Aon Test

Aon Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You are a mechanic in the workshop of a bicycle shop. A customer’s bike is booked in for a gear repair, agreed for collection on Saturday morning. She phones to confirm, mentioning she is riding a charity event on Sunday. Your supplier has just confirmed the replacement part cannot be delivered before the middle of next week, and no other stockist holds it. The shop keeps a small fleet of loan bikes for situations like this. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Explain that repairs depend on parts suppliers and there is nothing anyone can do, and point out that bikes for weekend events really need booking in earlier.
   2. Tell her the part cannot arrive before her event, apologise, and offer a loan bike set up for Sunday, with the repair finished next week.
   3. Promise the repair will be ready for Saturday as agreed, phone the supplier every day to push for an earlier delivery, and keep her updated on progress.
   4. Give her the supplier's phone number so she can chase the part herself, since the supplier can tell her first-hand whether an earlier delivery is possible.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Tell her the part cannot arrive before her event, apologise, and offer a loan bike set up for Sunday, with the repair finished next week.

   Least effective: A. Explain that repairs depend on parts suppliers and there is nothing anyone can do, and point out that bikes for weekend events really need booking in earlier.

   A: Blames the customer and dismisses her need: the delay is the supplier's, not hers, and telling her nothing can be done while a loan fleet sits available sends her away without a bike for Sunday, a service failure of attitude rather than just of stock.

   C: Over-promises: the supplier has already confirmed the part cannot arrive before the middle of next week, so promising Saturday commits to an outcome you cannot control and risks her discovering too late that she has no bike for Sunday.

   D: Passes responsibility to others: sending the customer to chase your supplier hands her the shop's problem, and since delivery before next week has already been ruled out, the calls would change nothing about her real need, which is a bike to ride on Sunday.

   The most effective response is to tell her the part cannot arrive before her event, apologise, and offer a loan bike set up for Sunday: the supplier has ruled out an earlier delivery, so the honest answer plus the one thing the shop can actually do meets her real need, riding the charity event, while the repair follows next week. It beats promising the repair for Saturday and chasing the supplier daily, because that promises a completion the supplier has already said is impossible, raising her hopes on an outcome you cannot control and risking her finding out too late to arrange anything else. It beats giving her the supplier’s number to chase the part herself, because the delivery date is already settled and that does nothing about Sunday. The least effective response is explaining that nothing can be done and that she should have booked earlier: unlike the Saturday promise, which at least tries to serve her and keeps her informed, and unlike handing her the supplier’s number, which at least engages with the part problem, it blames her for a delay that is not her fault and turns her away with nothing while a loan fleet sits available. The principle: when you cannot deliver what was agreed, say so honestly and meet the customer’s underlying need with what you can deliver.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are a duty officer at a student halls of residence. A student tells you the fire door on the third floor stairwell has been propped open with a fire extinguisher for the past few days. You check and it is. The building has three hundred residents. Your accommodation manager is on call but off site, and the maintenance team start at 8am tomorrow. It is 9pm. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Close the fire door and return the extinguisher to its bracket now, then ring the accommodation manager to report that it has been propped for days.
   2. Log the issue for the maintenance team to deal with when they start at 8am tomorrow, and note that it has apparently been propped for several days.
   3. Put a notice on the door asking residents not to prop it open, and report it to the accommodation manager in the morning.
   4. Leave it until morning, since the door has apparently been propped for several days without incident and moving the extinguisher at night might leave it where residents cannot find it.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Close the fire door and return the extinguisher to its bracket now, then ring the accommodation manager to report that it has been propped for days.

   Least effective: D. Leave it until morning, since the door has apparently been propped for several days without incident and moving the extinguisher at night might leave it where residents cannot find it.

   B: Delays the decision: the log is right for the repair and wrong for tonight. Three hundred residents sleep behind a fire door that cannot close.

   C: Passes responsibility to residents: a notice asks three hundred people to maintain a fire precaution, when closing the door yourself takes seconds and removes the risk outright.

   D: Stays silent about a known fire risk: a fire door that cannot close and an extinguisher out of its bracket are two failures at once, above three hundred sleeping residents, and the justification is that nothing has happened yet.

