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.