Public Sector Tests

Public Sector Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You are a contracts assistant at Calder Group. You and a colleague, Priti, jointly check supplier insurance certificates before contracts start. Priti has told you she has been passing certificates through on the expiry date shown in the covering email rather than opening the certificate itself. Two suppliers started work last month with expired cover. A contract starts on Monday. Your team leader is in the office and does not know. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Open every certificate for Monday's contract yourself, and tell your team leader that certificates have been passed on covering emails rather than actually checked.
   2. Check Monday's certificates yourself without telling anybody what Priti has been doing, and hope the two expired suppliers are not noticed.
   3. Ask Priti to go back through the last two months of certificates with you, and agree between you not to trouble the team leader with any of it.
   4. Email Priti a reminder of how certificates should be checked, and open Monday's certificate yourself to make sure that one at least is right.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Open every certificate for Monday's contract yourself, and tell your team leader that certificates have been passed on covering emails rather than actually checked.

   Least effective: B. Check Monday's certificates yourself without telling anybody what Priti has been doing, and hope the two expired suppliers are not noticed.

   B: Withholds a failure somebody needs to know about: two suppliers are already working with expired cover, and the only person aware that the check has not been running has decided not to say.

   C: Prioritises harmony over honesty: two contracts already started uninsured, which is past the point where two colleagues quietly review each other's work between themselves.

   D: Fixes one certificate and none of the cause: Monday is covered, Priti's method is unchanged, and the two suppliers already working with expired cover are still working.

   The most effective response is to open every certificate for Monday’s contract yourself, and tell your team leader that certificates have been passed on covering emails rather than checked: Monday’s has to be opened whatever happens, and two suppliers already working with expired cover is a live exposure only somebody with authority over the process can deal with. It beats asking Priti to go back through two months of certificates and agreeing not to trouble the team leader, because two uninsured contracts are past the point where colleagues correct each other quietly. It beats emailing her a reminder and opening Monday’s certificate yourself, because a reminder leaves the method unchanged and the exposures untouched. The least effective response is checking Monday’s certificates without telling anybody what she has been doing: two suppliers go on working with cover the organisation believes it has, and nobody can act on it. That makes it worse than the joint review, which at least revisits the past two months, and worse than the reminder, which tells her something. The principle: when a colleague’s shortcut has already produced a live exposure, the exposure goes to whoever can act on it, not just the next case.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are a contracts assistant at Calder Group. You have committed today to producing a tender evaluation summary that a panel meets to discuss on Monday. At eleven a supplier’s insurance certificate expires at midnight and the replacement has not arrived; without it a team of six cannot work on site from tomorrow. Chasing the certificate will take most of the afternoon. Your team leader is available. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell your team leader at once that the certificate expires tonight and that chasing it will cost the afternoon, and agree between you which of the two gets your day.
   2. Chase the certificate all afternoon and carry on with the evaluation summary tomorrow, without telling anybody that Monday's panel paper is now at risk.
   3. Finish the evaluation summary as committed and leave the certificate to expire, telling the site team tomorrow morning that they cannot start.
   4. Ask a colleague who has never chased a certificate to do it while you carry on with the summary, and check on them at the end of the day.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Tell your team leader at once that the certificate expires tonight and that chasing it will cost the afternoon, and agree between you which of the two gets your day.

   Least effective: B. Chase the certificate all afternoon and carry on with the evaluation summary tomorrow, without telling anybody that Monday's panel paper is now at risk.

   B: Withholds a risk somebody is relying on: the panel meets on Monday to discuss a paper that may not exist, and the only person who knows that has decided not to say so today.

   C: Ranks a movable commitment above an immovable one: a summary due for Monday has the weekend behind it, and six people cannot be on site tomorrow if the certificate lapses tonight.

   D: Delegates the urgent task to the least prepared person: an untrained colleague chasing a certificate that expires at midnight is the arrangement most likely to end with it expiring.

