HR Generalist – Interview Questionnaire Part 4

Q60. What is Fringe Benefits?

Answer: A collection of various benefits provided by an employer, which are exempt from taxation as long as certain conditions are met. Any employee who receives taxable fringe benefits will have to include the fair market value of the benefit in their taxable income for the year, which will be subject to tax withholdings, and social security benefits payments.

Q61. What is Employee Morale?

Answer: Employee morale is the relationship that a particular employee or a group of employees have with their work and the organization they work for. High employee morale means that employees are happy, and this is reflective in the kind of work they produce. On the other hand, low employee morale results in less productivity and pessimism among employees. It is important for every organization to continually keep employee morale high.

Significance

Employee morale is part of workplace culture and it is important in the company. When workers are happy, they tend to be more efficient because they enjoy their work. It is important that employees don't feel overworked and burdened by their job. Employee morale gauges organizational culture and how employers' treatment of their employees impact how the employee thinks about the organization as a whole.

Develop

First and foremost, better communication improves employee morale. Encouraging employees to reason better and communicate their ideas effectively will result in better understanding of each other. This also develops leadership in employees and teaches them how to be assertive. Regular evaluation also helps keep things in check. Top management should make it a point to talk sincerely to their employees and staff and build a solution to resolve any issues present. Managers should make any expectations known.

Effects

High employee morale results in a highly effective team. A nurturing and supportive environment helps employees do their best work and share ideas without fear of being ostracized and ridiculed. High morale is also an indication of job satisfaction, which helps organizations keep employees. Employees are also more aware of their environment and will be more forward in asking for help and support, thus resolving issues because they get worse.

Considerations

The human resources department of a company gauges employee morale and participates in activities and events that would help boost employee morale. Team-building exercises are particularly important, because when employees are working in harmony, they tend to help each other, thus collectively relieving the amount of work that needs to be done for the company.

Expert Insight

One of the best ways to boost employee morale is to reward hard work. An employee may sometimes feel burdened by the amount of work that needs to get done and could start thinking about the value of the work versus the amount of pay he receives. By recognizing the hard work of an individual, employees are more likely to want to show their skills and contribute more because they know they are appreciated. Recognition, not just monetary compensation, is an incentive that will keep an employee setting higher standards and doing more in his job.

Q62. What are your positives and negatives as a HR?

Q63. What is the best way to develop pay systems that are understandable, workable, and acceptable to employees at all levels?

Q64. What is HRD?

Answer: Human Resource Development (HRD) is the framework for helping employees, develop their personal and organizational skills, knowledge, and abilities. Human Resource Development includes such opportunities as employee training, employee career development, performance management and development, coaching, mentoring, succession planning, key employee identification, tuition assistance, and organization development.

Q65. What is HCNs?

Answer: HCNs stands for host country nationals. They are the employee from the local population. for example a worker from any state of India working for foreign company operating from India would be considered as  host country national.

Q66. What is the importance of hr in the life of business?

Answer: It is of principle importance to ensure that the business is compliant with laws, regulations and taxes pertaining to employees. And at the same time HR is needed to ensure the compliance of the organization with its policies that assist in avoiding liability arising from employee or former employee suits.

Created for little more than that, some other tasks, such as interviews, have sometimes been added, but it's core purpose remains the same.

Q67. What is the best way to develop pay systems that are understandable, Workable, and acceptable to employees at all levels?

Answer: Almost 70% of employees feel that their firms' incentive plans or pay systems are ineffective. Even the best pay plans fail. Therefore, we should know that why pay plans fail. There are many reasons as follows:

- Performance Pay can't replace good management.

- You get only what you pay for.

- Pay does not work as an effective motivator.

- Sometimes rewards punish.

- Rewards rupture relationships.

- Rewards can have unintended consequences.

- Rewards may undermine responsiveness.

- Rewards undermine intrinsic motivation

- etc. etc.

What then can we do to make an effective pay plan? Some guidelines follow:

- Ask yourself: Are performance levels inadequate due to motivation?

- Link the incentive with your strategy.

- Make sure the program is motivational.

- Make the plan easy for employees to understand.

- Set effective standards.

- View the standard as a contract with employees.

- Get employees' support for the plan.

- Use good measurement systems.

- Use a complete set of standards.

- Make the incentive plan part of a comprehensive, commitment-oriented approach.

You should clarify ahead of time what measures or metrics you intend to improve by instituting your pay system/plan. A statistical analysis may help.

