The Essential HR Handbook audiobook cover - A Quick and Handy Resource for Any Manager or HR Professional

The Essential HR Handbook

A Quick and Handy Resource for Any Manager or HR Professional

Sharon Armstrong & Barbara Mitchell

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Categories:
Corporate Culture

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The Essential HR Handbook
Strategic Alignment+
Recruiting & Staffing+
Orientation & Onboarding+
Training & Development+
Performance & Feedback+
Managing Change+
Terminations+

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 8
Why is it crucial for an organization to align its human resources planning with its overall strategy?
  • A. It ensures HR doesn't overspend the organization's budget on salaries.
  • B. It allows HR to understand the role employees play in achieving organizational goals.
  • C. It prevents other departments from interfering with HR's hiring processes.
  • D. It shifts the responsibility of employee health and safety to upper management.
Question 2 of 8
What is the core assumption behind conducting a behavioral interview?
  • A. An applicant's personality type dictates their cultural fit within the organization.
  • B. Putting an applicant in a high-stress scenario reveals their true work ethic.
  • C. An applicant's past performance is the best indicator of how they will perform in the future.
  • D. Asking hypothetical questions demonstrates an applicant's problem-solving skills.
Question 3 of 8
According to the text, when does an organization have its first major opportunity to make a lasting impression on a prospective employee?
  • A. During the formal orientation process on their first day.
  • B. When they receive their first performance evaluation.
  • C. Early on during the interview process.
  • D. When they negotiate their initial benefits package.
Question 4 of 8
In Donald Kirkpatrick’s four-level model for evaluating training, what does 'Level 3: Transfer' measure?
  • A. How well the employee liked the training material and its relevance.
  • B. The degree to which the employee's skill level increased during the training.
  • C. The extent to which the training resulted in increased sales or quality.
  • D. How much of the newly acquired skill gets applied to the employee's actual work.
Question 5 of 8
When giving positive feedback, the authors recommend using the FAST acronym. What does FAST stand for?
  • A. Frequent, Accurate, Specific, Timely
  • B. Fair, Actionable, Sincere, Thoughtful
  • C. Forward-looking, Attentive, Supportive, Targeted
  • D. Frequent, Applicable, Standardized, Transparent
Question 6 of 8
What is the final step in delivering corrective feedback using the BEER acronym?
  • A. Explaining the negative Effect the behavior has on the organization.
  • B. Stating the specific Behavior that is problematic.
  • C. Outlining the positive Results that will come from altering the behavior.
  • D. Clarifying the Expectation of what the employee should do instead.
Question 7 of 8
What is the authors' primary advice regarding the use of technological innovations in workplace communication?
  • A. Organizations should adopt every new technology to outpace the competition.
  • B. Face-to-face meetings are completely obsolete and should be replaced by digital communication.
  • C. Managers must evaluate how a technology helps operations and recognize when in-person communication is still necessary.
  • D. Technology should only be used to bridge language barriers in a diverse workforce.
Question 8 of 8
Why is it important to clearly explain the reason for termination when firing an employee for poor performance?
  • A. It prevents the employee from filing for unemployment benefits.
  • B. It gives the employee an opportunity to improve at their next job.
  • C. It is required by federal law for all corporate terminations.
  • D. It allows HR to justify the organization's training budget.

The Essential HR Handbook — Full Chapter Overview

The Essential HR Handbook Summary & Overview

The Essential HR Handbook (2008) is a guide to human resources management. These blinks are full of useful tools and important insights on how to manage your organization’s most important resource: human capital.

Who Should Listen to The Essential HR Handbook?

  • Anyone working in human resources
  • Managers who want a better understanding of their organization’s inner workings
  • Anybody who is in the process of hiring new employees

About the Author: Sharon Armstrong & Barbara Mitchell

Sharon Armstrong is the founder of the consulting business Sharon Armstrong and Associates, and works as a human resources consultant and trainer. She is the co-author of two successful business books, as well as the light-hearted Healing the Canine Within: The Dog's Self-Help Companion.

Barbara Mitchell advises businesses on human resources and organizational development. Before becoming a managing partner of the consulting practice The Mitchell Group, much of her career was spent as an HR specialist at Marriott International.

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