   The most effective response is to tell your team leader at once that the certificate expires tonight and that chasing it will cost the afternoon, and agree which of the two gets your day: one thing expires tonight and cannot be recovered, the other has a weekend behind it, and the call should be made with both facts in front of him. It beats finishing the evaluation summary and letting the certificate expire, because a summary due Monday has a weekend behind it and six people on site do not. It beats asking a colleague who has never chased a certificate to do it, because they are the least likely to catch one expiring at midnight. The least effective response is chasing the certificate all afternoon without telling anybody that Monday’s panel paper is now at risk: the right work is done and the panel expects a paper nobody has flagged, so the weekend passes with the problem invisible. That makes it worse than letting it expire, which chooses badly but openly, and worse than the poor delegation, which keeps both jobs alive. The principle: when a late arrival displaces committed work, the displacement is the thing to tell people about, not just the work.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You are a contracts assistant at Brantwood Services. A community group that hires a hall from you every Saturday emails asking you to cancel their booking for the next six weeks. In the same email they mention that their usual room has been too cold to use since October and that they have complained twice. Cancelling loses them their Saturday slot permanently, and the heating fault has an open job number. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Reply asking whether the cold room is the reason for cancelling, tell them the heating job is open, and offer to hold their Saturday slot while it is fixed.
   2. Cancel the six bookings straight away as the email asks, release the Saturday slot to the waiting list, and close the enquiry as a customer request.
   3. Reply asking them to confirm the cancellation in writing from their group's secretary, and process it once you have that confirmation in front of you.
   4. Cancel the bookings as asked and separately chase the heating job, letting the group know when the room is warm again in case they want to come back to it.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Reply asking whether the cold room is the reason for cancelling, tell them the heating job is open, and offer to hold their Saturday slot while it is fixed.

   Least effective: B. Cancel the six bookings straight away as the email asks, release the Saturday slot to the waiting list, and close the enquiry as a customer request.

   B: Closes the request on its face: the email contains a cancellation and a reason for it, and acting on the first while ignoring the second gives away a permanent Saturday slot over a fault that already has a job number.

   C: Delays the decision: a written confirmation adds a step to a cancellation that may not be wanted at all, and the six weeks run out while the paperwork goes back and forth.

   D: Ignores the customer's actual need: the group loses its Saturday slot permanently today and is invited back to a slot that will no longer exist, which is not what an offer to return means.

   The most effective response is to reply asking whether the cold room is the reason for cancelling, tell them the heating job is open, and offer to hold their Saturday slot: the email gives you a request and the reason behind it, the reason has an open job number, and a slot lost permanently cannot be given back. It beats asking them to confirm the cancellation in writing from their secretary, because that delays a cancellation nobody has established is wanted. It beats cancelling as asked and separately chasing the heating, because that offers them a return to a slot that will already have gone. The least effective response is cancelling the six bookings and releasing the Saturday slot to the waiting list: it acts on the words and discards the reason in the same email, and the group loses a permanent slot over a fault the organisation is already fixing. That makes it worse than the written confirmation, which is slow but leaves the slot intact, and worse than cancelling and chasing, which at least chases the fault. The principle: when a request and its reason arrive together, deal with the reason before acting irreversibly on the request.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You are a shared services administrator at Ashmere Trust. Your team processes staff expense claims in the order they arrive, usually within three weeks. Your sister-in-law works in another division and has asked you to push her four-hundred-pound claim through this week because she is short before a holiday. She has offered to buy you a gift at the weekend. You have the access to move claims, and nobody reviews the order. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Move her claim to the front of the queue this week and accept the gift she has offered at the weekend, treating it as a favour anybody would do for family.
   2. Move her claim forward but decline the weekend gift, on the view that the favour is harmless as long as you take nothing at all for it.
   3. Tell her you would rather not move it and say nothing to anybody, and let her claim run through in its normal place in the queue.
   4. Tell her you cannot move claims for family, explain the three- week timescale and the hardship route if one exists, and mention the request to your team leader.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Tell her you cannot move claims for family, explain the three- week timescale and the hardship route if one exists, and mention the request to your team leader.

   Least effective: A. Move her claim to the front of the queue this week and accept the gift she has offered at the weekend, treating it as a favour anybody would do for family.

   A: Accepts a benefit for using your access: everybody else in the queue waits longer so that a relative does not, and the weekend gift makes it a transaction rather than a lapse.

   B: Grants the favour and keeps the conscience: the queue is still jumped and every other claimant still waits longer, and declining the gift changes nothing for them.

   C: Withholds a request your team leader should know about: you hold access that can move a queue nobody reviews, and a family member has just asked you to use it.

