Business Acumen Competency SJI

A health-care delivery organization has experienced significant and rather sudden growth in membership over the last year. Because this fast pace of growth is forecast to continue, HR and finance complete a labor demand analysis. They determine that the organization must increase its current employee base by approximately 30% in the next two years to properly manage the growth and to handle upcoming voluntary and involuntary separations.

The analysis also indicates that approximately 30% of the current employees are or will be eligible for retirement within 5 years. Many of those eligible for retirement have been in leadership roles for many years and are considered key employees. High-potential employees have been identified within the organization, but not all are aligned with the departments that will be impacted most by upcoming retirements.

The increase in the workload, along with managing the changing demographics of members, has placed a burden on employees across the organization. Morale has declined as employees are feeling more stress. The positive message of growth in the organization is being overshadowed by the discontent of overworked employees. The senior leadership team has decided to coordinate a strategy session with executives and regional leads to address the identified issues.

With the patient base growing so rapidly, how can HR best support the organization in maintaining customer satisfaction?

▪ Review customer feedback surveys and develop a list of competencies to be added to job descriptions.

▪ Partner with the department that manages concerns from members to better understand current challenges.

▪ Determine which departments will have the most new hires, and provide customer service training to those teams.

▪ Ensure that candidates selected for consideration for open positions have a proven track record in customer service.

Ensure that candidates selected for consideration for open positions have a proven track record in customer service.

A health-care delivery organization has experienced significant and rather sudden growth in membership over the last year. Because this fast pace of growth is forecast to continue, HR and finance complete a labor demand analysis. They determine that the organization must increase its current employee base by approximately 30% in the next two years to properly manage the growth and to handle upcoming voluntary and involuntary separations.

The analysis also indicates that approximately 30% of the current employees are or will be eligible for retirement within 5 years. Many of those eligible for retirement have been in leadership roles for many years and are considered key employees. High-potential employees have been identified within the organization, but not all are aligned with the departments that will be impacted most by upcoming retirements.

The increase in the workload, along with managing the changing demographics of members, has placed a burden on employees across the organization. Morale has declined as employees are feeling more stress. The positive message of growth in the organization is being overshadowed by the discontent of overworked employees. The senior leadership team has decided to coordinate a strategy session with executives and regional leads to address the identified issues.

Based upon the potential human capital concerns outlined, which focus should HR leadership pursue?

▪ Alignment of HR and organizational strategies and change management

▪ Employee work/life balance, stress management, and change management

▪ Organizational performance and productivity of the retiring workforce

▪ Incentives for retirement-eligible employees to postpone their retirement date

Alignment of HR and organizational strategies and change management

A health-care delivery organization has experienced significant and rather sudden growth in membership over the last year. Because this fast pace of growth is forecast to continue, HR and finance complete a labor demand analysis. They determine that the organization must increase its current employee base by approximately 30% in the next two years to properly manage the growth and to handle upcoming voluntary and involuntary separations.

The analysis also indicates that approximately 30% of the current employees are or will be eligible for retirement within 5 years. Many of those eligible for retirement have been in leadership roles for many years and are considered key employees. High-potential employees have been identified within the organization, but not all are aligned with the departments that will be impacted most by upcoming retirements.

The increase in the workload, along with managing the changing demographics of members, has placed a burden on employees across the organization. Morale has declined as employees are feeling more stress. The positive message of growth in the organization is being overshadowed by the discontent of overworked employees. The senior leadership team has decided to coordinate a strategy session with executives and regional leads to address the identified issues.

Which is the most immediate strategy the HR leadership should implement to improve morale in the organization?

▪ Encourage use of the organization's open-door policy to solicit voluntary feedback from employees.

▪ Develop and implement a survey process to capture more specific feedback from employees about morale.

▪ Schedule and complete discussions with employee focus groups to better understand current concerns.

▪ Regularly communicate information about the recruiting status across the organization to employees.

Regularly communicate information about the recruiting status across the organization to employees.

A company operates in a very cost-focused environment, keeping its customers in the forefront of every decision they make. A recent merger has doubled the company size and expanded the product offerings to better serve customers. Each of the merged organizations had a significantly different approach to HR's service delivery. However, despite these and a number of other differences, the merger went ahead.

The merged company recently hired a new senior director of HR, selected primarily due to their expertise and experience in mergers and acquisitions. The senior director reports to the CEO and the president of the newly merged company and has been tasked with leading the integration activities from an HR perspective.

The HR director recognizes immediately that, aside from needing to get the new HR organization established, HR service delivery is critical due to increasing cost pressures, a larger global workforce, and increasing internal and external customer expectations. They meet with their new HR team and key business stakeholders to obtain valuable feedback and proposals.

Given the organizational focus, how should the HR director best proceed with the design of the new HR structure?

▪ The HR director should work with their team to identify the specific cultural, people, and communication issues inherent to a merger.

▪ The HR director should align compensation and benefits programs that will support recruitment and retention efforts.

▪ Based on the HR director’s experience, they should proactively make the changes that worked at their previous companies.

▪ The HR director should sort through the policies and procedures unique to each of the former organizations and pick those that will work best.

The HR director should work with their team to identify the specific cultural, people, and communication issues inherent to a merger.

A company operates in a very cost-focused environment, keeping its customers in the forefront of every decision they make. A recent merger has doubled the company size and expanded the product offerings to better serve customers. Each of the merged organizations had a significantly different approach to HR's service delivery. However, despite these and a number of other differences, the merger went ahead.

