Effective Work Samples for HR Manager Interviews: Practical Exercises to Identify Top Talent

The HR Manager role is pivotal to organizational success, serving as the bridge between leadership and employees while ensuring the company maintains a healthy, productive, and legally compliant workplace. Finding the right HR Manager requires more than just reviewing resumes and conducting standard interviews—it demands seeing candidates in action through practical scenarios that mirror real-world challenges.

Traditional interviews often fail to reveal how candidates will actually perform in the complex, people-oriented situations that HR Managers face daily. By incorporating work samples and role plays into your interview process, you gain invaluable insights into candidates' problem-solving abilities, interpersonal skills, and technical HR knowledge when applied to realistic scenarios.

The best HR Managers combine empathy with analytical thinking, legal knowledge with practical solutions, and strategic vision with tactical implementation. These qualities are difficult to assess through conversation alone but become readily apparent when candidates engage with the types of challenges they'll encounter on the job.

The following four activities are designed to evaluate key competencies essential for HR Manager success. They provide a structured yet flexible framework to observe how candidates approach employee relations, talent acquisition, policy development, and performance management—core responsibilities that define excellence in this critical role.

Activity #1: Employee Relations Role Play - Conflict Resolution

This role play assesses the candidate's ability to mediate workplace conflicts, a crucial skill for any HR Manager. Effective conflict resolution requires active listening, emotional intelligence, impartiality, and the ability to guide parties toward constructive solutions while maintaining professional relationships.

Directions for the Company:

• Prepare a scenario involving two employees in conflict (e.g., a disagreement between a manager and team member about performance expectations, or two colleagues with different working styles causing team friction).
• Provide the candidate with a brief written overview of the situation 30 minutes before the exercise.
• Assign two team members to play the conflicting employees. Provide them with detailed character backgrounds and specific points they should raise during the discussion.
• The role play should last approximately 20-25 minutes, allowing the candidate sufficient time to understand the issues and work toward a resolution.
• Observe how the candidate balances the needs of both parties while representing company interests and policies.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the conflict scenario provided and prepare your approach to mediating the discussion.
• Conduct a meeting with both parties to understand their perspectives and facilitate a productive conversation.
• Your goal is to help the parties reach a mutually acceptable resolution while ensuring alignment with company policies and values.
• Be prepared to document next steps and any agreements reached during the mediation.
• Consider both the immediate resolution and how to prevent similar conflicts in the future.

Feedback Mechanism:

• After the role play, provide feedback on one aspect the candidate handled particularly well (e.g., active listening, remaining neutral, asking insightful questions).
• Offer one specific suggestion for improvement (e.g., addressing underlying issues, setting clearer expectations, balancing empathy with policy requirements).
• Allow the candidate 5 minutes to explain how they would incorporate this feedback if they were to handle a similar situation in the future.

Activity #2: Recruitment Strategy Development

This exercise evaluates the candidate's strategic thinking about talent acquisition and their ability to design effective recruitment processes. A successful HR Manager must be able to align hiring strategies with business needs while creating efficient, candidate-friendly processes that attract top talent.

Directions for the Company:

• Provide the candidate with information about a challenging position your company needs to fill (or create a realistic scenario).
• Include details about the role requirements, previous recruitment challenges, market conditions, and company growth plans.
• Supply basic information about your current recruitment process and tools.
• Allow the candidate 45-60 minutes to prepare their strategy.
• Have them present their plan to a small panel of HR team members and hiring managers.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Develop a comprehensive recruitment strategy for the position described, including:
• Sourcing channels and methods
• Candidate assessment approach
• Interview process design
• Timeline and key metrics for success
• Budget considerations
• Consider potential obstacles and how you would address them.
• Prepare a 15-minute presentation outlining your strategy, followed by 10 minutes of Q&A.
• Focus on both effectiveness (finding the right candidate) and efficiency (time and resources).

Feedback Mechanism:

• Provide feedback on one strength of the candidate's strategy (e.g., innovative sourcing methods, well-structured interview process).
• Offer one area for improvement (e.g., consideration of diversity and inclusion, budget realism, timeline feasibility).
• Give the candidate 10 minutes to revise one aspect of their strategy based on the feedback.

Activity #3: HR Policy Review and Recommendation

This activity assesses the candidate's knowledge of employment law, policy development skills, and ability to balance legal compliance with practical implementation. Effective HR Managers must ensure policies protect the company while creating a positive workplace culture.