   The most effective response is to tell her you cannot move claims for family, explain the three-week timescale and the hardship route, and mention the request to your team leader: the answer has to be no, she is short of money and the hardship route is the useful part of the reply, and a relative asking you to use unreviewed access is exactly what a team leader is told about. It beats moving her claim forward while declining the weekend gift, because that still jumps the queue and only declines the payment for it. It beats telling her you would rather not and saying nothing to anybody, because the request itself is what your team leader needs to know. The least effective response is moving her claim to the front and accepting the gift: unreviewed access puts a relative ahead of everybody else and a gift is taken for it, which turns a lapse into a transaction. That makes it worse than the unpaid favour, which takes nothing, and worse than the quiet refusal, which leaves the queue alone. The principle: refuse the favour, offer the route that genuinely helps, and tell somebody that the access was asked for.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You are an enquiries officer at Redhill Directorate. In this morning’s team meeting, in front of eight colleagues, another officer said that your replies to enquirers are so slow that people ring back and make more work for everybody. You know your average is in line with the team’s. You and that officer share the duty rota and have to hand over to each other twice a week. The meeting has finished. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Let it go and change nothing, on the view that responding at all would make the disagreement bigger than the remark itself was.
   2. Email your team leader with your reply times and the officer's comment, and ask them to correct the record with the team.
   3. Read the officer's own reply times out at the next team meeting in front of the team, since the comparison ought to be heard by the same people who heard the criticism.
   4. Speak to the officer privately today, say that the comment in front of the team was not welcome, and go through the actual reply times with them.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Speak to the officer privately today, say that the comment in front of the team was not welcome, and go through the actual reply times with them.

   Least effective: C. Read the officer's own reply times out at the next team meeting in front of the team, since the comparison ought to be heard by the same people who heard the criticism.

   A: Avoids the difficult conversation: you hand over to this officer twice a week, and an unaddressed remark made in front of eight people sits underneath every one of those handovers.

   B: Escalates prematurely: the officer has not yet been spoken to, and a team leader asked to correct the record in front of the team turns a remark into a formal matter.

   C: Answers a criticism with a criticism: it makes the disagreement about which of you is slower rather than about the figures, in front of the same audience, and the twice-weekly handover gets harder for both of you.

   The most effective response is to speak to the officer privately today, say the comment in front of the team was not welcome, and go through the actual reply times: the remark was public and wrong, you work with this person twice a week, and a private conversation with the figures deals with both the accuracy and the relationship. It beats letting it go and changing nothing, because the remark then stands underneath every handover. It beats emailing your team leader with your reply times and asking them to correct the record, because the officer has not been spoken to and bringing a manager in first turns a remark into a formal matter. The least effective response is reading the officer’s own reply times out at the next team meeting: it moves the disagreement in front of everybody, makes it about which of you is worse, and leaves you both handing over twice a week afterwards. That makes it worse than letting it go, which adds nothing, and worse than the email, which is heavy-handed but aimed at the facts. The principle: answer a public criticism privately and on the evidence, rather than in kind and in front of the same audience.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are a correspondence officer at Calder Group. In this morning’s stand-up a colleague, Nuala, said in front of the team that you never pick up your phone and that she ends up taking your calls. You share the duty line on alternate days. You do miss calls when you are drafting, and so does she. The stand-up has finished and your team leader was not there. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Ask Nuala for ten minutes today, agree what cover each of you actually needs when the other is drafting, and say the stand-up was not the place for it.
   2. Answer in the next stand-up with the number of her calls you have taken this month, since the team heard only one side of it.
   3. Say nothing and make a point of answering every call for the next fortnight, and see whether she raises it again.
   4. Stop picking up Nuala's calls after the way she raised it, and let her find out how many of hers you have been taking.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Ask Nuala for ten minutes today, agree what cover each of you actually needs when the other is drafting, and say the stand-up was not the place for it.

   Least effective: D. Stop picking up Nuala's calls after the way she raised it, and let her find out how many of hers you have been taking.

   B: Answers a public remark in public: the figures may be on your side, and the two of you still share a duty line with a team now watching the score.

   C: Fixes the symptom for a fortnight: you both miss calls when drafting, and nothing about answering harder for two weeks settles what cover the line actually needs.

   D: Withdraws cover after a remark: the calls that go unanswered are the public's, not Nuala's, and she learns nothing about how the two of you should be covering the line.

   The most effective response is to ask Nuala for ten minutes today, agree what cover each of you needs when the other is drafting, and say the stand-up was not the place for it: the remark was public and partly fair, you both miss calls while drafting, and what needs settling is what the duty line requires. It beats answering in the next stand-up with the number of her calls you have taken, because a public rebuttal leaves you both keeping score in front of the team. It beats saying nothing and answering every call for a fortnight, because that does not settle what the line needs. The least effective response is stopping picking up her calls after the way she raised it: the unanswered calls belong to the public rather than to her, and the question of how the line is covered stays exactly where it was. That makes it worse than the public rebuttal, which is escalatory but factual, and worse than answering harder, which costs nobody. The principle: answer a public remark privately, and never let a disagreement about cover be settled by withdrawing it.

