Human Relations Fundamentals

Question 1

What are three HR fundamentals?

Answer 1

1. Talent management and culture
2. Talent acquisition
3. Learning and development

Question 2

What is talent management?

Answer 2

Refers to the anticipation of required human capital for an organization and the planning to meet those needs

Question 3

How does talent management compare to human resources?

Answer 3

Talent management is a more holistic approach to human capital planning: it looks at whether the potential employees are good for the current role and for future roles. It is all-encompassing (you cannot think of a specific aspect of human resources in isolation)

Question 4

What are the driver’s for talent management?

Answer 4

1. Talent shortages
2. Global expansion needs for globally capable talent
3. Growth in emerging markets
4. Shortages of managerial and executive talent especially in emerging markets
5. Increased need for speed and scale
6. Need for innovation in products and services

Question 5

What are the myths around talent management?

Answer 5

1. Best practice set exist for talent management (there is no one set way to manage talent best within an organization)
2. Most effective organizations have sophisticated feature rich processes (adapt it to your own organization)
3. Ownership resides in HR (HR is the facilitator/champion of change; it starts with the CEO)
4. Leading edge technology should define talent management processes
5. Just adopt Company “X’s” Approach
6. One size fits all

Question 6

What is corporate culture?

Answer 6

Refers to the shared values, attitudes, standards, and beliefs that characterize members of an organization and define its nature

Question 7

What are the six components of a great corporate culture?

Answer 7

1. Vision
2. Values
3. Practices
4. People
5. Narrative
6. Place

Question 8

Explain the significance of vision in corporate culture

Answer 8

It aligns people around the purpose of the organization

Question 9

Explain the significance of values in corporate culture

Answer 9

The guiding principles that help employees understand what is expected in their daily actions

Question 10

Explain the significance of practices in corporate culture

Answer 10

The practices that employees use should be consistent throughout the company

Question 11

Explain the significance of people in corporate culture

Answer 11

They are the most valued resource, and they join/leave a company based on that company’s values. You need to hire employees whose values align with your company

Question 12

Explain the significance of a narrative in corporate culture

Answer 12

How a company was founded/created; people tell those stories in their own way over time, and it starts to have a life of its own and defines the company

Question 13

Explain the significance of a place in corporate culture

Answer 13

Your place of work can either support or inhibit your culture. For example, promoting a cooperative work environment requires not boxing everyone in cubicles

Question 14

How do you cultivate the right culture in your company?

Answer 14

1. Clear expectations
2. Transparency (about what you expect)
3. Consistency (encouraging those practices)
4. Accountability (make sure people align with your culture)
5. Get buy in (make sure that what people are saying about your culture align with what employees experience)
6. Recognize and reward behaviours (for modelling your culture)
7. Invest in culture enriching activities
8. Hire value aligned employees

Question 15

What is talent acquisition?

Answer 15

The process of finding and acquiring skilled human talent for organization needs and to meet any labour requirement

Question 16

What is the difference between attraction drivers and retention drivers?

Answer 16

Attraction drivers are what attract people to your company and inspire them to work for you (i.e. benefits). Retention drivers are what encourage people to stay working for you in the long term (i.e. the company atmosphere, trust, job enjoyment, etc.)

Question 17

What is the employer brand?

Answer 17

The process of promoting a company, or an organization, as the employer of choice to a desired target group, one which a company needs and wants to recruit and retain

Question 18

What is your employee value proposition?

Answer 18

The set of benefits an employee receives in exchange for their time at your organization (innovative learning environment, collaborative workspace, etc.)

Question 19

What is the 10 step recruitment process?

Answer 19

1. Identify hiring need
2. Planning
3. Active search (can take different lengths of time depending on the roles you need filled and how quickly you need those filled)
4. Candidate screening and identifying viable candidates
5. Recruiting of A-level candidates
6. Phone screen
7. In person interview(s)
8. Candidate tests
9. Offer of employment, background check, and pre-employment verifications
10. Onboarding

Question 20

What are the four steps in establishing repeatable practices?

Answer 20

1. Need (what roles do you need filled? plan in advance)
2. Attraction (getting your job out there; prepare a compelling job description)
3. Selection (the recruitment process)
4. Retention (closing the hire and onboarding)

Question 21

What is the goal of the recruitment process?

Answer 21

To move through the recruitment process as quickly as possible

Question 22

Who has the advantage when it comes to moving quickly through the recruitment process?

Answer 22

Small companies, because strong candidates won’t last very long in the market and the potential employees can be interviewed and hired very quickly

Question 23

What is a wise investment in terms of the “offer” process in recruitment?

Answer 23

Spending money on good legal counsel to ensure that you have a legally-compliant offer of employment. This will mitigate future risks to your business

Question 24

What is the most important part of the “offer” in recruitment?

Answer 24

The offer needs to be well written and legally binding

Question 25

What is the importance of a strong onboarding experience?

Answer 25

Onboarding makes the new employee familiar with your company and the way it operates, so that they can integrate themselves smoothly into its daily operations. Remember that even if someone has been in the industry for 15+ years and they know what they’re doing in their job, they don’t know how your specific organization operates

Question 26

What are the seven aspects of the re-imagined onboarding experience?

Answer 26

1. Facilitate an onboarding experience that never stops
2. Pre-boarding
3. Involve people in culture from day one
4. Managers play critical role in onboarding experience
5. Start small (if you don’t have a formal program)
6. Speak in business terms
7. Stress simplicity of experience

Question 27

What is learning and development?

Answer 27

A strategy that outlines how an organization develops its workforce’s capabilities, skills, and competencies to remain successful. It’s an important part of an organization’s overall business strategy

Question 28

Explain what today’s employees demand in terms of better workplace support

Answer 28

1. Want bite-sized learning opportunities
2. Want learning to be fun and engaging
3. Want learning to be personalized

Question 29

What is the modern employee looking for?

Answer 29

1. Continuous learning opportunities
2. Mobility = Progression (people move around horizontally instead of just vertically)
3. Social
4. Online
5. Collaborative
6. Community

Question 30

Where can organizations start in terms of improving their learning and development strategies?

Answer 30

1. Building a culture of learning
2. Bring people together
3. Content is King
4. Rethink tools
5. Rethink learning experience