Directions for the Company:

• Provide the candidate with one or two of your existing HR policies that need updating (or create sample policies with intentional gaps or outdated elements).
• Include context about your company size, industry, and any relevant compliance requirements.
• Alternatively, describe a new policy need (e.g., remote work, AI use in the workplace) and ask for recommendations.
• Allow 60 minutes for the candidate to review and prepare recommendations.
• Consider including recent regulatory changes relevant to the policy area.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the provided policy documents and identify areas for improvement regarding:
• Legal compliance
• Clarity and accessibility
• Alignment with company culture and values
• Practical implementation considerations
• Prepare written recommendations for policy updates or a draft of a new policy.
• Include an implementation plan outlining how you would communicate and roll out the policy changes.
• Be prepared to explain the rationale behind your recommendations, particularly regarding legal requirements and best practices.

Feedback Mechanism:

• Highlight one particularly insightful recommendation or approach the candidate took.
• Suggest one area where their policy recommendations could be strengthened (e.g., more specific guidance, better alignment with company culture).
• Allow the candidate 15 minutes to refine one section of their policy recommendations based on the feedback.

Activity #4: Performance Management Case Study

This exercise evaluates the candidate's ability to handle performance issues effectively, balancing employee development with organizational needs. Strong performance management skills are essential for HR Managers to help maintain productivity while supporting employee growth.

Directions for the Company:

• Create a detailed case study about an employee with performance issues. Include:
• The employee's role and tenure
• Performance history and current challenges
• Previous management interventions
• Team dynamics and business impact
• Provide relevant company policies regarding performance management.
• Allow the candidate 45 minutes to analyze the case and prepare their approach.
• Consider including complicating factors such as recent organizational changes or personal circumstances affecting the employee.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the case study and develop a comprehensive performance improvement approach.
• Create a draft Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) that includes:
• Specific, measurable performance objectives
• Resources and support to be provided
• Timeline and check-in points
• Consequences of meeting/not meeting objectives
• Outline how you would coach the employee's manager on implementing the plan.
• Prepare to discuss legal considerations and documentation requirements.
• Consider both the employee's development needs and the organization's requirements.

Feedback Mechanism:

• Provide feedback on one strength of the candidate's performance management approach (e.g., clear objectives, supportive elements, thorough documentation).
• Suggest one area for improvement (e.g., more specific metrics, better balance between support and accountability).
• Ask the candidate to revise one section of their PIP based on the feedback provided.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long should we allocate for these work samples in our interview process?

Each activity requires approximately 1.5-2 hours total, including preparation, execution, and feedback. We recommend selecting 1-2 activities most relevant to your specific needs rather than attempting all four. Consider spreading them across different interview stages or days to avoid candidate fatigue.

Should we use the same scenarios for all candidates?

Yes, using consistent scenarios allows for more objective comparison between candidates. However, you can customize details to prevent candidates from sharing information if interviews are scheduled far apart. The core challenges and evaluation criteria should remain consistent.

What if our company doesn't have the resources to conduct elaborate role plays?

The activities can be scaled according to your resources. For example, the conflict resolution role play could be simplified to a one-on-one discussion about how the candidate would handle a described scenario, or team members could play roles without extensive preparation. Focus on maintaining the core assessment objectives.

How should we evaluate candidates' performance on these activities?

Create a structured scorecard for each activity based on the key competencies you're assessing. Rate candidates on specific behaviors and outcomes rather than general impressions. Have multiple observers when possible, and compare notes immediately after the exercise while observations are fresh.

What if a candidate has limited experience with one aspect of an activity?

These activities assess both existing knowledge and learning agility. If a candidate acknowledges limited experience but demonstrates sound reasoning, asks good questions, and shows how they would approach the situation, this can be equally valuable. Consider their thought process and adaptability alongside technical expertise.

Should we share these activities with candidates in advance?

Provide general information about the types of activities they'll complete, but save specific details for the interview day. For activities requiring preparation time, provide materials at the designated time rather than days in advance. This creates a more realistic assessment of how candidates handle typical workplace scenarios.

The HR Manager role requires a unique blend of people skills, business acumen, and technical HR knowledge. By incorporating these practical work samples into your interview process, you'll gain deeper insights into how candidates apply their expertise to real-world situations. This approach not only helps you identify truly qualified candidates but also gives applicants a realistic preview of the role, leading to better hiring decisions and improved retention.

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