Q68. What is the difference between Training and Development?

Answer: Training is focused on individual tasks, all nuts and bolts ... how to turn a wrench. Also, training has a beginning and an end.

Development is the whole person concept. It includes, not only teaching them how to turn the wrench, but also why we turn the wrench and challenging them to figure out a better way to turn that wrench. It is focused more on cultivating the individual to give them the tools to work upward through greater job and relationship complexities. The job of development has no end.

In the modern organization, staff development energizes an organization's culture by grooming it's future leaders.

Q69. What is "mutual gains negotiation"?

Answer: A mutual gains negotiation, also known as a "win-win" negotiation is when two parties on opposite sides attempt to negotiate a deal in which both parties are satisfied,

and gain something from the deal.

Q70. What is meant by an organisation, explain me differently?

Q71. What is On the Job Training?

Answer: Most organizations use some form of on-the-job training where an experienced employee teaches a new person how to perform job tasks. If this happens at random or with no consistent written materials or processes, it is called unstructured OJT

Q72. Management Guru,Professor Lallus Rail , a book was written by?

Answer: Dr Sunil Jogi

Q73. What is Workers Compensation?

Answer: Workers Compensation provides an array of benefits in the form of cash payments and medical and hospital services. These benefits are provided to workers that sustain job-connected injuries or illnesses and are available to every worker.

Q74. In a room there are 3 bulbs, and in the net room there are 3 switches. One can not see through the rooms, then how can you know that which switch is for which bulb with out taking any one's help?

Q75. Define Motivation?

Answer: Motivation is the activation or energization of goal-oriented behavior.

Q76. What are the key issues that should be addressed in the design, conduct, and evaluation of training programs?

Answer: The following are the key issues to be addressed for a successful training program:

• Place (indoor/outdoor)
• Audio visual aids
• Relevant training materials
• Facilities
• Time schedule
• Non – visual aids
• Trainer 

Q77. What is HRM?

Answer: Human Resource Management (HRM) is the function within an organization that focuses on recruitment of, management of, and providing direction for the people who work in the organization. Human Resource Management can also be performed by line managers.

Human Resource Management is the organizational function that deals with issues related to people such as compensation, hiring, performance management, organization development, safety, wellness, benefits, employee motivation, communication, administration, and training.

HR Generalist – Interview Questionnaire Part 3

Suggestion Plan

Q45. What are the benefits of a suggestion plan?

Q46. One of the difficulties our company has is evaluating suggestions in a timely manner.  What changes would you make to expedite evaluations?

Q47. Your organization has implemented an employee involvement program. What are some of the measurements that may be used to determine the success of the program?

Q48. What is Managerial Grid?

The Managerial Grid Model (1964) is a behavioral leadership model developed by Robert Blake and Jane Mouton. This model identifies five different leadership styles based on the concern for people and the concern for production. The optimal leadership style in this model is based on Theory Y.

A graphical representation of the Managerial Grid As shown in the figure, the model is represented as a grid with concern for production as the X-axis and concern for people

as the Y-axis; each axis ranges from 1 (Low) to 9 (High). The five resulting leadership styles are as follows:

1) The impoverished style (1,1):

In this style, managers have low concern for both people

and production. Managers use this style to avoid getting into trouble. The main concern for the manager is not to be held responsible for any mistakes, which results in less

innovative decisions.

2) The country club style (1,9):

This style has a high concern for people and a low concern for production. Managers using this style pay much attention to the security and comfort of the employees, in

hopes that this would increase performance. The resulting atmosphere is usually friendly, but not necessarily productive.

3) The produce or perish style (9,1)

With a high concern for production, and a low concern for people, managers using this style find employee needs unimportant; they provide their employees with money and

expect performance back. Managers using this style also pressure their employees through rules and punishments to achieve the company goals. This style is based on Theory X, and is commonly applied by companies on the edge of failure.

4) The middle-of-the-road style (5,5)

Managers using this style try to balance between company goals and workers' needs. By giving some concern to both people and production, managers who use this style hope to

achieve acceptable performance.

5) The team style (9,9)

In this style, high concern is paid both to people and production. As suggested by the propositions of Theory Y, managers choosing to use this style encourage teamwork and commitment among employees. This method relies heavly on making employees feel as a constructive part of the company.

Q49. WHAT ARE 19 MODELS OF EDUCATIONAL COUNSELLING?

