In one of the warehouses of a retail company, several international employees complain to HR that the warehouse manager has forbidden them from speaking in their native language in the workplace. The HR manager speaks with the warehouse manager, who says there have been several reports that the international employees only interact with each other and they have difficulty conversing with the local employees due to language barriers. The HR manager also learns that the international employees can speak the primary language used in the company well enough to understand instructions from their supervisors. Fortunately, there have been no incidents of safety issues where language has been a barrier between local and international employees. However, senior management believes there is a lack of rapport between local and international employees and instructs the HR manager to resolve the issue.
Which action should the HR manager take to address the international employees' complaints about the warehouse manager?
A company wants to use artificial intelligence (AI) in its candidate selection process. Which next step should the HR director take to evaluate this decision?
An HR department at a midsize company hosts regular manager meetings to provide updates regarding company structure practices, and policies. During the recent meeting, the HR director notified all managers of the company's new code of conduct policy and plans for an upcoming training about the policy. The policy explicitly states that managers must not form personal relationships with their direct reports. The HR director explains that the policy was created because concerns about fairness related to promotions and rumors about favoritism were beginning to cause conflict within some departments. Some of the managers express that training is not necessary, but they all agree to attend it. A few days after the training, the HR director receives a complaint from an HR employee who claims to have seen a manager and one of the manager’s direct reports at a restaurant. The HR director was already concerned about this manager's judgment because the manager approved a promotion for the same direct report even though the direct report has documented performance-related issues. The HR director discusses the issue with the manager. In response, the manager criticizes the new policy and insists the relationship did not impact the direct report's promotion recommendation. The manager also states that the training was unclear and that other managers have the same opinion.
Which action should the HR director take first to reduce favoritism from managers when making promotion decisions in the future?
A small organization recently hired a new CEO with a strong marketing background. The CEO establishes a new sales approach focused on expanding business opportunities through the creation of new products, which will be marketed and sold by the sales force. The CEO believes her effectiveness is impaired by having too many direct reports. The CEO meets with the CFO and HR director. They decide to reduce the CEO's number of direct reports to those most relevant to the CEO's vision for the organization. The remaining employees are reassigned to the CFO who already oversees a team of three. This change allows the CEO to more effectively focus on the vision HR releases a memo informing employees of the change in reporting structure.
The CFO proposes a plan to improve process efficiency within the organization and asks the HR director to implement it. Some employees dislike the plan and refuse to follow it. What should the HR director do?
An HR department at a midsize company hosts regular manager meetings to provide updates regarding company structure practices, and policies. During the recent meeting, the HR director notified all managers of the company's new code of conduct policy and plans for an upcoming training about the policy. The policy explicitly states that managers must not form personal relationships with their direct reports. The HR director explains that the policy was created because concerns about fairness related to promotions and rumors about favoritism were beginning to cause conflict within some departments. Some of the managers express that training is not necessary, but they all agree to attend it. A few days after the training, the HR director receives a complaint from an HR employee who claims to have seen a manager and one of the manager’s direct reports at a restaurant. The HR director was already concerned about this manager's judgment because the manager approved a promotion for the same direct report even though the direct report has documented performance-related issues. The HR director discusses the issue with the manager. In response, the manager criticizes the new policy and insists the relationship did not impact the direct report's promotion recommendation. The manager also states that the training was unclear and that other managers have the same opinion.
Which action should the HR director take first to address the claim that other managers believe the training on the code of conduct policy was unclear?
A CEO is searching for a solution to the increase in health insurance costs. Which benefit should the chief human resource officer suggest to help reduce the high expenses?
During a workforce audit, an HR mobility leader discovers several expatriates who are not part of the organization's global mobility program. Which is the first step the HR leader should take in response to this discovery?
A new HR director is hired into the HR department of one at a midsize, engineering company. The HR director immediately notices that, unlike all other major departments, HR is never invited to any important meetings, or involved in strategic discussions. The president of the company sees the sole use of an HR department as meeting legal requirements and the core duties of the HR director are to onboard new employees, help them complete their paperwork and address employee complaints. The HR director sees several areas where HR can add value to the company such as improving employee engagement, automating various HR systems, and introducing a performance review process. The HR director recognizes that the company needs one to two additional HR employees to truly be able to implement these important initiatives. When the HR director asks the president about the possibility of hiring two new HR employees, the president laughs and replies that one HR employee is costing the company more than enough.
While developing the performance appraisal system, several employees explain to the HR director that they largely work independently, making it difficult to provide ratings for others. What approach should the HR director propose to meet the needs of the company?
The HR manager at a consulting firm notices a rapid increase in the demand for experienced leaders. The increase is making it difficult to hire managers at the same rate of pay compared to one year ago. The firm presently has three open manager positions and the three top candidates are demanding annual salaries higher than current managers’ salaries. This morning the firm’s CEO sent a companywide email announcing that staffing the job openings is a top priority to meet business demands. The email also indicated the firm is willing to pay a referral bonus. The HR manager knows that staffing the job openings will completely exhaust HR's budget, leaving no money to pay referral bonuses or make salary adjustments for incumbents. While reviewing the candidates' resumes the HR manager receives an email from an incumbent manager stating that the manager discovered the firm is offering higher salaries to applicants with less experience. The email also states the incumbent manager no longer trusts the leadership team and is going to seek other employment opportunities.
Which action should the HR manager take first to respond to the incumbent manager's email?
An organization is experiencing an influx of administrative tasks and needs additional support on a short-term basis for four hours a day. Which is the best type of contingent worker for the role?
TESTED 23 Feb 2025