The merged company recently hired a new senior director of HR, selected primarily due to their expertise and experience in mergers and acquisitions. The senior director reports to the CEO and the president of the newly merged company and has been tasked with leading the integration activities from an HR perspective.

The HR director recognizes immediately that, aside from needing to get the new HR organization established, HR service delivery is critical due to increasing cost pressures, a larger global workforce, and increasing internal and external customer expectations. They meet with their new HR team and key business stakeholders to obtain valuable feedback and proposals.

Which is the best approach for the HR director to use to incorporate the lessons learned from their experience into the integration efforts at the company?

▪ Take time to understand the company's needs and determine if the HR director’s experience is applicable.

▪ Wait to make recommendations until the HR director has met with the CEO and the president to get their expectations.

▪ Proceed with what the HR director believes is the best approach based on their extensive background and experience.

▪ Make recommendations regarding the direction of the integration to the senior leadership team.

Take time to understand the company's needs and determine if the HR director’s experience is applicable.

A company operates in a very cost-focused environment, keeping its customers in the forefront of every decision they make. A recent merger has doubled the company size and expanded the product offerings to better serve customers. Each of the merged organizations had a significantly different approach to HR's service delivery. However, despite these and a number of other differences, the merger went ahead.

The merged company recently hired a new senior director of HR, selected primarily due to their expertise and experience in mergers and acquisitions. The senior director reports to the CEO and the president of the newly merged company and has been tasked with leading the integration activities from an HR perspective.

The HR director recognizes immediately that, aside from needing to get the new HR organization established, HR service delivery is critical due to increasing cost pressures, a larger global workforce, and increasing internal and external customer expectations. They meet with their new HR team and key business stakeholders to obtain valuable feedback and proposals.

How can the HR director demonstrate HR's strategic value in the integration activities?

▪ Identify ways of protecting core business functions while capturing synergies between the two organizations.

▪ Generate reports for senior leadership that identify the work activities the HR team has accomplished.

▪ Focus on the most cost-effective approach to integration activities that contributes to the bottom line.

▪ The HR director’s work related to the integration should speak for itself; they do not need to demonstrate additional value.

Identify ways of protecting core business functions while capturing synergies between the two organizations.

The HR director of a mid-sized retailer recently has begun participating in the business strategy sessions. The senior leadership team (SLT) has completed their SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis and has identified mobile capabilities as one of the organization's weaknesses. Specifically, they lack a sophisticated web presence. Customers often complain about their experience buying online, particularly via mobile phones. While many searches are initiated on the website, few result in purchases.

Currently, the sales department is responsible for mobile sales. However, the sales leader and the sales team are traditional face-to-face salespeople, and developing the website is not their priority. The website is managed by a team that includes a seasoned sales professional who is unfamiliar with technology, a recent college graduate with a computer science degree, and a summer intern who is the child of the CEO. They are doing their best but are not equipped to efficiently create and maintain a mobile-supported website.

The HR director recognizes this opportunity to build organizational capability and credibility as a strategic business partner. The HR director recommends to the SLT that HR take responsibility for this issue and return to the next strategy session with recommendations. The CEO welcomes this suggestion and puts "Building our mobile capability" on the agenda for the following month's session.

The day after the meeting, the sales director calls the HR director and says that after a conversation, the CEO has decided that the sales director should take the lead with developing the recommendation on building mobile capability. Which approach should the HR director initially take to clarify accountability for the website?

▪ Thank the sales director for taking the lead and, after informing the HR team, cross the project off HR's action list.

▪ Disagree with the sales director and talk to the CEO to request that HR be reinstated as the project lead.

▪ Meet with the sales director to discuss a possible strategic partnership to develop a strong set of recommendations for the SLT.

▪ Confront the CEO and state that the decision to have the sales director take the lead is wrong and unfair.

Meet with the sales director to discuss a possible strategic partnership to develop a strong set of recommendations for the SLT.

The HR director of a mid-sized retailer recently has begun participating in the business strategy sessions. The senior leadership team (SLT) has completed their SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis and has identified mobile capabilities as one of the organization's weaknesses. Specifically, they lack a sophisticated web presence. Customers often complain about their experience buying online, particularly via mobile phones. While many searches are initiated on the website, few result in purchases.

Currently, the sales department is responsible for mobile sales. However, the sales leader and the sales team are traditional face-to-face salespeople, and developing the website is not their priority. The website is managed by a team that includes a seasoned sales professional who is unfamiliar with technology, a recent college graduate with a computer science degree, and a summer intern who is the child of the CEO. They are doing their best but are not equipped to efficiently create and maintain a mobile-supported website.

The HR director recognizes this opportunity to build organizational capability and credibility as a strategic business partner. The HR director recommends to the SLT that HR take responsibility for this issue and return to the next strategy session with recommendations. The CEO welcomes this suggestion and puts "Building our mobile capability" on the agenda for the following month's session.

The operations director suggests to the HR director that the new mobile leader role should report into the operations function. What action should the HR director take?

▪ State that this isn't HR's area of expertise, so it would be better to discuss this with individuals who have more experience in this area.

▪ Indicate to the operations director the negative impact this decision could have on the department and themselves should they not be able to execute on strategy.

▪ Offer to facilitate a discussion with the operations director and the SLT to consider the various options for where mobile should sit in the organization.

▪ Tell the operations director that the decision has already been made and that it would be disruptive to revisit it at this point.

