1. What is the best course of action for the HR director in proactively addressing employee concerns with the engagement survey?

A) A. Meet with the union representative and legal counsel to share insights and get their perspectives.
B) B. Analyze new employee complaints to determine recurring trends and patterns indicating the need for the survey.
C) C. Advise the CEO about employee insights gained from complaints that support or negate the need for the survey.
D) D. Explore employees' interest in participating in stay interviews to give insight to the organization.



2. What technique will help you become a more active listener?

A) Prepare for the possibility of thinking differently about a situation after a conversation you are about to have.
B) Maintain hard eye contact, which is not looking away any more than you can help.
C) Engage in the conversation and avoid paraphrasing what you just heard.
D) Ask follow-up questions as you think of them, especially if the speaker seems to be changing subjects in mid-speech.



3. What is a valuable insight that can be gained from studying the sender-receiver communication model (the basic communication model)?

A) Communication breakdowns almost always occur on the receiver’s end.
B) People’s perspectives have a strong impact on how messages are understood.
C) If the receiver objects to the sender’s message, the sender needs to explain it again in a new way.
D) Natural communication flow requires thinking of how to respond as the other person is speaking.



4. What is a good way to signal acknowledgment but not necessarily comprehension or agreement in a face-to-face conversation?

A) Eye contact
B) Encoding thoughts
C) Repeating back what was said
D) Written summary



5. Refer to the following scenario for the next 3 questions. 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) A. Present data to managers that shows how the high turnover has affected the company's profit.
B) B. Create a policy that links participation in leadership training with incentives and bonuses for managers.
C) C. Ask employees about their managers' capabilities and provide managers with this feedback.
D) D. Purchase off-the-shelf business competency models to use as a management tool.