A newly hired CHRO at a manufacturer is asked to build a three-year HR strategic plan. The company has just announced expansion into two new product lines and a new regional market. What should the CHRO do FIRST?

Analyze the business strategy to identify its workforce implications

Benchmark HR staffing ratios against peer manufacturers to size HR

Survey employees on which current HR programs they value most

Draft HR department goals with owners and completion dates

A US company has acquired subsidiaries in six countries. Executives want consistent talent standards, but local managers report that several US practices conflict with local customs and employment law. Which approach is BEST?

Set global core principles and let units adapt practices locally

Require all units to adopt US policies without modification

Let each unit design its own HR policies independently

Adopt host-country practices and drop global standards

A background report obtained with proper written authorization shows a felony conviction for a finalist, and the hiring manager wants to withdraw the offer today. What must HR do before making the decision final under the Fair Credit Reporting Act?

Send a pre-adverse action notice with the report and a summary of rights

Send a final adverse action notice and close the requisition today

Ask the screening vendor to confirm the record before contacting the finalist

Obtain a second signed authorization before acting on the report

A company is eliminating 60 positions in a reduction in force and will offer severance in exchange for a release of claims, including age discrimination claims. Several affected employees are 40 or older. Under the OWBPA, which terms must the release provide?

45 days to consider the release and 7 days after signing to revoke it

21 days to consider the release and 7 days after signing to revoke it

45 days to consider the release and 14 days after signing to revoke it

60 days to consider the release and no revocation period after signing

An executive team drafts the following statement: "We provide affordable, reliable home health care to rural families through compassionate, skilled caregivers." Which type of statement is this?

A mission statement, because it defines current purpose and customers

A vision statement, because it describes the future the company seeks

A values statement, because it describes expected employee conduct

A strategic objective, because it sets a measurable target to reach

Plant supervisors are resisting a new scheduling system, complaining that corporate designed it without understanding shift realities. What is the MOST effective way to reduce their resistance?

Involve supervisors in refining the system's design and rollout

Have the plant manager mandate use of the system by a deadline

Offer supervisors a bonus for adopting the system quickly

Give supervisors additional classroom training on the system

Last year a company spent $90,000 on an agency (30 hires, 27 still employed after one year), $24,000 on job boards (20 hires, 8 still employed), and $30,000 on referral bonuses (15 hires, 12 still employed). Measured by cost per hire retained at one year, which source was MOST cost-effective?

Referrals, at $2,500 per retained hire

Job boards, at $3,000 per retained hire

A company introduced a profit-sharing plan to raise frontline productivity. Two years later, payouts have been steady, but frontline productivity has not changed, and employees say they cannot see how their work affects company profits. Which conclusion is MOST supported?

Weak line of sight between employee effort and payout limits the plan's effect

The payouts are too small, so increasing the profit-sharing pool will improve productivity

Profit sharing raises productivity only when payouts are deferred into retirement accounts

Frontline employees value only base pay, so variable pay will not affect their behavior

SPHR

Free SPHR Practice Questions

10 sample questions for the SPHR, with the correct answer and an explanation for each. No account needed. Try each one before you open the answer.

Sections covered on the exam: Leadership and Strategy, Workforce Planning and Talent Acquisition, Talent Management, Employee and Labor Relations, Total Rewards, HR Information Management, Safety, and Security.

Question 1 · Leadership and Strategy
A newly hired CHRO at a manufacturer is asked to build a three-year HR strategic plan. The company has just announced expansion into two new product lines and a new regional market. What should the CHRO do FIRST?
- A.Analyze the business strategy to identify its workforce implications
- B.Benchmark HR staffing ratios against peer manufacturers to size HR
- C.Survey employees on which current HR programs they value most
- D.Draft HR department goals with owners and completion dates
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. Analyze the business strategy to identify its workforce implications
An HR strategic plan must flow from the organization's strategy, so the first step is to translate the expansion plans into workforce needs such as skills, headcount, and timing. Drafting HR goals or benchmarking HR staffing before understanding the business direction risks building a plan that does not support the strategy.
Question 2 · Leadership and Strategy
A US company has acquired subsidiaries in six countries. Executives want consistent talent standards, but local managers report that several US practices conflict with local customs and employment law. Which approach is BEST?
- A.Set global core principles and let units adapt practices locally
- B.Require all units to adopt US policies without modification
- C.Let each unit design its own HR policies independently
- D.Adopt host-country practices and drop global standards
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. Set global core principles and let units adapt practices locally
A global-core, local-flex approach preserves consistency on values and key talent standards while allowing practices to be adapted to local law and culture. Imposing US policies risks legal violations abroad, and full local autonomy sacrifices the consistency executives want.
Question 3 · Workforce Planning and Talent Acquisition
A background report obtained with proper written authorization shows a felony conviction for a finalist, and the hiring manager wants to withdraw the offer today. What must HR do before making the decision final under the Fair Credit Reporting Act?
- A.Send a final adverse action notice and close the requisition today
- B.Ask the screening vendor to confirm the record before contacting the finalist
- C.Obtain a second signed authorization before acting on the report
- D.Send a pre-adverse action notice with the report and a summary of rights
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. Send a pre-adverse action notice with the report and a summary of rights
The FCRA requires a pre-adverse action notice that includes a copy of the report and the summary of rights, giving the candidate a chance to dispute errors before a final decision. A final adverse action notice comes only after that waiting period, and vendor confirmation or a second authorization does not satisfy the notice requirement.
Question 4 · Talent Management
A company is eliminating 60 positions in a reduction in force and will offer severance in exchange for a release of claims, including age discrimination claims. Several affected employees are 40 or older. Under the OWBPA, which terms must the release provide?
- A.45 days to consider the release and 7 days after signing to revoke it
- B.21 days to consider the release and 7 days after signing to revoke it
- C.45 days to consider the release and 14 days after signing to revoke it
- D.60 days to consider the release and no revocation period after signing
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. 45 days to consider the release and 7 days after signing to revoke it
Because the release is offered as part of a group termination program, the OWBPA requires at least 45 days to consider it and 7 days to revoke after signing, along with disclosure of the ages and job titles of those selected and not selected. The 21-day period applies only to individual separations, and the revocation period is always 7 days.
Question 5 · Total Rewards
A nonexempt production worker earns $16.00 per hour. In one workweek she works 45 hours and earns a $90 nondiscretionary attendance bonus for that week. What is her total pay for the week under the FLSA?
- A.$810.00
- B.$855.00
- C.$850.00
- D.$900.00
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. $855.00
The bonus is nondiscretionary, so it must be included in the regular rate: ($16 x 45 + $90) / 45 = $810 / 45 = $18.00 per hour. The overtime premium is half the regular rate for each overtime hour, $9.00 x 5 = $45, for total pay of $855. The figure of $850 incorrectly bases overtime only on the $16 hourly rate, and $810 omits the overtime premium entirely.
Question 6 · Leadership and Strategy
An executive team drafts the following statement: "We provide affordable, reliable home health care to rural families through compassionate, skilled caregivers." Which type of statement is this?
- A.A vision statement, because it describes the future the company seeks
- B.A mission statement, because it defines current purpose and customers
- C.A values statement, because it describes expected employee conduct
- D.A strategic objective, because it sets a measurable target to reach
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. A mission statement, because it defines current purpose and customers
A mission statement explains what the organization does, for whom, and how, in the present tense. A vision statement describes an aspirational future state, and a strategic objective would include a measurable target and timeframe.
Question 7 · Leadership and Strategy
Plant supervisors are resisting a new scheduling system, complaining that corporate designed it without understanding shift realities. What is the MOST effective way to reduce their resistance?
- A.Have the plant manager mandate use of the system by a deadline
- B.Offer supervisors a bonus for adopting the system quickly
- C.Involve supervisors in refining the system's design and rollout
- D.Give supervisors additional classroom training on the system
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. Involve supervisors in refining the system's design and rollout
The resistance stems from feeling excluded and from real concerns about fit, so participation addresses both the cause and the design flaws. Mandates and bonuses may force compliance without commitment, and training does not solve a design problem.
Question 8 · Workforce Planning and Talent Acquisition
Last year a company spent $90,000 on an agency (30 hires, 27 still employed after one year), $24,000 on job boards (20 hires, 8 still employed), and $30,000 on referral bonuses (15 hires, 12 still employed). Measured by cost per hire retained at one year, which source was MOST cost-effective?
- A.Job boards, at $1,200 per hire
- B.Agency, at $3,000 per hire
- C.Referrals, at $2,500 per retained hire
- D.Job boards, at $3,000 per retained hire
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. Referrals, at $2,500 per retained hire
Cost per retained hire is $90,000 / 27 = about $3,333 for the agency, $24,000 / 8 = $3,000 for job boards, and $30,000 / 12 = $2,500 for referrals, so referrals are most cost-effective. The $1,200 and $3,000 per-hire figures ignore first-year turnover, and the job board's $3,000 retained-hire cost is real but higher than the referral cost.
Question 9 · Talent Management
A Six Sigma team has defined the problem of billing errors and measured a current rate of 4,200 defects per million invoices. Team members are now building a fishbone diagram and testing hypotheses about which factors drive the errors. Which DMAIC phase is the team in?
- A.Measure
- B.Analyze
- C.Improve
- D.Control
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Analyze
The Analyze phase identifies root causes using tools such as cause-and-effect diagrams and hypothesis testing, which follows defining and measuring the problem. Measure establishes the baseline the team already has, Improve implements solutions once causes are confirmed, and Control sustains the gains afterward.
Question 10 · Total Rewards
A company introduced a profit-sharing plan to raise frontline productivity. Two years later, payouts have been steady, but frontline productivity has not changed, and employees say they cannot see how their work affects company profits. Which conclusion is MOST supported?
- A.Weak line of sight between employee effort and payout limits the plan's effect
- B.The payouts are too small, so increasing the profit-sharing pool will improve productivity
- C.Profit sharing raises productivity only when payouts are deferred into retirement accounts
- D.Frontline employees value only base pay, so variable pay will not affect their behavior
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. Weak line of sight between employee effort and payout limits the plan's effect
Profit sharing rewards results that frontline employees influence only indirectly, so its line of sight is weak, which matches what employees reported. Increasing the pool does not fix the missing link between effort and reward. Deferral reduces immediacy rather than improving motivation, and the evidence does not show employees value only base pay.

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