Q50. In any consulting firm, the time devoted doesn't matter. all that matters is the productivity. What kind of HR and leave policy will you formulate to ensure discipline and time line working along with the increased productivity

Q51. What is databank in recruitment process ?

Answer: Data bank in recruitment is a kind of ready information of  the talent pool that companies would like to have at all times. This is considering the fact that attrition is high and lead time should be minimum.

Q52. What is patent rights and copy rights ?

Answer: Copy RIGHT:-A right for your creative work.

Others can not print the same. (BOOK)

Trade mark:-Using symbol. (Wood land)

PATENT:- For new invention.

Q53. What is quality of work life ?

Q54. What is KRA and KPI?

Answer:  KRA stands for Key Result Area. KPI-key performance Indicator. HR manager always thinks about how to enhance the result in production through human resource available to them so here two terms KRA n KPI explains the result area n the production area.

Q55. What is the difference between CEO, MD, PRESIDENT, and CHAIRMAN?

Answer: Chairman refers to a position in the Board of Directors of a company. Where as CEO is the one who executes the dreams of these board of directors. As for employees are concerned CEO is the ultimate. BOD would advice the CEO. Not to say this if something happens in the co, Board will be held first responsible. CEO will be appointed by the Board.

Q56. What are Incentives?

Q57. What is payroll? & what are the elements of payroll?

Answer: Commonly called remuneration. Includes wages, commissions, bonuses, overtime pay, pay for holidays, vacations and sickness, payment for piece work. The payroll is the amount of money a company/business/establishment pays its employees at any given time -- sometimes every two weeks, or sometimes once every month. The sum of all financial record of employees' salaries, wages, bonuses, net pay, and deductions is called payoll.

Weekly payroll

Element  Description  SAP GL Code 

006 Normal hours ****01

007 Time and a half ****12

009 Double time ****13

026 Get Out allowance ****31

075 Dirt Money ****31

131 Holiday pay ****01

Variable monthly payroll

030 Script marking 210113

031 Exam invigilation 210114

034 Lecture/speaker fee 210121

035 External Consultancy 210130

036 Ad hoc Teaching Fee 210120

040 Temp Part time teaching 210119

302 Demonstrating 210102

305 Part time language teaching 210119

308 External Examiner PG taught fee 210109

310 Honorary Professors 210201

311 Open Studies fee 210101

313 Warwick welcome 210001

314 External Examiner UG fee 210111

317 Veterinary surgeon fee 210001

318 Transcription of tapes 210001

319 Fee 210001

334 Arts/Music  Centre tuition 210034

335 Supervision 210105

Q58. What is Perception?

Q59. What is Training?

Answer: Training is a learning process that involves the acquisition of knowledge, sharpening of skills, concepts and rules.

HR Generalist – Interview Questionnaire Part 2

Interviewing

Q21. What are the pros and cons of a team interview?

Q22. Name five illegal interview questions.

Answer: What is your height?

What is your weight?

Have you been ever arrested?

Have you been ever filed for bankruptcy?

Are you married?

Q23. How steps would you take in improving our supervisors' ability to hire the best possible candidates?

Labor Relations

Q24. What experience do you have with the meet and confer process?

Q25. Tell us about your experience in labor negotiations.

Q26. What is an "agency shop"?

Q27. What experience have you had in handling a complaint regarding an "illegal labor practice"?

Q28. What is "mutual gains negotiation"?

Performance

Q29. What are the components of an effective performance review program?

Q30. Tell us about an instance where you were required to introduce and explain a performance review program to employees.

Q31. Tell us about a performance review program that you developed and implemented.

Personnel Policies, Procedures and Administration

Q32. What experience have you had in personnel administration?

Q33. Tell us about the personnel functions that you have been responsible for.

Q34. Tell us about a time when you advised a supervisor and the supervisor chose to ignore your counsel.  Knowing what you know today, what would you have done differently?

Recruitment

Q35. As you are well aware there is a shortage of information technology professionals. 

Q36. What steps can we take to attract qualified information technology professionals?

Q37. What role does the Internet have in recruiting?

Q38. Name five recruitment incentives that can improve our company's competitive recruiting position.

Answer: Stock options, signing bonus, flexible time, telecommuting, high salaries.

Salary

Q39. What tools do you use in determining the salary for a position?

Q40. What are the benefits of a merit pay plan?

Q41. What are the components of an effective merit pay plan?

