Free HRCI SPHR Practice Exam with Questions & Answers | Set: 7

These elements are directly tied to compensation and benefits design—especially when focusing on cafeteria plans, market-based pay, and performance-based incentives. The SPHR Total Rewards domain highlights reengineering compensation systems to reflect strategic objectives and market competitiveness.

Workforce plans primarily support organizational strategy by forecasting future talent gaps (A). At the SPHR level, workforce planning is a forward-looking process that ensures the organization has the right people, with the right skills, at the right time.

By forecasting talent gaps, HR can anticipate shortages or surpluses based on strategic direction, growth plans, retirements, and labor market trends. This enables proactive actions such as hiring, development, succession planning, or automation.

Evaluating HR priorities (B), benefit cost analysis (C), and training needs identification (D) are operational activities that may result from workforce planning but do not define its strategic purpose.

SPHR exam content emphasizes workforce planning as a strategic risk mitigation tool that links human capital supply to business demand.

References :

HRCI SPHR Exam Content Outline — Functional Area: Leadership and Strategy (workforce planning).

HRCI SPHR Study Guide — Strategic workforce forecasting methods.

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Internal equity ensures fairness among current employees, while market competitiveness is about offering externally attractive pay. These can conflict when market rates exceed internal benchmarks, creating compression or morale issues.

Extract from HRCI-aligned HR knowledge (Total Rewards):

SPHR guidance includes “balancing internal consistency with external competitiveness in pay structures.” HR leaders must mitigate conflicts through pay bands, variable pay, or phased market adjustments.

Before any compensation structure can be created, it is essential to define each role clearly. Job descriptions are the foundation of compensation design because they allow for accurate job evaluations, benchmarking, and internal equity assessments. Without them, you cannot determine market value or job classification reliably.

Extract from HRCI-aligned HR knowledge (Total Rewards domain):

The SPHR exam framework stresses the importance of “defining job roles as the foundation for compensation and performance systems.” Formal pay programs begin with role clarity—job descriptions drive internal equity, job evaluations, and external market comparisons.

Total Rewards programs are designed with the primary goal of attracting, retaining, and engaging talent. Strategic reward systems must reflect what employees value, while also supporting business needs.

Extract from HRCI-aligned HR knowledge (Total Rewards domain):

SPHR highlights that effective total rewards systems should “drive attraction and retention of top talent by aligning compensation and benefits with employee expectations and business goals.” Recruitment and retention are core drivers of total rewards strategy, alongside equity and motivation.

A golden parachute is a contractual clause that provides executives with financial protection in case of termination following a change in control (e.g., MandA). It's designed to retain talent and protect decision-makers during uncertainty.

Extract from HRCI-aligned HR knowledge (Total Rewards):

SPHR-level compensation strategy includes “designing executive packages that protect leaders and maintain stability during transition events.” Golden parachutes are legally binding and used to prevent talent flight and protect continuity.

HR best supports the decision to hire additional staff by performing a skill gap assessment, as it directly evaluates whether existing workforce capabilities align with current and future organizational needs. At the SPHR level, staffing decisions must be data-driven, strategic, and aligned with business demand, rather than based on assumptions or isolated metrics.

A skill gap assessment systematically identifies discrepancies between the skills required to achieve organizational objectives and the skills currently available within the workforce. This analysis allows HR to determine whether performance gaps can be addressed through training, reskilling, redeployment, or process redesign—or whether additional headcount is genuinely required. As such, it supports sound workforce planning and cost control.

Analyzing attrition rates (A) provides useful historical insight but does not, on its own, justify hiring additional staff. High attrition may reflect engagement, leadership, or compensation issues rather than true workforce demand. Creating new competency profiles (B) supports role clarity and development but does not assess current capacity or workload sufficiency.

SPHR exam content emphasizes that effective talent planning requires diagnostic analysis, not reactive hiring. Skill gap assessments connect staffing decisions to strategy, productivity, and future readiness—making them the strongest tool for supporting headcount expansion decisions.

References :

HRCI SPHR Exam Content Outline — Functional Area: Talent Planning and Acquisition (workforce planning; gap analysis; strategic staffing).

HRCI SPHR Study Guide — Use of skill gap analysis in headcount and capability planning.

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The results of a SWOT analysis allow an organization to focus on business opportunities (A). SWOT—an assessment of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats—is a strategic planning tool used to identify how internal capabilities can be leveraged to capitalize on external opportunities while mitigating risks.

The “opportunities” component of SWOT highlights favorable external conditions such as market growth, technological advances, demographic shifts, or regulatory changes that the organization can exploit. By aligning strengths with opportunities, leaders can make informed strategic choices about where to invest resources and how to compete effectively.

International trends (B) and financial stability (C) may be inputs to or outcomes of SWOT analysis, but they are not its primary focus. Competitive benchmarking (D) is a separate analytical activity that may inform SWOT but is not the central purpose of the tool.

SPHR exam content emphasizes SWOT as a foundational framework for strategic decision-making, enabling HR and business leaders to align people strategy with market opportunity.

References :

HRCI SPHR Exam Content Outline — Functional Area: Leadership and Strategy (strategic analysis tools).

HRCI SPHR Study Guide — Application of SWOT analysis in organizational planning.

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The correct answer is Option B, which reflects the appropriate workforce planning formula used to calculate the number of sales positions required to meet a desired sales goal, taking into account existing staff.

At the SPHR level, this question tests quantitative workforce planning and demand forecasting, a critical competency in Talent Planning and Acquisition. The goal is to determine how many sales representatives are required based on productivity assumptions and then adjust for current headcount.

From the data provided:

Desired sales goal: $6,000 per month

Orders per representative: 200 per month

Price per order: $3.00

Current sales representatives: 4

First, calculate the monthly revenue generated by one sales representative:

200 orders × $3.00 = $600 per representative per month

Next, calculate the total number of representatives required to meet the sales goal:

$6,000 ÷ $600 = 10 total representatives required

Because the organization already has 4 current sales representatives, the formula must subtract the existing headcount to determine additional positions needed:

10 − 4 = 6 additional sales representatives

Option B correctly represents this logic mathematically:

6,000 ÷ (200 × 3) − 4

The other options incorrectly reverse the formula or subtract values in a way that does not align with workforce demand logic, resulting in invalid staffing conclusions.

The SPHR Exam Content Outline emphasizes that effective workforce planning must:

Translate business goals into productivity assumptions

Use mathematically sound formulas

Account for current workforce supply

Option B is the only choice that satisfies all three requirements.

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In a union shop (a type of union security agreement), employees may be required to join the union within a certain period after being hired. Refusal may lead to termination, provided it aligns with the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) and state labor laws.

Extract from HRCI-aligned HR knowledge (Employee and Labor Relations domain):

SPHR coverage of labor law and union practices includes union security clauses like union shop, agency shop, and closed shop. In a legal union shop, termination is permitted if an employee refuses union membership, assuming the terms are consistent with the NLRA and applicable CBAs.