SHRM Society for Human Resource Management 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which element of the SHRM Body of Applied Skills and Knowledge (BASK) represents the technical knowledge HR professionals must possess?
- Behavioral competencies
- HR Expertise (HR Knowledge Domains) (Correct answer)
- Leadership competencies
- Situational judgment
Correct answer: HR Expertise (HR Knowledge Domains)
HR Knowledge Domains in the SHRM BASK represent the technical HR knowledge that professionals must master to be effective in their roles.
Question 2: A company wants to reduce voluntary turnover among high performers. Which retention strategy does research most consistently support?
- Across-the-board annual raises
- Targeted career development and growth opportunities (Correct answer)
- Increasing paid time off for all employees
- Implementing strict non-compete agreements
Correct answer: Targeted career development and growth opportunities
Research consistently shows that high performers are most retained by meaningful career development and growth opportunities tailored to their aspirations.
Question 3: Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), an employer is required to provide a reasonable accommodation unless it creates:
- Any additional cost to the organization
- An undue hardship on the employer
- A change to the job's essential functions
- Both B and C (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Both B and C
Employers are not required to provide accommodations that create undue hardship OR that eliminate or fundamentally alter the essential functions of the job.
Question 4: Which approach to organizational development uses employee survey data to identify problems, plan improvements, and measure results in a cyclical fashion?
- Appreciative Inquiry
- Action research model (Correct answer)
- Force field analysis
- Balanced scorecard
Correct answer: Action research model
The action research model is a cyclical OD process that uses data collection, diagnosis, planning, intervention, and evaluation to drive organizational improvement.
Question 5: When designing a job evaluation system for pay equity purposes, which method ranks all jobs by their overall value without comparing specific factors?
- Point-factor method
- Factor comparison method
- Job ranking method (Correct answer)
- Market pricing
Correct answer: Job ranking method
The job ranking method is the simplest job evaluation approach, ordering all jobs from highest to lowest value without analyzing specific compensable factors.
Question 6: An HR manager suspects a pattern of discriminatory hiring in one department. Which data analysis would most directly reveal this pattern?
- Exit interview trend analysis
- Applicant flow data analysis (Correct answer)
- Benefits utilization review
- Employee engagement survey results
Correct answer: Applicant flow data analysis
Applicant flow data tracks selection outcomes by demographic group at each hiring stage, directly revealing where discriminatory patterns may exist.
Question 7: Which leadership development method involves placing a high-potential employee in a short-term assignment in a different function or geography to accelerate growth?
- Mentoring
- Stretch assignment
- Rotational assignment (Correct answer)
- Shadow coaching
Correct answer: Rotational assignment
Rotational assignments place employees in different functions, business units, or geographies for defined periods to build broad organizational knowledge and leadership capability.
SHRM Society for Human Resource Management 5
Which element of the SHRM Body of Applied Skills and Knowledge (BASK) represents the technical knowledge HR professionals must possess?