Pass the HRPA Certified Human Resources Professional CHRP-KE Questions and answers with CertsForce

HRPA’s workforce planning model directs HR to compare forecast labour demand with forecast labour supply and choose strategies accordingly. When demand exceeds supply (a shortage), typical responses include external recruiting, overtime, internal development/advancement, and other acquisition tactics—i.e., hiring more employees. Hiring freezes, layoffs, and attrition are approaches for surpluses (supply exceeds demand).

Relevant HRPA references: HRPA Professional Competency Framework – Workforce Planning and Talent Management (gap analysis and response options for shortages vs. surpluses); HRPA Study Guide – Forecasting and Staffing Strategies.

HRPA positions risk assessment/risk management as a core organizational effectiveness practice: systematically identifying, analyzing, and treating risks across people, operations, and finance to reduce exposure and liability. While due diligence is a compliance expectation within risk management, a risk assessment program is the overarching approach that identifies and manages these factors.

When planning a workforce reduction, HR professionals must be vigilant in identifying and mitigating potential litigation risks that could arise from employment termination decisions. According to the HRPA Professional Competency Framework, under the "Labour and Employee Relations" domain (Competency C119), HR professionals are expected to “manage the risk of litigation and conflict in all interactions with employees.” This includes being aware of human rights legislation and ensuring that decisions are not based on discriminatory grounds.

The Ontario Human Rights Code prohibits discrimination on various protected grounds (such as race, gender, age, disability, etc.), and if a workforce reduction disproportionately affects members of a protected group, it could lead to legal challenges alleging discrimination. Discrimination is considered one of the most significant legal risks during workforce reductions, as employers must ensure decisions are based on objective, non-discriminatory criteria such as performance or seniority.

Although constructive dismissal (option D) is a legitimate legal concern, it typically arises from significant changes to job duties or terms of employment without consent — not from terminations that are part of a planned reduction.

Safety violations (option A) and sexual harassment (option B) are serious issues but are not directly related to the strategic or legal risks associated with workforce reduction processes.

Relevant Framework Reference:

HRPA Professional Competency Framework – Competency C119 (Labour and Employee Relations)

Ontario Human Rights Code – Protection from Discrimination in Employment

HRPA Study Guide – Workforce Planning and Employment Law sections

These frameworks emphasize that HR must evaluate all employment decisions, including layoffs or restructuring, through a legal and ethical lens to reduce exposure to discrimination claims.

HRPA’s change and communication guidance emphasizes that in high-stakes or sensitive situations, organizations should prioritize direct, synchronous, two-way communication that enables clarity, leader presence, and Q&A. A face-to-face all-staff meeting best supports accuracy, alignment, and immediate feedback during a crisis; one-way or asynchronous channels (email, voicemail, passive online broadcasts) are less effective for urgent, emotionally charged messages.

Within the Total Rewards domain, the HRPA Professional Competency Framework expects HR practitioners to select and interpret market-pricing sources and to understand their methodological strengths and limitations. Conducting in-house surveys provides the greatest control over data quality because HR can define participants, match jobs precisely to internal roles, specify data cuts (e.g., geography, industry, organization size), and validate the methodology, response rates, and aging factors. External sources—industry groups (A), consultants (C), and government agencies (D)—are valuable, but the organization has limited control over job matching, participant mix, and data treatment.

Relevant Framework Reference (HRPA): Total Rewards—market benchmarking and survey-data governance; ensuring validity, reliability, and appropriate application of compensation survey data.

Under the HRPA Human Resources Competency Framework (Functional Domain: Health, Wellness, and Safe Workplace), lifestyle programs are proactive health promotion initiatives aimed at reducing preventable health risks and promoting healthy living.

Examples include smoking cessation, weight management, fitness, and nutrition programs.

Extract:

“Lifestyle programs promote healthy behaviors and reduce preventable health risks through initiatives such as smoking cessation and fitness activities.”

(HRPA Competency Framework – Health, Wellness, and Safe Workplace, CHRP Level, Key Competency: Implement Health Promotion Programs)

Option Analysis:

A: Correct — smoking cessation is a lifestyle health initiative.

B: Cognitive training targets mental performance, not health behaviour.

C/D: Mindfulness and relaxation are stress management techniques, not lifestyle programs.

Thus, A. Smoking cessation is correct.

