2024 Edition

Human Resources Practice Test

Try this free PHR practice test to see what's on a certification exam for human resource professionals.

Certification as a human resources professional through the HR Certification Institute can enhance your career in human resources.  Human resource professionals work in large multi-national corporations, small businesses, nonprofit organizations, academia and more. Certification demonstrates one's knowledge and skill in the field of human resources and can lead to job opportunities as well as better pay and promotion.  There are five categories covered by the PHR certificaiton exam: Business Management, Talent Planning and Acquisition, Learning and Development, Total Rewards and Employee and Labor Relations. The exams have 175 multiple choice questions, of which 25 are unscored.  Three hours is given to complete the exam.
 
 

Business Management

1. All of the following are appropriate purposes for an HR audit, except:
2. When comparing the business Return on Investment with that of the competition, you discover the ROI is a bit lower than the competitors. What is the best plan of action?
3. Which motivation theory suggests employees are motivated by success, but consider the value of the expected reward against the effort required to achieve it?
4. As an HR professional, you want to establish and maintain a strong sense of ethics within an organization. One effective way is to:
5. Which of the following is one of the elements of a SMART goal?
6. There are many different types of organizations that people create to accomplish business goals. Which of the following forms of business organization provides the owners with protection from the debts and liabilities of the company?
7. A restaurant institutes a new happy-hour as a marketing campaign. A year later, the owner wants to know if sales have improved as a result of the campaign. Comparing sales from the previous year to the current year is an example of using which type of strategic planning metric?
8. What term is assigned to an employee that makes a complaint about their employer to a federal agency claiming that illegal activity has occurred?

Talent Planning and Acquisition

9. Why are valid questions an important part of the interview process?
10. What is the purpose of Executive Order 11246?
11. Sexual harassment is a form of discrimination under what federal law?
12. Before selecting an HRIS system, which of the following questions should be answered?
13. The EEO-1 (Employer Information Report) form is required to be filed by employers with 100 or more employees. When is the deadline for filing component 1 of the EEO-1 report?

Learning and Development

14. Which style of learning is demonstrated by a hands-on experience?
15. William is creating a manual for his department. On the cover of the manual he uses a picture of the equipment that he found on a website. You ask if he has permission to use the image. He tells you that the photo is from a website so it's in the public domain. Are photos and images from websites considered to be in the public domain?
16. The system of management known as _________is exemplified by review processes to eliminate waste, encouraging teamwork and involving all members of the organization in meeting customer needs.
17. According to Kirkpatrick's evaluation model, there are four types of training evaluation: reaction, learning, behavior and .

Compensation and Benefits

18. Which of the following is an example of direct compensation?
19. Your employer offers medical benefits to employees on military leave, but does not want to offer the same benefits to employees on maternity leave. This is a violation of _______.
20. A non-exempt employee is attending a professional training outside of normal work hours, that is not specifically job related. The event will be documented on the employee's performance review, as certified training. Should the employee be paid for attending the training?
21. The local library offers an after-school position to a 15-year old working Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 3:30 pm to 7:00 pm. Is this acceptable under the standards of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)?
22. A nonexempt employee who regularly works M-F 8:00am-5:00pm travels for a conference on Sunday from 4:00pm to 6:00pm. How many hours should the employee be paid for the travel time?

Employee and Labor Relations

23. Your organization starts a suggestion box for employees to present anonymous suggestions to executives and management. What is the best action for management to take for employees to see the value in the program?
24. During the union-organizing process, how is the bargaining unit determined?
25. When conducting a risk assessment, what category of disaster includes terrorism, war and arson?
26. Which of the following is true of a hostile work environment?
27. What is the time limit for filing a charge of discrimination with the EEOC?
28. There are three types of barriers in the glass ceiling concept that may prevent women and minorities from reaching senior level positions in an organization. Which barrier is related to corporate practices and recruiting?
29. Which of the following provides an informal setting for a group of employees to meet with their manager to learn more about the company?
30. A panel of arbitrators chosen by the parties involved in a particular dispute for the sole purpose of handling that specific dispute is known as: