly and fairly, and document the process✓
• b.Wait to see whether the behavior recurs before acting
• c.Advise the employee to resolve it privately
• d.Share the details broadly to warn other staff

A prompt, fair, well-documented investigation protects employees and limits organizational risk while upholding a respectful workplace. Delaying, deflecting, or broadcasting details would increase risk and harm.

A company groups employees by function such as marketing, finance, and operations, each reporting up its own chain. This is a:

• a.Divisional structure
• b.Network structure
• c.Matrix (dual-reporting) structure
• d.Functional structure✓

A functional structure organizes people by specialized function, promoting depth of expertise but sometimes creating silos. It contrasts with divisional structures grouped by product, market, or geography.

In a matrix structure, an employee reports to both a functional manager and a project or product manager. A common challenge of this design is:

• a.A complete lack of specialization
• b.The elimination of all managers
• c.Competing priorities and dual-reporting conflict✓
• d.A total absence of coordination across concurrent projects

Matrix structures improve cross-functional coordination but create dual-reporting tension when the two managers set conflicting priorities. Clear role agreements and communication are needed to manage the trade-off.

The number of employees who report directly to a single manager is that manager's:

• a.Yield ratio
• b.Span of control✓
• c.Compa-ratio
• d.Employee turnover rate

Span of control is the count of direct reports per manager and shapes how flat or tall a structure is. Wider spans flatten the organization; narrower spans add layers and closer supervision.

An organization pushes most decision-making authority down to local units and frontline managers. This reflects a high degree of:

• a.Forced distribution
• b.Centralization
• c.Decentralization✓
• d.Span compression

Decentralization delegates decision authority to lower levels, enabling faster local responsiveness. Centralization, by contrast, concentrates decisions at the top for consistency and control.

Anticipating future talent needs by forecasting demand and supply of labor and identifying gaps is called:

• a.Onboarding
• b.Workforce planning✓
• c.Job evaluation
• d.Progressive discipline

Workforce planning forecasts the workforce the organization will need and compares it to projected supply to close gaps through hiring, development, or restructuring. It links HR to strategic direction.

A workforce plan projects a future shortage of skilled technicians. Which response best addresses the gap over time?

• a.Immediately lay off current technicians
• b.Build a pipeline through hiring, upskilling, and partnerships✓
• c.Freeze all development spending
• d.Do nothing and hope for the best

A projected skills shortage calls for proactive pipeline building through recruiting, internal upskilling, and external partnerships. Inaction or cutting development would deepen the shortage.

Under the federal WARN Act, employers of the covered size must generally give how much advance notice of a qualifying mass layoff or plant closing?

• a.One week
• b.24 hours
• c.30 days
• d.60 days✓

The WARN Act generally requires 60 days' advance notice of a covered plant closing or mass layoff by employers meeting the size thresholds. The notice protects affected workers and communities; some states impose stricter rules.

When conducting a reduction in force, HR should ensure selection criteria are objective and job-related primarily to:

• a.Avoid disparate impact on protected groups and reduce legal risk✓
• b.Guarantee no one is let go
• c.Increase the severance budget
• d.Speed up onboarding

Objective, job-related RIF criteria help prevent a disproportionate adverse impact on protected classes under Title VII and the ADEA. An adverse-impact analysis of the proposed selections is a prudent safeguard.

A company relies on freelancers, temporary workers, and independent contractors alongside employees. This blended staffing model uses a:

• a.Contingent workforce✓
• b.Matrix reporting line
• c.Forced distribution
• d.Defined benefit plan

A contingent workforce consists of non-permanent labor such as contractors, temps, and freelancers used for flexibility. Proper classification of these workers is essential to avoid misclassification liability.

Misclassifying an employee as an independent contractor can expose an employer to liability mainly because it may:

• a.Shorten time-to-fill
• b.Deny the worker overtime, taxes, and benefits owed to employees✓
• c.Increase engagement scores
• d.Improve the org chart

If a worker is truly an employee, misclassification can deprive them of FLSA overtime, tax withholding, and benefits, creating back-pay and penalty exposure. Classification turns on the actual working relationship, not the label.

The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) protects most private-sector employees' right to:

• a.Ignore all workplace rules
• b.Engage in protected concerted activity, including forming or joining a union✓
• c.Work unlimited overtime
• d.Receive guaranteed pay raises

The NLRA protects employees' rights to organize, bargain collectively, and engage in concerted activity for mutual aid, whether or not a union exists. Employer interference with these rights is an unfair labor practice.

In a unionized workplace, the process by which the employer and union negotiate wages, hours, and working conditions is:

• a.Progressive discipline
• b.Succession planning
• c.Collective bargaining✓
• d.Job analysis

Collective bargaining is the negotiation between employer and union to reach a collective bargaining agreement on terms of employment. The resulting contract governs the covered employees' working conditions.

A unionized employee believes the employer violated the collective bargaining agreement. The formal process for raising this dispute is a:

• a.Company-wide reduction in force
• b.Benefits enrollment
• c.Stay interview
• d.Grievance procedure✓

A grievance procedure is the contractual, step-by-step process for resolving alleged violations of the collective bargaining agreement, often ending in arbitration. It provides due process within the labor relationship.

In most U.S. states, absent a contract, the default employment relationship is 'at-will,' which means:

• a.Only the employee may end the relationship
• b.Employees can never be terminated
• c.Termination requires 60 days' notice by law
• d.Either party may end employment at any time for any lawful reason✓

At-will employment lets either party end the relationship at any time for any reason that is not illegal, such as discrimination or retaliation. Contracts, policies, and public-policy exceptions can limit at-will status.

An employee handbook that lists rules and then states employment is not guaranteed for any period should include which clause to protect at-will status?

• a.A profit-sharing formula
• b.An at-will employment disclaimer✓
• c.A mandatory arbitration waiver
• d.A broad post-employment non-compete restriction clause

An at-will disclaimer clarifies that the handbook is not a contract and does not guarantee continued employment, helping preserve at-will status. Poorly worded handbooks can inadvertently create implied contracts.

When HR investigates a workplace misconduct complaint, a fair and defensible investigation should be:

• a.Delayed until the accuser proves the claim alone
• b.Prompt, thorough, impartial, and well-documented✓
• c.Publicized to the whole company
• d.Handled informally by a close personal friend of the accused employee

Effective investigations are timely, thorough, neutral, and documented, protecting both the complainant and the organization. Bias, delay, or broadcasting details undermines fairness and increases legal risk.

Under Title VII, which of the following is a protected characteristic?

• a.Department assignment
• b.Religion✓
• c.Salary grade
• d.Job tenure

Title VII prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. Tenure, pay grade, and department are business categories, not protected classes.

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) protects employees who are:

• a.Only those over 65
• b.40 years of age and older✓
• c.Workers who are under 18 years of age only
• d.Any age

The ADEA protects applicants and employees who are 40 or older from age-based discrimination. It applies to employers meeting the coverage threshold and covers hiring, pay, promotion, and termination.

An employee requests a modified schedule to manage a disability. Under the ADA, the employer should engage in the:

• a.Job evaluation process
• b.Progressive discipline process
• c.Collective bargaining process
• d.Interactive process to identify a reasonable accommodation✓

The ADA's interactive process is a good-faith dialogue between employer and employee to find a reasonable accommodation for a qualified individual with a disability, absent undue hardship. Skipping it is itself a compliance risk.

To be eligible for leave under the federal FMLA, an employee generally must have worked for a covered employer for at least 12 months and:

• a.Any number of hours, with no minimum threshold
• b.At least 500 hours in the prior 12 months
• c.At least 2,080 hours in the prior 6 months
• d.At least 1,250 hours in the prior 12 months✓

FMLA eligibility requires 12 months of employment and at least 1,250 hours worked in the preceding 12 months at a worksite with 50 or more employees within 75 miles. Eligible employees may take up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave.

The FMLA provides eligible employees with up to how many weeks of job-protected leave in a 12-month period for a covered serious health condition?

• a.16 weeks
• b.26 weeks in all cases
• c.6 weeks
• d.12 weeks✓

The FMLA generally allows up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period for qualifying reasons; military caregiver leave can extend to 26 weeks. Group health benefits continue during the leave.

A centralized HR system that stores employee data, automates workflows, and supports reporting is a:

• a.A point-factor job evaluation compensation plan
• b.Human resource information system (HRIS)✓
• c.9-box grid
• d.Collective bargaining agreement

An HRIS is the core technology that stores workforce data and automates HR processes such as payroll, benefits, and reporting. It underpins HR analytics and self-service functions.