Sexual Harassment

Q42. What is sexual harassment?

Q43. Name the forms of sexual harassment.

Answer: Verbal, physical, visual, hostile environment.

Q44. What methods would you recommend for educating our employees regarding the company's sexual harassment policy?

HR Generalist – Interview Questionnaire Part 1

Q1. What exactly profile of HR Generalist defines? Or What do you understand from the profile of HR Generalist?

Answer: Generalist profile includes taking part in policy making & implementation, Payroll mgmt, performance appraisals, taking interviews and scaling candidates as per organization’s criteria, IJP, handling recruitments (Making Job descriptions), exit formalities, Preparing offer letters, and pay slips, Co-ordination amongst different HOD for their requirements etc.

Q2.  What do you mean by an organization’s Retrenchment and RETRENCHMENT STRATEGIES?

Answer: Retrenchment is a corporate-level strategy that seeks to reduce the size or diversity of an organization's operations. Retrenchment is also a reduction of expenditures in order to become financially stable. Retrenchment is a pullback or a withdrawal from offering some current products or serving some markets. Retrenchment is often a strategy employed prior to or as part of a Turnaround strategy.

Q3. You have worked on recruitments before. What, according to you is the difference between recruitment and selection... and where the process of recruitment ends?

Answer: Recruitment refers to the process of finding possible candidates for a job or function, undertaken by recruiters. It may be undertaken by an employment agency or a member of staff at the business or organization looking for recruits. Advertising is commonly part of the recruiting process, and can occur through several means: through newspapers, using newspaper dedicated to job advertisement, through professional publication, using advertisements placed in windows, through a job center, through campus interviews, etc. Suitability for a job is typically assessed by looking for skills, e.g. communication skills, typing skills, computer skills. Evidence for skills required for a job may be provided in the form of qualifications (educational or professional), experience in a job requiring the relevant skills or the testimony of references. Employment agencies may also give computerized tests to assess an individual's "off-hand" knowledge of software packages or typing skills. At a more basic level written tests may be given to assess numeracy and literacy. A candidate may also be assessed on the basis of an interview. Sometimes candidates will be requested to provide a résumé (also known as a CV) or to complete an application form to provide this evidence.

SELECTION

Selection is the process used to identify and hire individuals or groups of individuals to fill vacancies within an organization. Often based on an initial job analysis, the ultimate goal of personnel selection is to ensure an adequate return on investment--in other words, to make sure the productivity of the new hire warrants the costs spent on recruiting and training that hire.

Several screening methods exist that may be used in personnel selection. Examples include the use of minimum or desired qualifications, resume/application review, oral interviews, work performance measures (e.g., writing samples), and traditional tests (e.g., of job knowledge).

The field of personnel selection has a long history and is associated with several fields of research and application, including human resources and industrial psychology.

Q4. What is 360 degree performance appraisal?

Answer: This system, which solicits feedback from seniors (including the boss), peers and subordinates, has been increasingly embraced as the best of all available methods for collecting performance feedback. Gone are the days of working hard to impress only one person, now the opinions of all matter, especially if you are in a leadership role

(at any level). Every person in the team is responsible for giving relevant, positive and constructive feedback. Such systems also help in identifying leaders for higher level positions in the organization. Senior managers could use this feed back for self development.

Q5. Where do you see yourself after 10 years?

Q6. Why is it important for personnel management to know the reasons for staff leaving the organization?

Answer: It helps to find the gaps between management and employees. It helps the personnel management to analyze problem why staffs are leaving from the job .what important factors are they looking after and how to fill the gap between management and employees and moreover it is very helpful to stop loosing employees from the company. The average time-to profit-time period for a new hire in any industry is about nine months, suggesting that a fresher begins to break-even the investments made on him/her and earn profit for the firm only after nine months. Exit of an employee before the nine month period can cost up to five times of his or her paid salary.

HR managers need to be proactive and develop innovative employee interventions to retain talent. Some suggestions are:

1. Quality of supervision

2. Perception of equity in rewards-both monetary and non-monetary.

3. Scope for the employee to speak out freely.

4. Meeting's at least a month, to share the company's vision, industry's growth and how employees see themselves in the changing scenario help a great deal.

5. Salary hike.

6.  Exit interviews etc.

Q7. What is the relationship between motivation and reward?

Q8. Why did you choose to do PGDBM in HR after doing a course in Media and Advertising?

Q9. What is the most essential thing that you consider while formulating any HR policy?