Offer to facilitate a discussion with the operations director and the SLT to consider the various options for where mobile should sit in the organization.

The HR director of a mid-sized retailer recently has begun participating in the business strategy sessions. The senior leadership team (SLT) has completed their SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis and has identified mobile capabilities as one of the organization's weaknesses. Specifically, they lack a sophisticated web presence. Customers often complain about their experience buying online, particularly via mobile phones. While many searches are initiated on the website, few result in purchases.

Currently, the sales department is responsible for mobile sales. However, the sales leader and the sales team are traditional face-to-face salespeople, and developing the website is not their priority. The website is managed by a team that includes a seasoned sales professional who is unfamiliar with technology, a recent college graduate with a computer science degree, and a summer intern who is the child of the CEO. They are doing their best but are not equipped to efficiently create and maintain a mobile-supported website.

The HR director recognizes this opportunity to build organizational capability and credibility as a strategic business partner. The HR director recommends to the SLT that HR take responsibility for this issue and return to the next strategy session with recommendations. The CEO welcomes this suggestion and puts "Building our mobile capability" on the agenda for the following month's session.

Given cost constraints, most of the SLT is inclined to train existing staff to fill the gap in mobile sales. The HR leader has done research on this topic, has benchmarked best practices, and is convinced that bringing in the right external talent would accelerate the development of this business competency. Which is the best first step for the HR leader to take in strategically aligning resources and capability for the mobile sales function?

▪ Ignore the SLT's inclination since research shows that hiring external candidates is better for the company.

▪ Support what the majority seems inclined to do and post the mobile sales positions only internally.

▪ Share the research and provide the data necessary to influence the SLT's view on considering external hires.

▪ Ramp up the training department, as this approach is going to put a lot of pressure on them.

Share the research and provide the data necessary to influence the SLT's view on considering external hires.

A 30-year-old beverage company manufactures under its own label as well as private labels for a number of retailers that operate internationally. Slim margins and tight competition in the industry have caused the company to look at its operations and decide to merge with a competitor.

The newly formed company will operate under the banner of the original company, and the second company will operate as an enhanced product line.

Employees in the European locations are not pleased that the merger is going ahead. The senior vice president (SVP) of HR has heard that employees are trying to mobilize and are planning a European Day of Action, where they will hold demonstrations, pass out leaflets, and conduct media interviews to share why this merger is not in the best interests of the employees. Employees are also requesting to meet with key organizational leaders, including the SVP of HR.

The final hurdle that the organization is awaiting is regulatory approval. Once that is received, the newly merged entity will further review the combined operations and duplication of positions, roles, and responsibilities. They believe they can reduce the overall workforce by 15%.

Which is the best first step the SVP of HR should take in response to the request of the European employees to meet with the organization's leaders?

▪ Refuse to meet with the employees, moving forward with the merger before the employees can take any action.

▪ Review the works council agreement to determine the best advice to provide management.

▪ Dismiss the request to meet, as a merger has no bearing on roles, responsibilities, or rights of works councils.

▪ Agree to the meeting with the employees and gain their input and approval for the merger activities and reductions.

Review the works council agreement to determine the best advice to provide management.

A 30-year-old beverage company manufactures under its own label as well as private labels for a number of retailers that operate internationally. Slim margins and tight competition in the industry have caused the company to look at its operations and decide to merge with a competitor.

The newly formed company will operate under the banner of the original company, and the second company will operate as an enhanced product line.

Employees in the European locations are not pleased that the merger is going ahead. The senior vice president (SVP) of HR has heard that employees are trying to mobilize and are planning a European Day of Action, where they will hold demonstrations, pass out leaflets, and conduct media interviews to share why this merger is not in the best interests of the employees. Employees are also requesting to meet with key organizational leaders, including the SVP of HR.

The final hurdle that the organization is awaiting is regulatory approval. Once that is received, the newly merged entity will further review the combined operations and duplication of positions, roles, and responsibilities. They believe they can reduce the overall workforce by 15%.

Which actions should the SVP of HR take first to respond to the news about the threatened work actions?

▪ Share the information with the senior leadership team so that they can formulate a response.

▪ Manage the risk by waiting to see the employees' actions and then respond accordingly.

▪ Review the business continuity plan with leaders and develop a short-term staffing plan.

▪ Recommend that the organization lock out and then terminate employees who participate in this action.

Review the business continuity plan with leaders and develop a short-term staffing plan.

A 30-year-old beverage company manufactures under its own label as well as private labels for a number of retailers that operate internationally. Slim margins and tight competition in the industry have caused the company to look at its operations and decide to merge with a competitor.

The newly formed company will operate under the banner of the original company, and the second company will operate as an enhanced product line.

Employees in the European locations are not pleased that the merger is going ahead. The senior vice president (SVP) of HR has heard that employees are trying to mobilize and are planning a European Day of Action, where they will hold demonstrations, pass out leaflets, and conduct media interviews to share why this merger is not in the best interests of the employees. Employees are also requesting to meet with key organizational leaders, including the SVP of HR.

The final hurdle that the organization is awaiting is regulatory approval. Once that is received, the newly merged entity will further review the combined operations and duplication of positions, roles, and responsibilities. They believe they can reduce the overall workforce by 15%.

Which action should the SVP HR take to effectively communicate information about the merger's effect on the workforce to the employees?

▪ Create a global communication plan, beginning with a description of high-level changes and advising that details will follow after a thorough review.