An organization lets employees update their own address, benefits elections, and time-off requests in the HR system. This capability is called:

• a.A stay interview
• b.Employee self-service✓
• c.Collective bargaining
• d.Detailed job task analysis review

Employee self-service lets staff manage routine HR transactions directly, improving accuracy and freeing HR for higher-value work. It is a common efficiency feature of modern HR technology.

Before deploying an AI tool to screen resumes, HR should be most concerned that the tool could:

• a.Shorten the workweek
• b.Replicate or amplify bias against protected groups if trained on biased data✓
• c.Reduce the number of open requisitions
• d.Increase the compa-ratio automatically

AI screening trained on historical data can encode and scale existing bias, creating disparate-impact risk under Title VII. HR should validate and audit such tools for adverse impact before and during use.

HR maintains sensitive employee records including medical and personal data. A core data-privacy obligation is to:

• a.Post records on the intranet
• b.Delete all records immediately after hire
• c.Limit access to those with a legitimate need and safeguard the data✓
• d.Share records freely to build trust

Protecting employee data means restricting access on a need-to-know basis and securing it, with medical information kept confidential and separate under laws like the ADA. Overexposure creates privacy and legal risk.

An HR leader wants to use data to predict which employees are at highest risk of leaving. This application is an example of:

• a.Progressive discipline
• b.Payroll processing
• c.HR (people) analytics✓
• d.Job evaluation

People analytics applies data analysis to workforce questions such as predicting turnover risk to guide proactive retention. It turns HR data into actionable, strategic insight.

A large company organizes HR into a shared-services center, centers of excellence, and embedded business partners. This design is known as the:

• a.Kirkpatrick model
• b.A matrix-based multi-grade pay structure
• c.Three-legged (Ulrich) HR operating model✓
• d.9-box model

The Ulrich three-legged model splits HR into shared services (transactions), centers of excellence (specialist expertise), and business partners (strategic support). It aims to deliver HR efficiently and strategically at scale.

An HR business partner's primary role is to:

• a.Handle solely benefits paperwork
• b.Manage the company's facilities
• c.Align HR strategy and solutions with a business unit's goals✓
• d.Only process payroll transactions

The HR business partner works closely with a business unit to align talent strategy, workforce planning, and HR solutions to unit objectives. It is a strategic, consultative role rather than a purely transactional one.

A company hires an external provider to run its payroll and benefits administration. This arrangement is:

• a.Collective bargaining
• b.Job rotation
• c.Insourcing
• d.HR outsourcing✓

HR outsourcing contracts an external vendor to handle specific HR functions such as payroll or benefits, often for cost or expertise reasons. HR retains accountability for vendor oversight and compliance.

A structured review of HR policies, practices, and compliance to identify gaps and risks is called an:

• a.Exit interview
• b.HR audit✓
• c.Engagement survey
• d.Onboarding checklist

An HR audit systematically evaluates HR functions and legal compliance to surface risks and improvement opportunities. It helps ensure practices are effective, consistent, and defensible.

During a major reorganization, employees are anxious and rumors spread. Applying change-management principles, HR should first:

• a.Communicate a clear rationale and vision and engage stakeholders early✓
• b.Let managers improvise their own messages
• c.Announce nothing until the change is complete
• d.Cancel the change to avoid discomfort

Effective change management addresses the human side by communicating the case for change, painting a clear vision, and involving stakeholders to reduce resistance. Silence and mixed messaging amplify anxiety and rumors.

Kotter's model of leading change begins by:

• a.Creating a sense of urgency✓
• b.Anchoring changes in the culture
• c.Removing all managers
• d.Celebrating short-term wins

Kotter's first step is establishing a sense of urgency so people see the need to change, before building a coalition and vision. Short-term wins and anchoring in culture come later in the model.

The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) requires employers to:

• a.Guarantee lifetime employment
• b.Furnish a workplace free from recognized serious hazards✓
• c.Provide health insurance to all workers
• d.Pay overtime to exempt employees

OSHA imposes a general duty to provide a workplace free from recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious harm, plus specific standards. It governs workplace safety, not insurance or wage requirements.

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

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.

Form I-9 is used by U.S. employers to:

• a.Report workplace injuries
• b.Calculate overtime
• c.Verify each new hire's identity and authorization to work✓
• d.Enroll employees in benefits

The Form I-9 documents verification of a new employee's identity and employment authorization, as required by the Immigration Reform and Control Act. Employers must complete it for every new hire within required timeframes.