Q10. What are you seeking from this job?

Q11. What was the most difficult or challenging recruitment effort that you coordinated?  How successful were you?

Q12. How would you advise a supervisor to counsel an employee on poor performance?

Q13. What are some of the forms of sexual harassment?

Answer: Visual, verbal, physical, hostile work environment.

Q14. How would you conduct a sexual harassment investigation?

Q15. What would you do if you were given an new assignment to work with executive management, but not given any direction?

Q16. What are the steps in processing a suspension or termination of an employee?

Answer: The process for suspension or termination is as follows:
1. You must give written notice for the same (it can be called as termination letter). In this you have to mention the reason for termination e.g.: non performance, compliance issues, etc.
2. You must see that the pay out for the notice period is in accordance with the balance leave of the employee
3.The termination letter must be signed and accepted by the employee
4.Once these things are done then you have to do the normal exit formalities.

For terminating any employee you have to mention the valid reason and the employee must be given the equal chance to justify it. The management is liable for this and employee has the right for this. This is the main point you must keep in mind while any termination. If this is not followed, then the employee have the right to go to court for the same.

Q17. What are the benefits of progressive discipline?

Answer: Progressive discipline is an employee disciplinary system that provides a graduated range of responses to employee performance or conduct problems. Disciplinary measures range from mild to severe, depending on the nature and frequency of the problem. For example, an informal coaching session might be appropriate for an employee who is tardy or violates a minor work rule, while a more serious intervention -- or even termination -- might be called for if an employee commits serious misconduct or doesn't improve a performance problem after receiving several opportunities to do so.

Most large companies use some form of progressive discipline, although they don't necessarily call it by that name. Whether they are referred to as positive discipline programs, performance improvement plans, corrective action procedures, or some other title, these systems are all similar at their core, although they might vary in the details. All are based on the principle that the company's disciplinary response should be appropriate and proportionate to the employee's conduct.

The Benefits of Progressive Discipline

Using progressive discipline can help you get employees back on track. Done right, progressive discipline can:

    * allow managers to intervene and correct employee behavior at the first sign of trouble

    * enhance communication between managers and employees

    * help managers achieve higher performance and productivity from their employees

    * improve employee morale and retention by demonstrating that there are rewards for good performance and consequences for poor performance

    * avoid expensive replacement costs

    * ensure consistency and fairness in dealing with employee problems, and

    * lay the groundwork for fair, legally defensible employment termination for employees who cannot or will not improve.

Progressive discipline also helps you avoid the consequences of allowing workplace problems to continue unchecked. If you don't intervene, the employee may not know that his or her behavior or actions are unacceptable. Not only will you have lost an opportunity to help the employee improve, but your company will continue to suffer the consequences of the employee's problem, which could result in reduced productivity and profits, quality control problems, lost opportunities or customers, low employee morale, and high turnover.

Using progressive discipline appropriately will also help your company stay out of legal trouble. Progressive discipline requires you to let employees know what you expect, to be fair, consistent, and objective in imposing discipline, to include employees in the process of improvement, and to document your actions and decisions properly. By following these actions, you'll ensure that employees who are unable to unwilling to improve won't have the legal ammunition to fuel a lawsuit. And, if you are consistently respectful to employees, few of them will be motivated to sue.

Getting Results With Progressive Discipline

A progressive discipline system or policy provides a basic framework for handling employee problems fairly and consistently, but it's only a start. To get the best results from progressive discipline, you can't just move mechanically from one disciplinary measure to the next, until it's time to fire the employee. Instead, you must involve the employee in the process. The employee's engagement in improving his or her performance, behavior, or attitude will ultimately determine whether progressive discipline is successful.

Grievances

Q18. Describe the grievance process.

Answer: Grievance process is one of the vital areas in building employee confidence and building the relationship. There should be a definite grievance procedure. The grievances have to be attended within the time limit. When the grievance is not able to solve within the prescribed time limit , the concern persons has to called up and informed about the action taken so far and the reason for delay in arriving at the solution and expected

time required to achieve the target.

Unique no to be allotted for each and every grievance and possibly it has to be classified according to the merit of the issue.

By classification, you could able to identify the nature of grievances (over a period of time) which will be very useful in streamlining the Grievance procedure.

Employee participation and suggestions to be appreciated to make the grievances procedure to be more effective.

Q19. What is a grievance?

Q20. Tell us about your experience in handling grievances.