HR Expertise

Change Agent

Behavioral

• Have you ever had to champion an unpopular change? What was the situation, and how did you handle it?
  
• Have you ever had to persuade a peer or superior to accept an idea that you knew he or she would not like? Tell me about the resistance you met and how you overcame it.
  
• Have you ever had to persuade a group to accept a proposal or idea? How did you go about doing it? What was the result, and how did you feel about it?
  
• Have you ever had to persuade an executive (or other superior) to accept a proposal or idea? How did you go about doing it? What was the result, and how did you feel about it?
  
• Describe an occasion when you recommended a change to procedure. What did you learn from that experience? How did you apply that learning in other situations?
  
• Tell me about a time when significant changes took place in your job. What did you do to adjust to the change(s)?
  

Situational

• The organization is removing an unprofitable division. How do you address the relevant stakeholders?
  
• There's an unexpected change in state law that affects a key division in your company. Describe your most likely response.
  

General

• If you are hired for this position and are still with [Company Name] five years from now, how do you think the organization will be different?
  
• What if any changes do you feel [Company Name] would benefit from within the next three years to improve competitiveness?
  

Diversity and Inclusion

Behavioral

• What has been the most challenging aspect of being in a diverse working environment? What steps have you taken to meet this challenge?
  
• Tell me about a time you had to alter your work style to meet a diversity need or challenge.
  
• How have you handled a situation when a colleague was not accepting of diversity of others?
  
• What strategies have you used to address diversity challenges? What were the positives and negatives?
  
• Describe a time when you included someone in your team or on a project because you felt he or she would bring a different perspective.
  

Situational

• [Provide the company's mission statement with value on diversity to the interviewee.] How has your experience and background prepared you to be effective in this environment with this diversity value or initiative?
  
• What kind of leadership efforts would you make to ensure a commitment to the diversity initiative or value?
  
• Assume you are in a situation where you have to deal with a person very different from yourself, and you are finding it difficult. What would you do?
  
• A new co-worker speaks another language. Do you try to learn small talk in that language or discourage the potential confusion caused by the use of different languages in the workplace 

General

• What kinds of experiences have you had working with others with backgrounds different from your own? 
  
• What does it mean to have a commitment to diversity, and how would you develop and apply your commitment at this company?
  
• What was or is the diversity value at your current or former employer? What impact did you make on this value?
  
• What efforts have you made or been involved with to foster diversity competence and understanding?
  
• What have you done to further your knowledge about diversity? Have you included diversity in your professional development? How have you demonstrated what you have learned?
  
• When in doubt about what a co-worker from another culture may be trying to communicate, is it okay to ask the co-worker to repeat himself or herself?
  
• What does "implicit bias" mean to you?
  

Human Resource Capacity

Behavioral

• Tell me about an ethical situation you have encountered and the part you took in resolving it.
  
• Tell me about any illegal discrimination charges you have handled and how these were resolved.
  
• Describe the most difficult employee relations situation you have had to handle. What did you do to try to resolve it, and why?
  
• Tell me about a time when a manager wanted you to terminate an employee in contrast to your company's termination policy. How did you approach the situation? What was the outcome?
  
• What have you done to help your human resource department become a strategic partner?
  
• Tell me about a complicated FMLA issue you've had to deal with. What was the issue? How did you handle it?
  
• Tell me about a disability or religious accommodation request you have managed. What was it, and how did you handle it?
  
• Tell me about a workers' compensation situation you've managed when the employee was not able to return to work for more than three months after the injury.
  
• What kinds of investigations have you had to complete? Which one was particularly difficult and why? What steps did you take? What was the outcome?
  

Situational

• An employee tells you about a sexual harassment allegation but then tells you he or she doesn't want to do anything about it; he or she just thought you should know. How do you respond?
  
• What would you do if faced with creating cost-cutting measures for benefits premiums?
  
• What would be the steps you would take if you were responsible for reducing staff by 10 percent?
  
• What would you do if an employee came to you and told you he or she wasn't happy with his or her pay and he or she was thinking of leaving the organization?
  

General

• Tell me about your policy development experiences. What employment policies have you developed or revised? What is your experience in compiling or revising an employee handbook?
  
• Do you have a personal philosophy about human resources?
  
• During your HR career, which positions have you reported to, and which reporting structure do you prefer?
  
• How do you stay current with changes in employment laws, practices and other HR issues?
  
• How many employees do you support and in what HR capacity?
  
• What is the HR structure in your current or most recent job?
  
• What experience do you have in multistate HR management?
  
• Describe your knowledge of or involvement with progressive discipline.
  
• Describe your knowledge of or involvement with performance evaluation processes.
  
• Tell me about programs that you have implemented.
  
• Tell me about your experience in training and developing your employees or managers. 
  
• Tell me about training and development programs you have created.
  
• What kind of experience do you have with training employees and managers? What were the training topics? Do you like training?
  
• Have you ever worked in a union environment? What were the positives and negatives?
  
• Describe to me in a few sentences the purpose of the following basic federal regulations (select one or more, as applicable):
  
• • Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
  • FLSA
  • WC
  • FMLA
  • ADA

• What benefits experience do you have?
  
• What has your current company (or most recent employer) done in response to the PPACA?
  
• What compensation experience do you have?
  
• What recruiting experience do you have?
  
• Tell me about your experience with HRIS systems. What is your proficiency?
  
• Have you ever processed payroll? What payroll functions are you familiar with?
  
• What HR metrics does your current or former organization monitor? What is your involvement with these metrics?
  
• What vendor relationships were you responsible for managing?
  
• Have you ever been involved in a department or company reorganization or big change? What was the process, and how did it end up?
  
• What is HR's purpose or definition?
  

Human Resource Capacity: Government Contractor

Behavioral

• What methods have you used to ensure that attempts were made to reach AAP goals?
  
• How have you dealt with resistance from managers or senior management relative to attaining affirmative action goals?
  

Situational

• The OFCCP sends the company an audit letter. What do you do?
  
• A job candidate asks you to explain the relationship between quotas and affirmative action. What do you say?
  
• An executive comes to your office and demands an immediate answer to where you get "availability data." You say what in response?
  

General

• Tell me about your experience preparing a written affirmative action plan (AAP).
  
• What type of software did you use to develop your AAP?
  
• Summarize for me the OFCCP position on Internet applicants.
  
• What types of hiring sources did you use for outreach? What was your success rate?
  
• Describe a time when you experienced an OFCCP audit. Describe the audit and the outcome.
  
• What has been your experience been with the Service Contract Act?
  
• Have you had experience preparing, overseeing or administering certified payroll?
  
• How is HR different for government contractors than for employers in general?
  

Performance Management

Behavioral

• What was the most challenging employee performance issue you've had to deal with, and how did you handle it?
  
• Explain, step by step, how you have handled an employee who had performance problems.
  
• Describe a time when you needed to discipline an employee who reported directly to you.
  
• What coaching or mentoring experience have you had? With groups or one-on-one? How did you determine the appropriate way to coach or mentor, and what were the results?
  
• Discuss a time you failed to meet a minimum performance standard.
  

Situational

• Midyear, your sales are marginal, and you have vacation scheduled for three weeks in the second half of the year. Do you make any adjustments? What do you do?
  

General

• When making a decision to terminate employment of an employee, do you find it easy because of the company's needs or difficult because of the employee's needs?
  
• Discuss and differentiate between remediation, corrective action and discipline.
  
• What's the difference between coaching, counseling and discipline?
  
• Who should be responsible for monitoring and managing employee performance?