▪ Wait until the complete analysis has been done and then announce the impact to the employees, transparently sharing full details.

▪ Issue a global communication that outlines high-level changes and advises that the company will involuntarily eliminate a portion of the workforce.

▪ Outline the communication challenges for the leadership team; then have them cascade information, based on their communication preference, to employees.

Create a global communication plan, beginning with a description of high-level changes and advising that details will follow after a thorough review.

The VP of HR in a national construction and architectural firm is asked to develop a corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy to present to the CEO and the board of directors. The firm is widely dispersed across the country, with multiple locations falling into regional groupings.

The VP’s presentation, which focuses on high-level goals and benefits, is well received by the CEO and board of directors, who discuss how to best implement the strategy across the company. They decide that the best option is to pilot the strategy in one region, and evaluate its success. If it proves to be successful, the VP will be tasked with implementing the CSR initiative in the other regions, after making any necessary adjustments that have been identified through the pilot program.

The VP asks for input from the HR team when drafting a detailed version of the strategy and implementing the pilot program.

Which action should the VP take when drafting the company's CSR strategy?

▪ Ask employees about incentives that would motivate them to volunteer on behalf of the company.

▪ Survey community members about their perceptions of the company and its impact on society.

▪ Compile a list of what other companies in the industry are doing related to CSR.

▪ Research opportunities in the community that align with the organization's core business goals.

Research opportunities in the community that align with the organization's core business goals.

The VP of HR in a national construction and architectural firm is asked to develop a corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy to present to the CEO and the board of directors. The firm is widely dispersed across the country, with multiple locations falling into regional groupings.

The VP’s presentation, which focuses on high-level goals and benefits, is well received by the CEO and board of directors, who discuss how to best implement the strategy across the company. They decide that the best option is to pilot the strategy in one region, and evaluate its success. If it proves to be successful, the VP will be tasked with implementing the CSR initiative in the other regions, after making any necessary adjustments that have been identified through the pilot program.

The VP asks for input from the HR team when drafting a detailed version of the strategy and implementing the pilot program.

The CEO asks the VP of HR to ensure that the initiative supports the community while enhancing the knowledge, skills, and abilities of the company's employees. Which action should the VP of HR take?

▪ Organize a charity fundraiser activity that requires employees from different departments to work together.

▪ Ask managers to assign employees to volunteering opportunities based on their developmental needs.

▪ Partner with community organizations that are affected by the company's activities.

▪ Create an internship program that hires students for the purpose of promoting CSR.

Partner with community organizations that are affected by the company's activities.

The VP of HR in a national construction and architectural firm is asked to develop a corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy to present to the CEO and the board of directors. The firm is widely dispersed across the country, with multiple locations falling into regional groupings.

The VP’s presentation, which focuses on high-level goals and benefits, is well received by the CEO and board of directors, who discuss how to best implement the strategy across the company. They decide that the best option is to pilot the strategy in one region, and evaluate its success. If it proves to be successful, the VP will be tasked with implementing the CSR initiative in the other regions, after making any necessary adjustments that have been identified through the pilot program.

The VP asks for input from the HR team when drafting a detailed version of the strategy and implementing the pilot program.

If the pilot is successful, which action should the HR team take to ensure success when implementing it in the other regions?

▪ Establish an employee value proposition and employment brand based on the organization's CSR focus.

▪ Develop process improvement initiatives for CSR activities in the region that was piloted for later use in the other regions.

▪ Develop criteria and measurement tools to determine CSR success across the organization.

▪ Revise the compensation approach to directly connect individual performance to company-wide CSR initiatives.

Develop criteria and measurement tools to determine CSR success across the organization.

The IT department at a large university has historically hired temporary employees for its entry-level positions. These positions are often low-paying, which leads to high turnover and the loss of high-potential talent. Because of the IT department's large size, the in-house HR staff spends a fair amount of time and resources working on filling these positions. The HR staff believes that the IT department should consider hiring for permanent positions and offering more competitive salaries. However, leadership of the university has resisted this idea because of budgetary concerns and the belief that the IT department can always find a new graduate willing to work in a temporary position to obtain experience. The HR manager is finding that the HR staff cannot fulfill their other responsibilities because they are spending too much time focusing on the needs of the IT department.

Which action should the HR manager take to convince leadership at the university to approve offering permanent positions with higher salaries for the IT department?

▪ Present a comparison of the cost of offering permanent positions with higher salaries to the cost of continuing to fill temporary positions at the current rate.

▪ Explain the amount of resources spent on filling temporary positions in the IT department relative to filling positions in other departments.

▪ Conduct a benchmarking study of what other similar organizations are doing related to hiring within the IT industry, and present the results to leadership.

▪ Research and compare the costs to use in-house HR staff to recruit for entry-level positions vs. outsourcing to a third-party vendor.

Present a comparison of the cost of offering permanent positions with higher salaries to the cost of continuing to fill temporary positions at the current rate.

The IT department at a large university has historically hired temporary employees for its entry-level positions. These positions are often low-paying, which leads to high turnover and the loss of high-potential talent. Because of the IT department's large size, the in-house HR staff spends a fair amount of time and resources working on filling these positions. The HR staff believes that the IT department should consider hiring for permanent positions and offering more competitive salaries. However, leadership of the university has resisted this idea because of budgetary concerns and the belief that the IT department can always find a new graduate willing to work in a temporary position to obtain experience. The HR manager is finding that the HR staff cannot fulfill their other responsibilities because they are spending too much time focusing on the needs of the IT department.

