SHRM SCP Practice Test Questions 2026

Last Updated on July 20, 2026

SHRM SCP Practice Test Questions 2026. The SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) is an advanced certification for senior-level HR professionals. The best way to understand your special strengths and challenges is to take practice exams. In addition to studying the content, it is important to set aside time to prepare for the exam structure itself. The best tool for doing this is the practice exams. There is a science behind structuring a coherent item (question). An item writer must consider the following when writing:

Content area: Pulled from the BoCK
Question type: Multiple choice, fill in the blank, true-false, or matching
Competency: Behavioral (application) or knowledge (technical expertise, foundational)

Not all practice exams are created equal! It is understandable that preparing for this exam can become quite pricey; do not skimp on your choice of practice exams, however. Too often, a student fails the test not because they lack technical expertise or experience, but because they were unprepared for how the items are written or fell victim to the pressure of a timed test. For this reason, it is useful to understand the different types of practice items that you will encounter as you search for this preparation resource.

SHRM SCP Practice Test Questions

SHRM Senior Certified Professional
SHRM-SCP
Total MCQs: 25

1) Annualized loss expectancy is an example of which of the following data analysis methods?

Quantitative

Qualitative

Regression

Lagging indicator

2) Which of the following is not an operational consideration for human resource information systems?

The ability to streamline payroll

The ability to track succession plans

The ability to manage the performance management process

The ability to house and secure compliance records

3) Which of the following is an outcome of a poor-quality management program?

High employee turnover

Increased risk

A compromised employer brand

All of the above

4) Which of the following organizational structures are best characterized by standard operating procedures?

Authoritarian

Transformational

Participative

Decentralized

5) Which the following tools would be most useful for an organization that wants to understand the skillset of their workforce?

A PESTLE analysis

A SWOT analysis

A gap analysis

A needs assessment

6) In which of the following structures is the bell curve used to map employee performance?

Forced distribution

Graphic rating scales

Narrative methods

Likert scale

7) As the HR manager for the nonprofit organization that offers free tutoring and other educational resources to underserved communities, you have been tasked with identifying how many full-time volunteers are necessary to staff next week. Calculate the FTE ratio using the following data:

40 students per day, 60-minute sessions over a 5-day period

1 FTE

3 FTEs

5 FTEs

7 FTEs

8) Which of the following is considered the operational framework for an organizational system?

The succession planning process

The workforce planning process

The strategic planning process

A human resource information system

9) Which of the following job attitudes is the most widely studied in terms of employee engagement?

Job enrichment

Job indexing

Organizational commitment

Job satisfaction

10) What is the first step in preventing a cybersecurity attack on an organization?

Lobbying the government for greater online controls

Prohibiting personal mobile device use on the company servers

Designing training to educate employees on how to prevent threats from occurring

Having a written policy and procedure on Internet and email protocols

11) What is the primary purpose of an OSHA accident and injury investigation?

To determine who is at fault

To determine if an accident or injury is recordable

To identify the root cause for use in the design of prevention strategies

To determine if an injury is compensable under an employer’s workers’ compensation program

12) Which of the following should be the first step in the development of a positive employee feedback system?

Decrease the frequency of feedback.

Increase the frequency of feedback.

Phase out the annual performance review.

Train managers on rater bias.

13) Which of the following is an important characteristic of a holistic risk management system?

Having a long-term risk assessment horizon

Taking a global view

Having an enterprise-wide focus

Building a focus on continuous improvement

14) Why is wealth distribution an issue for employers to address?

Wealth distribution is a function of corporate social responsibility.

Wealth distribution affects the ability of employees to meet their basic needs.

Wealth distribution is a human rights challenge that all citizens should be concerned with.

Wealth distribution is a perception of equity and it will drive consumer and employee behavior.

15) Which of the following project management tools would be best when there is a need to manage a large project over time?

Critical path analysis

SWOT analysis

Gantt charts

Variance analysis

16) When Apple partnered with Mastercard to process payments across all of their platforms, what kind of agreement did they enter into?

Acquisition

Merger

Divestiture

Strategic alliance

17) ________ is the metric used to understand the costs of recruitment and selection activities.

Time-to-hire

Cost-per-hire

Attrition

Selection costs

18) Biographical data, cognitive ability tests, and application forms are all examples of which of the following?

Protected class data

Options for selection testing at assessment centers

Preemployment tests covered by the UGESP

Selection tests that measure traits

19) Which of the following statements is true about ERISA?

It requires that employers offer retirement savings programs.

It does not apply to all employers.

It governs the use of retirement plans as part of an executive compensation package.

A major feature of ERISA is holding executives accountable.

20) Under what conditions would senior leadership recommend an ethnocentric staffing strategy?

When an MNE is in its first year of operations

When an MNE needs to follow home-country procedures

When host-country labor law differs significantly from home-country laws

When there is a need to save on costs

21) If an enforcement action is brought against an employer for a labor law violation, how long must the employer retain the records related to the dispute?

For at least 7 years

For as long as the enforcement agency directs

For as long as the dispute remains active

For 30 years

22) ________ is defined as HR’s ability to provide results beyond the initial cost or expected outcomes.

Measurement of impact

Value-added

Utility

Business impact

23) Quality, features, and high price point of a product or service are most closely related to which of the following competitive strategies?

Cost leadership

Differentiation

The value proposition

Market entry

24) There have been rumblings of union organization activity at your place of work, and you recently saw a pamphlet that had been left on a table in the break room. When you brought it up at the management meeting, a senior leader said that you needed to send out a communication to all employees that anyone caught organizing on the premises would be immediately terminated. This is an example of which of the following unfair labor practices?

Threatening

Interrogating

Spying

Promising

25) Which PESTLE force is represented by China’s restrictions on Internet website availability?

Political

Economic

Social

Environmental

Your score is

See also:

Free SHRM Practice Test 2026 Official Study Guide [PDF]