7. Question 7 of 10

   You are a case officer at Redhill Directorate. A decision letter approving a grant of eight thousand pounds went out on Friday to an applicant who does not qualify; a colleague, Ruth, used the wrong eligibility list. The applicant has already emailed to say they have ordered equipment. Your team leader is on leave until Monday and the deputy is running the team. Ruth is at her desk and does not know yet. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Email the applicant straight away telling them the letter was sent in error and that they should not spend the money, and tell the deputy afterwards.
   2. Wait until Monday when your team leader is back, and put the whole thing to them with a recommendation rather than taking it to the deputy.
   3. Raise the error with the deputy behind her back this morning, and leave it to them to decide whether Ruth is told which eligibility list she used.
   4. Tell Ruth what you have found, then take it together to the deputy this morning with the letter, the eligibility list and the applicant's email about the equipment.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Tell Ruth what you have found, then take it together to the deputy this morning with the letter, the eligibility list and the applicant's email about the equipment.

   Least effective: C. Raise the error with the deputy behind her back this morning, and leave it to them to decide whether Ruth is told which eligibility list she used.

   A: Acts alone on a decision that is not yours: withdrawing an approval is the organisation's decision to communicate, and an applicant told by one officer that a formal letter is void has nothing in writing to rely on.

   B: Fails to escalate a genuine risk: the applicant has already ordered equipment, so three more days of believing they qualify is the part of the problem that is still growing.

   C: Reports a colleague instead of telling her: it makes the first move about Ruth rather than about the letter and an applicant buying equipment, and Ruth learns of her own error from a manager.

   The most effective response is to tell Ruth what you have found, then take it together to the deputy this morning with the letter, the eligibility list and the applicant’s email: somebody is spending money on a letter that should not have been sent, it has to reach somebody who can act today, and going with her and the evidence deals with the money and the error at once. It beats emailing the applicant straight away to say the letter was sent in error, because withdrawing a formal approval is not one officer’s message to send. It beats waiting until Monday and putting it to your team leader with a recommendation, because the applicant is buying equipment now. The least effective response is raising it with the deputy behind her back: it makes the first move about who made the mistake, leaves her to hear about her own error from a manager, and does nothing faster for the applicant. That makes it worse than emailing the applicant, which is irregular but stops the spending, and worse than waiting for Monday, which is slow but aimed at the decision rather than at a colleague. The principle: bad news goes to whoever can act on it, with the person who caused it rather than around them.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You are a shared services administrator at Brantwood Services. Each quarter you certify on a one-page return how many staff completed mandatory training. This quarter’s figure comes from a system report that you know double-counts anyone who restarted a module. You cannot tell how many that is without a manual check taking two days. The return is due tomorrow and is used to report externally. The person who signs it is available this afternoon. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Submit the return with the system figure as it stands and add a line to it saying that the number may include some people who restarted a module more than once, which nobody has counted.
   2. Start the two-day manual check now and tell the signer that the return will be a day late this quarter.
   3. Take the figure and the double-counting problem to the person who signs the return this afternoon, and set out what a two-day manual check would cost against submitting with a caveat.
   4. Certify the system figure as correct on the return and note in your own file that a manual check is needed at some point next quarter.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Take the figure and the double-counting problem to the person who signs the return this afternoon, and set out what a two-day manual check would cost against submitting with a caveat.

   Least effective: D. Certify the system figure as correct on the return and note in your own file that a manual check is needed at some point next quarter.

   A: Decides the disclosure alone: the caveat may be exactly right, but the person whose name goes on an externally reported figure has not been asked whether they will sign it with one.

   B: Spends a deadline to buy certainty nobody asked for: the return is due tomorrow and is reported externally, and lateness is a cost the signer should get to weigh.

   D: Certifies a figure you know is wrong: the return goes out externally as accurate, the double-count stays in it, and the only record of the problem is a note in your own file.

   The most effective response is to take the figure and the double-counting problem to the person who signs the return this afternoon, setting out what a two-day manual check would cost against submitting with a caveat: the figure is knowably wrong in a known direction, and both the caveat and the lateness are their calls because it is their name on an externally reported number. It beats submitting with a line saying the number may include people who restarted a module, because that decides on their behalf what they are willing to certify. It beats starting the manual check and telling them the return will be a day late, because that spends a deadline they have not agreed to spend. The least effective response is certifying the system figure as correct and noting privately that a check is needed next quarter: a number you know double-counts is certified and sent outside the organisation. That makes it worse than the caveat, which does disclose, and worse than the manual check, which is late but true. The principle: when the figure is doubtful and the certificate is somebody else’s, put the doubt and the cost of resolving it in front of them before the deadline.