IT managers are concerned about the effects of turnover on morale. The managers ask the HR manager to lead a meeting with all IT department staff. Which action should the HR manager take for this meeting?

▪ Provide data that shows the turnover rate of the university's IT department compared to others in the industry.

▪ Explain to the IT department staff the efforts that the HR staff is making to reduce turnover in the IT department.

▪ Develop an anonymous survey to be sent after the meeting to allow for the collection of additional feedback from the IT department staff.

▪ Ask IT department staff to provide written complaints in advance to be discussed at the meeting.

Explain to the IT department staff the efforts that the HR staff is making to reduce turnover in the IT department.

The IT department at a large university has historically hired temporary employees for its entry-level positions. These positions are often low-paying, which leads to high turnover and the loss of high-potential talent. Because of the IT department's large size, the in-house HR staff spends a fair amount of time and resources working on filling these positions. The HR staff believes that the IT department should consider hiring for permanent positions and offering more competitive salaries. However, leadership of the university has resisted this idea because of budgetary concerns and the belief that the IT department can always find a new graduate willing to work in a temporary position to obtain experience. The HR manager is finding that the HR staff cannot fulfill their other responsibilities because they are spending too much time focusing on the needs of the IT department.

The HR manager suspects that leadership's beliefs prevent hiring the best talent. Which action should the HR manager take to show leadership that the university must do more to compete for talent?

▪ Present to leadership a summary of the qualifications of applicants for temporary IT positions with the university.

▪ Provide leadership with the salary expectations of new graduates who apply for temporary IT positions with the university.

▪ Share IT department metrics regarding how turnover of temporary IT staff affects project completion.

▪ Collect performance metrics for IT staff to compare the performance of temporary versus non-temporary IT employees.

Share IT department metrics regarding how turnover of temporary IT staff affects project completion.

A new HR leader has been recently hired as the chief human resources officer (CHRO) for a global organization. The CEO has indicated a need for HR to demonstrate its strategic value to the organization and has provided the CHRO with full support to make any necessary changes, including adjustments to HR staffing and, if necessary, a complete restructuring of the department. The CEO has requested an HR strategic plan within a six-month period.

To better understand HR in the organization and to identify gaps, the CHRO develops and administers a survey to measure the current effectiveness of the HR team as well as perceptions regarding HR's contribution to the success of the organization. The survey yields the following key themes for the CHRO to consider:

• Internal clients value HR business partners and maintain strong relationships with them.

• The HR team does a good job overall, but clients wish HR understood their clients' businesses better.

• While clients trust their business partners, they sometimes doubt the information or advice provided by the HR team.

• Clients appreciate that the HR team will go outside the scope of their roles to take on tasks such as meeting and event planning when needed.

After review of the survey results, what is the best action the CHRO should take to better understand the themes uncovered?

▪ Review the survey results with the HR team and further validate responses, and begin a plan to address each area.

▪ Send a summary of the themes uncovered to a sample group of managers and request further input to validate them.

▪ Focus on the developmental areas by administering a brief follow-up survey that is more specific to the issues uncovered.

▪ Select a sample group of managers and employees to meet and review the results and to develop preliminary actions.

Select a sample group of managers and employees to meet and review the results and to develop preliminary actions.

A new HR leader has been recently hired as the chief human resources officer (CHRO) for a global organization. The CEO has indicated a need for HR to demonstrate its strategic value to the organization and has provided the CHRO with full support to make any necessary changes, including adjustments to HR staffing and, if necessary, a complete restructuring of the department. The CEO has requested an HR strategic plan within a six-month period.

To better understand HR in the organization and to identify gaps, the CHRO develops and administers a survey to measure the current effectiveness of the HR team as well as perceptions regarding HR's contribution to the success of the organization. The survey yields the following key themes for the CHRO to consider:

• Internal clients value HR business partners and maintain strong relationships with them.

• The HR team does a good job overall, but clients wish HR understood their clients' businesses better.

• While clients trust their business partners, they sometimes doubt the information or advice provided by the HR team.

• Clients appreciate that the HR team will go outside the scope of their roles to take on tasks such as meeting and event planning when needed.

Given the lack of trust in members of the HR team, which step should the CHRO take to best improve the perception of team members?

▪ Task the HR team with creating profiles for each role in the department to highlight the skill set of each team member.

▪ Request feedback from stakeholders each time a request for information is fulfilled by any member of the HR team.

▪ Task the HR business partners with facilitating interactions between stakeholders and other HR team members.

▪ Coordinate information sessions for stakeholders to interact with HR team members and better understand their roles.

Task the HR business partners with facilitating interactions between stakeholders and other HR team members.

A new HR leader has been recently hired as the chief human resources officer (CHRO) for a global organization. The CEO has indicated a need for HR to demonstrate its strategic value to the organization and has provided the CHRO with full support to make any necessary changes, including adjustments to HR staffing and, if necessary, a complete restructuring of the department. The CEO has requested an HR strategic plan within a six-month period.

To better understand HR in the organization and to identify gaps, the CHRO develops and administers a survey to measure the current effectiveness of the HR team as well as perceptions regarding HR's contribution to the success of the organization. The survey yields the following key themes for the CHRO to consider:

• Internal clients value HR business partners and maintain strong relationships with them.

• The HR team does a good job overall, but clients wish HR understood their clients' businesses better.

• While clients trust their business partners, they sometimes doubt the information or advice provided by the HR team.