Verified Reference Summary:

HRPA Human Resources Competency Framework – Health, Wellness, and Safe Workplace

CHRP Knowledge Exam Blueprint – Wellness and Lifestyle Programs

HRPA Exam Preparation Guide – Health Promotion

The HRPA Rules of Professional Conduct and Professional Practice Competency Domain require HR professionals to maintain integrity, objectivity, and avoidance of conflicts of interest in all professional dealings.

Accepting or failing to disclose a gift or incentive from a vendor could compromise impartiality and violate ethical standards. The proper action is to decline the offer while continuing the procurement process transparently.

Extract:

“Members shall avoid situations involving a conflict of interest and shall not accept benefits that could reasonably be seen to influence their professional judgment.”

(HRPA Rules of Professional Conduct – Section 3.6: Conflict of Interest and Professional Integrity)

Therefore, A. Decline the offer but let the vendor remain in the procurement process is the ethical and compliant course of action.

Verified Reference Summary:

HRPA Rules of Professional Conduct – Section 3.6 (Conflict of Interest)

HRPA Human Resources Competency Framework – Professional Practice

CHRP Knowledge Exam Blueprint – Ethics and Professional Conduct

The HRPA Study Guide situates evaluation within a results-focused model (commonly framed in practice through reaction, learning, behaviour/transfer, and results). To show direct impact on organizational goals, data must at least evidence behavioural transfer (i.e., that learning is being applied on the job) and connect to operational metrics. Of the options given, measuring how long it took trainees to apply what they learned on the job captures a concrete transfer metric that can be linked to time-to-productivity, cycle time, error rates, or other organizational performance indicators—allowing the training function to argue causation or contribution to goals.

By contrast, confidence (B) and trainer performance (C) are reaction/learning indicators, and perceived supervisor support (D) is a transfer enabler rather than evidence of impact. HRPA competencies emphasize using post-training performance and transfer measures to demonstrate value and alignment with organizational outcomes.

In the HRPA Human Resources Competency Framework (Functional Domain: Labour and Employee Relations), due process refers to the fair and consistent application of workplace policies and disciplinary actions.

A core component of due process is the employee’s right to appeal disciplinary decisions, ensuring fairness, transparency, and the opportunity to present their case.

Extract:

“Due process in employee relations ensures that employees are informed of allegations, given an opportunity to respond, and provided access to an appeal mechanism in disciplinary procedures.”

(HRPA Competency Framework – Labour and Employee Relations, CHRP Level, Knowledge Area: Discipline and Grievance Procedures)

Option Analysis:

A: Correct — the right to appeal is integral to due process.

B: Relates to privacy legislation, not due process.

C: Concerns job security expectations, not procedural fairness.

D: Refers to legal employment terms, not disciplinary procedure.

Thus, A. Right to appeal of discipline correctly represents due process in HR practice.

Verified Reference Summary:

HRPA Human Resources Competency Framework – Labour and Employee Relations

CHRP Knowledge Exam Blueprint – Employee Rights and Discipline

HRPA Exam Preparation Guide – Due Process and Fair Treatment in Employee Relations

The Harvard Model of Strategic HR Management, also referred to as the humanistic model, is a foundational framework emphasizing the mutual relationship between employees and the organization. It promotes HR policies that balance organizational effectiveness with employee well-being.

According to the HRPA Human Resources Competency Framework (Functional Domain: Strategy), the model’s primary HR outcomes include:

Commitment – developing employee loyalty and engagement

Competence – enhancing skills and capabilities

Congruence – ensuring alignment of goals between employees and management

Cost-effectiveness – maintaining financial sustainability

Among these, commitment is the most emphasized outcome to achieve both long-term organizational success and employee satisfaction.

Extract:

“The Harvard Model highlights employee commitment as central to sustainable performance, focusing on mutual gains for both the organization and its people.”

(HRPA Competency Framework – Strategy, CHRP Level, Key Competency: Align Human Capital Policies with Strategic Objectives)

Option Analysis:

A: Cost-efficiency is an organizational goal but not the core humanistic outcome.

B: Correct — emphasizes employee engagement and loyalty.

C: Conformity contradicts the model’s participative approach.

D: Competition relates to external market dynamics, not internal well-being.

Therefore, B. Commitment is the correct answer.

Verified Reference Summary:

HRPA Human Resources Competency Framework – Strategy

CHRP Knowledge Exam Blueprint – Strategic HR Models and Approaches

HRPA Exam Preparation Guide – Humanistic and Strategic HR Theories