9. Question 9 of 10

   You are a management information assistant at Redhill Directorate. A dashboard you presented last week has been well received, and your director has emailed the division praising your work on it. A colleague, Bea, built most of the underlying queries, and you have heard she is telling other people you took the credit. The director’s email is still being forwarded around the division. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Blame Bea to the rest of your team for spreading the story, and add that her queries needed a good deal of correcting before the dashboard worked at all.
   2. Speak to Bea today, agree between you what her contribution actually was, and then email the director correcting the record with Bea copied in.
   3. Reply to the director's email saying the dashboard was a joint effort, and leave it to Bea to raise her own part if she wants to.
   4. Say nothing publicly and thank Bea privately for the queries, on the view that the director's email will be forgotten in a fortnight.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Speak to Bea today, agree between you what her contribution actually was, and then email the director correcting the record with Bea copied in.

   Least effective: A. Blame Bea to the rest of your team for spreading the story, and add that her queries needed a good deal of correcting before the dashboard worked at all.

   A: Answers a grievance with an attack on the person: the director's email is still wrong, Bea's account of it becomes more credible, and your team is given a dispute instead of a correction.

   C: Corrects the credit without naming who earned it: a joint effort leaves the director none the wiser about Bea, and puts the burden of claiming her own work on the person with none of the standing.

   D: Settles the relationship and leaves the record wrong: a private thank you does nothing about an email still being forwarded round the division under your name alone.

   The most effective response is to speak to Bea today, agree what her contribution actually was, and then email the director correcting the record with her copied in: the email is wrong and still circulating, she built most of the queries, and a correction agreed with her fixes the record and the relationship at once. It beats replying that the dashboard was a joint effort and leaving her to raise her own part, because that tells the director nothing about who did what. It beats saying nothing publicly and thanking her privately, because a private thank you does not reach an email being forwarded round the division. The least effective response is blaming her to your team for spreading the story and adding that her queries needed correcting: a complaint about credit is answered by attacking the person who earned it, and the director’s email stays as wrong as it was. That makes it worse than the joint-effort reply, which moves the record towards the truth, and worse than the private thanks, which damages nobody. The principle: when credit has landed in the wrong place, correct it with the person who earned it, in writing, to whoever got it wrong.

10. Question 10 of 10

    You are a programme support officer at Brantwood Services. Every project closure needs a lessons-learned session recorded on the closure form before the project can be signed off. A project is being closed on Friday and the session has not happened; the team has dispersed and two members have left. Your programme manager wants the form completed today. Nothing stops you filling in the box, and nobody checks whether the session happened. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

    1. Complete the form leaving the lessons-learned box blank, and let whoever signs the closure off decide for themselves what they want to do about a session that never took place at all.
    2. Ask your programme manager to sign the closure off without the form, and raise the missing session at the next programme board instead.
    3. Tell your programme manager the session has not happened, and propose a thirty-minute call this week with the three people still here, because the form is the only record.
    4. Complete the lessons-learned box today from the project's own progress reports, and record the session as completed so the closure can be signed off on Friday.
    Show the answer

    Most effective: C. Tell your programme manager the session has not happened, and propose a thirty-minute call this week with the three people still here, because the form is the only record.

    Least effective: D. Complete the lessons-learned box today from the project's own progress reports, and record the session as completed so the closure can be signed off on Friday.

    A: Leaves a gap without naming it: an empty box on a closure form is indistinguishable from an oversight, and the signer has to guess whether the session was missed or forgotten.

    B: Solves the paperwork and loses the substance: the form can be waived, but the three people still here are the last chance anybody has to capture what the project learned.

    D: Records a session as completed that never took place: the closure file will say lessons were captured from a meeting nobody attended, and the two people who left took the only account of them.

    The most effective response is to tell your programme manager the session has not happened, and propose a thirty-minute call this week with the three people still here: the session is the substance and the form is the record of it, and half an hour produces something real for a Friday sign- off. It beats completing the form with the lessons-learned box left blank, because a blank box tells the signer nothing about whether the session was missed or forgotten. It beats asking her to sign the closure off without the form, because waiving it loses the last chance to capture what the project learned. The least effective response is filling the box from the project’s progress reports and recording the session as completed: a meeting that never happened is written into the closure file, so the organisation’s record is an account nobody gave. That makes it worse than the blank box, which claims nothing, and worse than waiving the form, which does not falsify it. The principle: when a record requires a step that has not happened, do the step or say it is missing, and never write it in.