• Clients appreciate that the HR team will go outside the scope of their roles to take on tasks such as meeting and event planning when needed.

Which steps should the CHRO take first to effectively communicate the changes in HR strategy and structure that are being considered to the organization?

▪ Develop a detailed communication plan, and review it with the senior leadership team.

▪ Implement the changes, and then roll out the communication plan to the entire organization.

▪ Partner with the communications director to create and implement a communication plan.

▪ Outline the new plan and structure on the company intranet site, and request feedback.

Develop a detailed communication plan, and review it with the senior leadership team.

A domestic airline rapidly gains market share through an innovative business model, a charismatic leader, a unique work environment, and sound HR practices. This has led to a global strategic plan of aggressively acquiring small local airlines in neighboring countries.

The VP of HR has been with the airline for 15 years and is an active member of its leadership team. The VP of HR is a big believer in the benefits of an inclusive and multicultural workforce. This is the VP of HR's first experience with globalizing HR practices. An immediate conflict between headquarters and local policies emerges when a country HR manager raises the issue of discounted tickets for exempt U.S. management in the total rewards package. In the headquarters country, exempt management is paid on a salary basis, but in some of the new countries of operation, management is paid contractually on an hourly basis. The VP of HR is concerned that expanding the benefit globally to all management will create excessive costs and has not taken action after several requests. Frustrated, a country HR manager writes directly to the CEO about the issue, arguing that limiting this benefit may lead to legal challenges or employee relations issues that could damage the company's reputation, the work climate, and the ability to attract talent in the future.

How should the VP of HR approach the country HR manager who went around them and wrote directly to the CEO?

▪ Ignore the issue and focus on building closer relationships with the HR managers in the countries of operation.

▪ Send a formal counseling notice to the country HR manager advising that this behavior will not be tolerated.

▪ Meet with the manager virtually or in person as soon as possible and have a candid and open discussion of the matter.

▪ Send an e-mail to the country HR manager and explain the proper chain of command process for future issues.

Meet with the manager virtually or in person as soon as possible and have a candid and open discussion of the matter.

A domestic airline rapidly gains market share through an innovative business model, a charismatic leader, a unique work environment, and sound HR practices. This has led to a global strategic plan of aggressively acquiring small local airlines in neighboring countries.

The VP of HR has been with the airline for 15 years and is an active member of its leadership team. The VP of HR is a big believer in the benefits of an inclusive and multicultural workforce. This is the VP of HR's first experience with globalizing HR practices. An immediate conflict between headquarters and local policies emerges when a country HR manager raises the issue of discounted tickets for exempt U.S. management in the total rewards package. In the headquarters country, exempt management is paid on a salary basis, but in some of the new countries of operation, management is paid contractually on an hourly basis. The VP of HR is concerned that expanding the benefit globally to all management will create excessive costs and has not taken action after several requests. Frustrated, a country HR manager writes directly to the CEO about the issue, arguing that limiting this benefit may lead to legal challenges or employee relations issues that could damage the company's reputation, the work climate, and the ability to attract talent in the future.

Which method should the VP of HR use to best communicate the final policy on this matter to the organization?

▪ Distribution of the policy with a video message from the CEO to be played at staff meetings throughout the entire organization

▪ Global distribution of total rewards policy with notice of interim employee handbook update noting date/revision changes

▪ Release of a new employee handbook that places this policy in the context of all updated and new, globalized policies

▪ CEO announcement at a shareholders' meeting, well covered by the press, with e-mail links to a video for all employees

Distribution of the policy with a video message from the CEO to be played at staff meetings throughout the entire organization

A domestic airline rapidly gains market share through an innovative business model, a charismatic leader, a unique work environment, and sound HR practices. This has led to a global strategic plan of aggressively acquiring small local airlines in neighboring countries.

The VP of HR has been with the airline for 15 years and is an active member of its leadership team. The VP of HR is a big believer in the benefits of an inclusive and multicultural workforce. This is the VP of HR's first experience with globalizing HR practices. An immediate conflict between headquarters and local policies emerges when a country HR manager raises the issue of discounted tickets for exempt U.S. management in the total rewards package. In the headquarters country, exempt management is paid on a salary basis, but in some of the new countries of operation, management is paid contractually on an hourly basis. The VP of HR is concerned that expanding the benefit globally to all management will create excessive costs and has not taken action after several requests. Frustrated, a country HR manager writes directly to the CEO about the issue, arguing that limiting this benefit may lead to legal challenges or employee relations issues that could damage the company's reputation, the work climate, and the ability to attract talent in the future.

How best can the VP of HR prevent the circumvention of authority issue from recurring?

▪ Ask the CEO to send all employee-related items received directly back to human resources for review and resolution.

▪ Implement procedures to have all employee communications and correspondence received routed through HR.

▪ Create HR communication responsiveness procedures focused on timely follow-up and tracking of items received.

▪ Establish and distribute a global organizational hierarchy matrix showing approved reporting authority lines.

Create HR communication responsiveness procedures focused on timely follow-up and tracking of items received.

The sales department of a company is in the midst of reorganization. An important factor in the decision to reorganize was the president's concern over lagging sales and missed targets for the past two years and a desire to restructure the compensation plan for this group. Once the reorganization was announced, the director of the sales group resigned. This gave the company the opportunity to restructure the leadership of this area, resulting in a new vice president (VP) of sales being hired, replacing the former director.

