Professional HR Generalist Interview Preparation Guide

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Offer some one’s name if they really know you well and can offer a positive feedback about you.

To answer this question, you can mention things like – new challenges, good environment which all employers think that they offer.

For the reason given in the above questions, the answer to this question should be a “No”. This is basically a different way of putting up the last question.

It’s vital that your business complies with the law and you will absolutely need to rely on your HR manager to ensure that it does.

So you want someone who is knowledgeable about HR law. That doesn’t mean you want a lawyer, but you do want someone who knows their stuff. You want someone who: reads industry magazines and reports; is qualified and perhaps is a member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development (CIPD); subscribes to HR newsletters; reads HR websites; and listens to HR podcasts.

There is so much that goes into the role of an HR manager. Some managers are more generalist than others. In smaller companies, the HR manager needs to have a good grasp of all aspects of HR.

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.

You can mention some generic qualities like intelligence, good sense of humour, dedicated to his team etc., which all the managers think that they have in abundance.

A few years ago, I noticed that one of the bright managers in my company was starting to lose interest in her position, and her performance suffered considerably. As the HR generalist, I reached out to her to discover what might be causing the lapse in performance. I encouraged her boss to offer more one-on-one training and support, and we also increased company-wide seasonal incentives. After focusing on helping meet this manager’s personal career goals by giving her more freedom to direct her responsibilities, we saw her revive as a manager and go on to encourage the employees under her to be their best. I feel that my HR interventions are directly responsible for her continued success.

This question is for you to answer based on the skills and qualities you have. If you have the capability to handle different positions, discuss that also in the interview.

Generally speaking, the labor laws are the regulations and mandates that protect employee safety and health and manage the policies that affect benefits, leave, and wages. The Fair Labor Standards Act deals with the standards for wages and overtime pay. Occupational Safety and Health Administration programs give guidelines for workplace safety and health. Worker’s Compensation laws affect the compensation for disability or death caused by work-related injuries or illnesses. These are some of the labor laws I am responsible to see that the company is in compliance with as HR generalist.

Dissatisfied employees usually have a reason for their dissatisfaction. I do my best to understand the personality types of all the employees I work with, and I use the information I obtain from the various personality tests and training exercises I implement to help me reach employees on an individual level. Then, I try to understand the reason that a particular employee isn’t happy. If there is something that I can do to insulate that individual from further damage, I do it. Then, I work to improve the employees’ experiences and remind them why they wanted their current jobs in the first place. With careful attention, most employees can return to satisfied and productive status.

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.

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.

In my last job, I was HR generalist for a construction company. I was faced with the responsibility to create policies for the safety of the company’s truck drivers based on the data the HR department had gathered. By carefully assessing the statistics from our own company and comparing them with the numbers from similar sized corporations, I realized that we could make major improvements in safety by increasing driver’s safety training for all truck drivers. I presented this data and suggestion to the CEOs and am happy to report that after they implemented increased driver training, the number of traffic and other accidents declined dramatically.

To err is human. So, it is perfectly OK if you committed a mistake at work but before answering the question analyse the magnitude of mistake you did and the effect it had on the company.

What is more important is – what did you do to rectify the mistake and make sure that you don’t do it again?

So, mention the mistake you committed and keep the focus of the answer on the steps you took to rectify it.

The purpose of this question is to see how well you can fit into a team. Basically, you should not have a problem with a person, although you can have a problem with the style of working.

So, to answer this question you can simply say, “I understand that IT is about team work, so we can’t afford to problems with co-workers but if someone is not serious about their work or does a low quality work affecting the whole project, I definitely do not like it”

It is not possible for a candidate to have all the experience an employer requires. Even if you match yourself up to the expectations on technical front, there will be some difference in the work environment. And, it is absolutely fine.

The best way to deal with this question is to analyse the requirements of the position well and match your skills as close to them as possible. If something is still left untouched, offer your quick grasping power and ability to learn quickly as a solution & back it up with an example from the past.

☛ 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.

The process for suspension or termination is as follows:

☛ 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.
☛ You must see that the pay out for the notice period is in accordance with the balance leave of the employee
☛ The termination letter must be signed and accepted by the employee
☛ 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.

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.

Shows industry awareness.

☛ How has your work experience and training prepared you for this position?
☛ What factors do you consider before drafting any new HR policy?
☛ How would you implement a new HR policy?
☛ What HR tools do you prefer? Can you recommend one system per function for us?
☛ What’s your approach to putting together benefits packages?
☛ How do you define company culture? How do you contribute to nurturing a positive company culture?
☛ Describe a time you worked on a challenging recruitment effort. How did you overcome it?
☛ Describe a time you made a misstep that resulted in regulatory issues. How did you handle it?
☛ An employee submits a sexual harassment complaint. What steps would you take to look into it?
☛ How do you stay current and ensure compliance with national regulatory laws?
☛ What’s your opinion on 360 degree performance reviews?
☛ What steps would you take to terminate an employee?
☛ Have you ever encountered a conflict of interest at work? How did you handle it?
☛ What’s your impression of our employer brand? How would you improve it?

☛ How would you ensure a new employee is best inducted into the business?
☛ Which employee benefits do you find drive the highest employee motivation / satisfaction / retention / engagement?
☛ What do you consider to be the most successful recruitment strategies?
☛ Which personal development strategies do you find the most successful?
☛ How would you go about resolving a conflict between an employee and their manager?
☛ What can you do when an employee doesn’t want to develop?
☛ What processes or methods would you follow to deliver bad news to staff?
☛ How can you make negative staff more positive?
☛ How would you influence employee retention?
☛ How can you best align performance management with business strategy?
☛ Which aspects of HR do you enjoy the most / least?
☛ What has been your most significant contribution in an HR role?
☛ How can you best measure the success of HR? What KPIs have you found useful?
☛ How would you determine the priorities of your role?
☛ What process would you follow in addressing an employee grievance?

Closely understand the qualities and skills a person holding the position would need and match them with the qualities you have.

If you believe that you are missing a big quality required for the position under discussion, say that, “I understand that this is an important quality required in the person holding this position but given a chance, I will inculcate it in me.” Back it up with a confident body language.

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.