SHRM-CP Certified Professional Practice Questions — 10 Free (2026)

An HR project delivers, but lessons are never recorded and resources never released. Which named process was skipped?

• A. Initiating
• B. Closing ✓
• C. Monitoring and controlling
• D. Planning
• E. Executing

Closing is the process group that formally ends a project: deliverables are handed over, lessons learned are recorded, and people and other resources are released. Initiating, planning, executing and monitoring and controlling all come before that point, so a project that delivers but never records lessons or releases resources has skipped closing. SHRM Certified Professional - SHRM BASK and learning system sources, SHRM.CP

An employee begins disclosing misconduct and asks for absolute secrecy. What does Professional Integrity require first?

• A. Explain the limits of confidentiality before the employee goes any further ✓
• B. Promise complete secrecy so that the employee feels safe to keep talking
• C. Stop the conversation at once and refer the employee to legal counsel
• D. Listen to everything first and decide afterwards whether it stays confidential
• E. Ask the employee to put the whole allegation in writing before discussing it

Professional integrity means using discretion appropriately and being honest about its limits. Some disclosures, such as harassment, safety or legal breaches, create a duty to investigate or report, so HR cannot promise absolute secrecy. Saying so before the employee continues lets them decide what to share and avoids a promise HR would later have to break. SHRM Certified Professional - SHRM BASK and learning system sources, SHRM.CP

An HR initiative has budget and a plan but stalls in a resistant middle layer. Which L&N sub-competencies are being tested?

• A. HR Expertise, because the plan needs more technical detail
• B. Ethical Practice, because the managers are acting in bad faith
• C. Navigating the Organization, together with Influence ✓
• D. Business Acumen, because the budget has not been justified
• E. Global Mindset, because the managers work in different cultures

The plan and budget are in place, so the obstacle is organisational rather than technical. Navigating the Organization is about reading the formal and informal relationships through which work gets done, and Influence is about winning support through persuasion, coalitions and example. A resistant middle layer is exactly where those Leadership and Navigation sub-competencies are tested. SHRM Certified Professional - SHRM BASK and learning system sources, SHRM.CP

An HR vision is elegant but pulls against the organisation's strategic direction. What does the BASK's definition say?

• A. It is acceptable as long as employees find it inspiring and clear
• B. The organisation's strategy should be revised so that it fits the HR vision better
• C. It is acceptable provided HR can fund it within its own budget
• D. It falls short: an HR vision must align with the organisation's direction ✓
• E. It only needs the chief HR officer's approval to take effect

Under Leadership and Navigation, the Vision sub-competency calls for an HR vision that is aligned with the organisation's strategic direction and culture. However well written, a vision that pulls against where the organisation is going does not meet that standard, and inspiring language, funding or senior approval cannot fix the misalignment. SHRM Certified Professional - SHRM BASK and learning system sources, SHRM.CP

An organisation's stated values and its enacted ones have drifted apart. Which two levels of the competency meet this?

• A. Business Acumen only, by costing the gap between stated and enacted values
• B. Communication only, by running a staff survey on the values
• C. Personal integrity in oneself, and Ethical Agent across the culture ✓
• D. HR Expertise only, by rewriting the values statement
• E. Consultation only, by commissioning an external culture audit

Ethical Practice works at two levels here. Personal integrity means an HR professional's own words and actions match, and the Ethical Agent sub-competency builds a culture in which stated values and actual behaviour are consistent. Rewriting the statement, surveying staff or costing the gap do not by themselves close the distance between what is said and what is done. SHRM Certified Professional - SHRM BASK and learning system sources, SHRM.CP

How is the HR Strategy functional area defined?

• A. Preparing HR's annual budget and securing its approval from finance
• B. Designing HR policies and keeping the employee handbook current
• C. Administering the organisation's pay and benefits programmes
• D. Reporting HR metrics and workforce data to senior leadership
• E. Developing, implementing and evaluating HR's strategic direction ✓

In the SHRM BASK, HR Strategy covers the knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics needed to develop, implement and evaluate a strategic direction that supports organisational success and creates value for stakeholders. Budgeting, policy writing, pay administration and metrics reporting support that work but are not the definition of the functional area. SHRM Certified Professional - SHRM BASK and learning system sources, SHRM.CP

How is Relationship Management defined?

• A. Building networks, maintaining relationships, teamwork and managing conflict ✓
• B. Maintaining accurate HR records and keeping employee databases up to date
• C. Answering employee queries quickly and politely through an HR service desk
• D. Promoting the organisation's employer brand to candidates in the labour market
• E. Managing senior leaders' diaries and arranging internal meetings for them

Relationship Management is the behavioural competency covering the ability to build a network of professional contacts inside and outside the organisation, maintain relationships, work effectively as part of a team and manage conflict while supporting the organisation. Record keeping, service desk work, employer branding and diary management are not its content. SHRM Certified Professional - SHRM BASK and learning system sources, SHRM.CP

How is Diversity, Equity & Inclusion defined?

• A. Meeting representation quotas that are set separately for each department
• B. Publishing a diversity and inclusion statement on the public careers website
• C. Setting up a diversity committee with a chair that reports to the board
• D. Allocating a separate annual budget for unconscious bias training courses
• E. A workplace where all are treated fairly, have equal access and can belong ✓

In the SHRM BASK, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion covers creating a workplace where everyone is treated fairly and respectfully, has equal access to opportunities and resources, feels they belong and can contribute fully to the organisation's success. Quotas, statements, committees and budgets can support that aim but do not define it. SHRM Certified Professional - SHRM BASK and learning system sources, SHRM.CP

A firm of 60 doubles in a year. Roughly how many hires must the pipeline deliver, ignoring attrition?

• A. 10
• B. 20
• C. 40
• D. 60 ✓
• E. 120

Doubling from 60 employees means reaching 120, so the pipeline must deliver 60 new hires before any leavers are replaced. Figures of 10 to 40 understate the growth, and 120 confuses the final headcount with the number of hires needed. SHRM Certified Professional - SHRM BASK and learning system sources, SHRM.CP

How many sub-competencies does Ethical Practice hold?

• A. 2
• B. 3 ✓
• C. 4
• D. 5
• E. 6

Ethical Practice has three sub-competencies in the SHRM BASK: personal integrity, professional integrity and ethical agent. The larger figures belong to competencies such as Relationship Management, which has five. SHRM Certified Professional - SHRM BASK and learning system sources, SHRM.CP