As part of the new VP's onboarding, the HR director updates the VP on the sales reorganizing activities to date and on employee performance in the area. The HR director also shares the proposed structural changes and indicates that the former VP sales leader may have shared these plans prematurely with the sales staff. The plans include possible staff reductions and ending unprofitable customer relationships.

What recommendation should the HR director make to influence the VP to focus on the retention of key salespeople?

▪ Develop a bonus system to align with the mission, vision, and core values of the organization.

▪ Wait six to eight months to make any changes, while the VP investigates the issues with the sales team for themselves.

▪ Pay out retention bonuses to high-potential employees for a period of time.

▪ Wait until employees express interest in leaving to come up with a plan for retention.

Develop a bonus system to align with the mission, vision, and core values of the organization.

The sales department of a company is in the midst of reorganization. An important factor in the decision to reorganize was the president's concern over lagging sales and missed targets for the past two years and a desire to restructure the compensation plan for this group. Once the reorganization was announced, the director of the sales group resigned. This gave the company the opportunity to restructure the leadership of this area, resulting in a new vice president (VP) of sales being hired, replacing the former director.

As part of the new VP's onboarding, the HR director updates the VP on the sales reorganizing activities to date and on employee performance in the area. The HR director also shares the proposed structural changes and indicates that the former VP sales leader may have shared these plans prematurely with the sales staff. The plans include possible staff reductions and ending unprofitable customer relationships.

What should the HR manager do to ensure that the new incentive plan will drive behaviors that will result in increased sales?

▪ Enhance the performance management system and simplify the performance appraisal process to measure progress.

▪ Train the supervisors on how to be better mentors and coaches to increase productivity, thus driving higher incentives.

▪ Communicate to sales the reason why the plan is being implemented, including how individual performance drives incentives.

▪ Post the plan on the company's intranet for all employees to read and encourage them to ask questions of the production manager.

Communicate to sales the reason why the plan is being implemented, including how individual performance drives incentives.

The sales department of a company is in the midst of reorganization. An important factor in the decision to reorganize was the president's concern over lagging sales and missed targets for the past two years and a desire to restructure the compensation plan for this group. Once the reorganization was announced, the director of the sales group resigned. This gave the company the opportunity to restructure the leadership of this area, resulting in a new vice president (VP) of sales being hired, replacing the former director.

As part of the new VP's onboarding, the HR director updates the VP on the sales reorganizing activities to date and on employee performance in the area. The HR director also shares the proposed structural changes and indicates that the former VP sales leader may have shared these plans prematurely with the sales staff. The plans include possible staff reductions and ending unprofitable customer relationships.

What actions should the HR director take to demonstrate an understanding of the priorities of both the sales function and the organization?

▪ Listen to the VP's needs and thoughts, and then offer ideas to create the appropriate sales structure.

▪ Encourage the VP of sales to implement their ideas without any HR involvement.

▪ Listen to the VP's needs and thoughts, and then immediately implement those suggestions.

▪ Wait to see what the VP of sales wants to do to solve the issues and then agree to that approach.

Listen to the VP's needs and thoughts, and then offer ideas to create the appropriate sales structure.

A small non-profit organization has just hired a new CEO. Over the past few years under the previous CEO, the organization has struggled to remain in business as revenues have dropped. Morale and engagement have also dropped significantly. Based on the HR manager's observations, this drop in morale and engagement was connected to the previous CEO's leadership practices as well as the declining revenues. However, the HR director believes the low engagement also contributed to the continued decline in revenues. The new CEO, who has heard that morale and engagement are low in the organization, wants to make a quick impact on the organization by finding ways to increase morale and engagement rapidly. The CEO believes that HR is core to organizational success and that the current employees are the most important resource. The CEO calls a meeting with the HR director for an evaluation of the current state of the staff. During the presentation, the HR director shares data about hiring and turnover rates, benefit usage, and compensation ratios.

The new CEO feels that, for engagement to increase, employees must be united around a new, compelling strategy. The CEO has the basic idea of what the new strategy should be. How should the HR director advise the CEO to move forward?

▪ Suggest that the CEO walk throughout the organization and informally chat with employees.

▪ Describe the HR director's perspective on the overall trends in employee attitudes and behaviors.

▪ Relate the provided statistics to specific organizational situations and their outcomes.

▪ Explain that the statistics presented provide a well-rounded picture of overall staff health.

Suggest that the CEO walk throughout the organization and informally chat with employees.

A small non-profit organization has just hired a new CEO. Over the past few years under the previous CEO, the organization has struggled to remain in business as revenues have dropped. Morale and engagement have also dropped significantly. Based on the HR manager's observations, this drop in morale and engagement was connected to the previous CEO's leadership practices as well as the declining revenues. However, the HR director believes the low engagement also contributed to the continued decline in revenues. The new CEO, who has heard that morale and engagement are low in the organization, wants to make a quick impact on the organization by finding ways to increase morale and engagement rapidly. The CEO believes that HR is core to organizational success and that the current employees are the most important resource. The CEO calls a meeting with the HR director for an evaluation of the current state of the staff. During the presentation, the HR director shares data about hiring and turnover rates, benefit usage, and compensation ratios.

What would be an effective next step?

▪ Finalize the strategy, and send out a company-wide e-mail explaining it.

▪ Hold listening sessions with employees to obtain their feedback on the strategy before finalizing it.

▪ Brief managers on the strategy, and get their feedback on the strategy before finalizing it.

▪ Finalize the new strategy, and then hold an employee-wide meeting to announce and describe it.

