Human Resources Business Partner Skills Interview
Author:
Lily TrieuIn Lily Trieu’s template, questions and answer tips are optimized for an HRBP whose main objective is to support managers/internal stakeholders with their employees and employee policies to help the business succeed. The template focuses on a few core aspects of the job which include creating and managing HR processes, advising managers on how to manage employee performance, and communicating effectively with internal stakeholders.
Focus area:
Question
1
Tell me about a time where you were involved with improving an HR or business process for a previous company. What role did you contribute to ensure the improvement was successful, and how did it impact the business?
What does this question reveal?
Candidate has the ability to manage process improvements to HR systems
Explore tips
- Identifies the primary needs and goals of the improvement initiative
- Involves relevant stakeholders in designing the improvements
- Considers adverse effects the updates might cause (e.g., during adoption)
- Creates a system of communication to inform affected members of the changes
- Defines success and shares examples of how it helped the business
Question
2
Imagine an employee consistently shows up late. When you confront them, they brush it off saying ‘technically there is no attendance policy.’ You acknowledge them and say that you will be creating one. How would you do this?
What does this question reveal?
Candidate has the ability to show initiative and develop HR processes to ensure business is running effectively
Explore tips
- Demonstrates initiative by suggesting to develop an attendance policy
- Researches and review different attendance policies for reference
- Creates new policy by tailoring it to the organization
- Consults relevant stakeholders (legal, ops) and involves them when appropriate
- Considers whether other policies might also need to be developed where lacking
Question
3
Imagine a senior leader tells you that they need you to design and implement a new policy and that they want it to be ready to roll out in 4 weeks. How would you approach this so you could successfully meet that deadline?
What does this question reveal?
Candidate has the ability to design and execute a project rollout effectively within a short time frame
Explore tips
- Considers everyone that needs to be involved and communicates accordingly
- Breaks project down into smaller phases and delegates relevant deliverables
- Consults others to ensure they connect with organizational members
- Closely monitors deliverables and holds others accountable
- Engages in high touch communication to ensure project stays on track
Question
4
When in the past have you taken initiative to create something new (e.g., process, feature) or make significant improvements to something without anyone asking? Where have you seen a gap and stepped in to fill it?
What does this question reveal?
Candidate has the ability to take initiative and make improvements to create efficiencies and help the business succeed
Explore tips
- Explains the context and how they identified a need to create/improve something
- Defines specific goals they needed to achieve with their initiative
- Uses ‘I’ instead of ‘we’ statements and took ownership over the initiative
- Shares specific steps they took to create/implement the initiative
- Explains how their initiative supported colleagues and/or business objectives
Question
5
A manager approaches you and tells you that an employee is not pulling his/her weight. They are asking for your advice on how to manage the employee. How would you respond?
What does this question reveal?
Candidate has the ability to analyze and advise managers on performance issues to support the business’ success
Explore tips
- Asks manager to provide examples of the employees’ performance
- Document all incidents and collect relevant documentation
- Considers relevant solutions (e.g. termination, performance improvement plan)
- Inquires more by asking questions to identify the best solution
- When a solution is reached, communicate outcome to stakeholders (e.g. legal)
Question
6
As a HR Business Partner you are responsible for communicating messages to many internal stakeholders (e.g. managers, employees, senior leadership). What tactics have you used in the past to communicate effectively in your role?
What does this question reveal?
Candidate has the ability to communicate clearly and effectively and acknowledges the importance of documentation
Explore tips
- Take initiative by disseminating all relevant information and decisions
- Documents all communication to create records (e.g. in emails)
- Use practices to organize written information clearly (e.g., tables, bullets)
- Ensures communications are clear and comprehensive
- Communicates their role in supporting others and being a resource to consult
Question
7
Tell me about a time you made a mistake with respect to documentation (e.g. error in a termination letter/missing incident documentation). How did you manage that scenario, and what did you do to prevent it from recurring?
What does this question reveal?
Candidate has the ability to admit mistakes and recognize the importance of attention to detail in documentation
Explore tips
- Admits to mistake and shares an error with documentation in the past
- Explains how they identified the error and the impact it had
- Emphasizes the importance of attention to detail with documentation
- Explains how they applied learnings to prevent the mistake from recurring
- Takes accountability for mistake and refrains from blaming others