Hold listening sessions with employees to obtain their feedback on the strategy before finalizing it.

A small non-profit organization has just hired a new CEO. Over the past few years under the previous CEO, the organization has struggled to remain in business as revenues have dropped. Morale and engagement have also dropped significantly. Based on the HR manager's observations, this drop in morale and engagement was connected to the previous CEO's leadership practices as well as the declining revenues. However, the HR director believes the low engagement also contributed to the continued decline in revenues. The new CEO, who has heard that morale and engagement are low in the organization, wants to make a quick impact on the organization by finding ways to increase morale and engagement rapidly. The CEO believes that HR is core to organizational success and that the current employees are the most important resource. The CEO calls a meeting with the HR director for an evaluation of the current state of the staff. During the presentation, the HR director shares data about hiring and turnover rates, benefit usage, and compensation ratios.

One of the symptoms of the low engagement is that employees do not work the requisite number of hours, often coming in late and leaving early. Managers are not sure what to do, as they are afraid that punishing the employees will further hurt engagement. What should the HR director do?

▪ Visit with any such employees one-on-one to discuss the reason for their behavior and set goals for improvement.

▪ Ask that all managers give only verbal reprimands whenever employees come in late or leave early.

▪ Advise managers to give a verbal warning and then institute formal discipline, including termination if the behavior continues.

▪ Ask the new CEO to hold a company-wide meeting to discuss the issue and the importance of working the requisite hours.

Visit with any such employees one-on-one to discuss the reason for their behavior and set goals for improvement.

A company has recently had a few highly competent, advanced-level salespeople turn over, causing some financial setback. Despite this, employees are still engaged, although occasionally expressing dissatisfaction with the amount of work requiring approval by managers. Another pressing issue has been the rising costs of health care. Currently, all employees are enrolled in the same health-care plan with great coverage. However, it has become difficult to maintain enrollment of all employees in this plan. Top management has assigned the HR director two major tasks: a) fix the turnover and engagement issues, and b) reduce expenditures on health-care benefits. Management has also made it clear that it does not want to sacrifice resources from other areas of the company to maintain the current health-care coverage and that it wants to keep its relationship with the current health-care provider. Aside from the current plan, the health-care provider offers a more affordable general plan that covers a wide range of conditions but with a high deductible, as well as a number of more affordable plans that each focus on a narrower range of conditions but with a low deductible.

Management wants the HR director to determine how the organization would be negatively impacted by switching to a more basic plan. Which response should the HR director choose?

▪ Obtain information on plan usage from the health-care plan provider to quantify the impact of switching to a more basic plan.

▪ Survey employees about their health conditions while making it clear that this is to inform potential health-care plan changes.

▪ Notify employees that they will be switched to a plan with less coverage due to the company's financial struggle.

▪ Provide management with data suggesting that a switch in plans may increase turnover.

Obtain information on plan usage from the health-care plan provider to quantify the impact of switching to a more basic plan.

A company has recently had a few highly competent, advanced-level salespeople turn over, causing some financial setback. Despite this, employees are still engaged, although occasionally expressing dissatisfaction with the amount of work requiring approval by managers. Another pressing issue has been the rising costs of health care. Currently, all employees are enrolled in the same health-care plan with great coverage. However, it has become difficult to maintain enrollment of all employees in this plan. Top management has assigned the HR director two major tasks: a) fix the turnover and engagement issues, and b) reduce expenditures on health-care benefits. Management has also made it clear that it does not want to sacrifice resources from other areas of the company to maintain the current health-care coverage and that it wants to keep its relationship with the current health-care provider. Aside from the current plan, the health-care provider offers a more affordable general plan that covers a wide range of conditions but with a high deductible, as well as a number of more affordable plans that each focus on a narrower range of conditions but with a low deductible.

Which should the HR director do regarding the turnover and engagement issues of high-level salespeople?

▪ Compare the ROI of acquiring one high-performing salesperson with the ROI of hiring multiple junior salespeople.

▪ Conduct exit interviews with the salespeople who have left the company.

▪ Compare the number of applicants to open positions in the past year.

▪ Compare the average salary of salespeople in the industry to the salaries of salespeople at the company.

Conduct exit interviews with the salespeople who have left the company.

A company has recently had a few highly competent, advanced-level salespeople turn over, causing some financial setback. Despite this, employees are still engaged, although occasionally expressing dissatisfaction with the amount of work requiring approval by managers. Another pressing issue has been the rising costs of health care. Currently, all employees are enrolled in the same health-care plan with great coverage. However, it has become difficult to maintain enrollment of all employees in this plan. Top management has assigned the HR director two major tasks: a) fix the turnover and engagement issues, and b) reduce expenditures on health-care benefits. Management has also made it clear that it does not want to sacrifice resources from other areas of the company to maintain the current health-care coverage and that it wants to keep its relationship with the current health-care provider. Aside from the current plan, the health-care provider offers a more affordable general plan that covers a wide range of conditions but with a high deductible, as well as a number of more affordable plans that each focus on a narrower range of conditions but with a low deductible.

Which should the HR director do to reduce the risk of turnover of current salespeople?

▪ Allow the salespeople more independence to make work-related decisions.

▪ Provide the salespeople with more authority over junior-level employees.

▪ Increase the number of job postings for the salesperson position.

▪ Adjust the compensation of salespeople to be higher than the established pay policy.

Allow the salespeople more independence to make work-related decisions.