   The most effective response is to close the fire door and return the extinguisher to its bracket now, then ring the accommodation manager to report that it has been propped for days: those two actions remove two fire safety failures in seconds, and the pattern is a separate problem she needs tonight because it suggests the door will simply be propped again. It beats putting a notice on the door asking residents not to prop it, because that delegates a fire precaution to three hundred residents when you can restore it yourself immediately. It beats logging the issue for the maintenance team at 8am, because that addresses the repair and leaves the building unsafe overnight. The least effective response is leaving it until morning because nothing has gone wrong so far: it leaves a fire door incapable of closing and an extinguisher out of its bracket above three hundred sleeping residents. That is worse than the maintenance log and the notice, which are inadequate but reduce or record the risk. The principle: restore the safety measure yourself when you can do it in seconds, then report the pattern to whoever can stop it recurring.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You are an administrator at a care home. Your manager has asked you to finish the monthly staffing rota by Friday; it is Tuesday. At 10am a relative rings to say she is visiting this afternoon and needs to know whether her father’s care plan review has been booked, because she must arrange time off work. Finding out takes about fifteen minutes. Your manager is on site. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell the relative you will ask your manager to call her back about the care plan review, since she knows the residents and can answer the question far more fully than you could.
   2. Carry on with the rota, since your manager set a Friday deadline for it, and leave the relative's question until you have the rota finished and can look into it properly.
   3. Tell the relative that care plan reviews are usually booked six- monthly, so her father's is probably due soon, and suggest she asks at reception when she visits this afternoon.
   4. Take her number, check the care plan review booking now since it takes about fifteen minutes, ring her back this morning, and carry on with the rota afterwards.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Take her number, check the care plan review booking now since it takes about fifteen minutes, ring her back this morning, and carry on with the rota afterwards.

   Least effective: B. Carry on with the rota, since your manager set a Friday deadline for it, and leave the relative's question until you have the rota finished and can look into it properly.

   A: Passes responsibility to others: it moves a fifteen-minute check onto a manager who has not been asked, and leaves the relative waiting on a call that may not come before this afternoon.

   B: Ignores the customer's actual need: a fifteen-minute question is parked behind a task with three days of slack, and the relative is trying to book time off today. Nothing is gained by the delay.

   C: Acts on assumptions without checking: it answers with a general pattern instead of the booking, and asks her to chase it herself on a visit she is trying to plan around.

   The most effective response is to take her number, check the care plan review booking now, and ring her back this morning: the question takes fifteen minutes and has a deadline of this afternoon, while the rota has three days in hand, so doing the short urgent thing first costs the rota almost nothing. It beats asking your manager to call her back about the review, because it is a fifteen-minute check you can do yourself, and routing it through a manager who has not been asked adds delay to something the relative needs today. It beats telling her reviews are usually booked six-monthly and to ask at reception, because a general rule is not an answer about her father, and it puts the work back on her. The least effective response is carrying on with the rota until it is finished: it leaves a time-sensitive question unanswered in favour of a task with three days of slack, so she cannot arrange her leave and nothing is gained. That is worse than the other two, which answer her badly but at least answer her. The principle: when a short task has a deadline today and a long one has a deadline on Friday, do the short one first.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You work at a print bureau. Loading a job you notice that the artwork for a customer’s 5,000 leaflets carries a phone number that does not match the one on their letterhead in the same file. Nobody has asked you to proofread; your job is to run the press. The print run starts in an hour. The customer’s contact details are on the job sheet and your production manager is on site. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Run the job exactly as supplied, since proofreading is not your role and the customer signed off the artwork before it came to the press.
   2. Ring the customer directly to check which phone number is correct before running the job, since it is their leaflet and only they can say.
   3. Print the leaflets using the number from the letterhead, since that is plainly the customer's real number and the one on the artwork must be a mistake.
   4. Take it to your production manager now, show her the two different numbers, and let her decide whether to hold the run and check with the customer.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Take it to your production manager now, show her the two different numbers, and let her decide whether to hold the run and check with the customer.

   Least effective: A. Run the job exactly as supplied, since proofreading is not your role and the customer signed off the artwork before it came to the press.

   A: Fails to escalate a genuine risk: you are the only person who has noticed, and 5,000 leaflets carrying a wrong phone number are worthless once printed. Sign-off does not make an error you can see disappear.

   B: Substitutes own judgement for the stakeholder's: contacting a customer about their artwork is the production manager's call, and going straight to them may cut across a conversation the bureau has already had.

   C: Acts on assumptions without checking: the artwork number may be a new line or a campaign number. Choosing between them yourself risks printing 5,000 leaflets with the wrong one and no record of who decided.

   The most effective response is to take it to your production manager now, show her the two different numbers, and let her decide whether to hold the run: you have spotted something nobody else has, the run starts in an hour, and she can decide in minutes. It costs almost nothing and prevents a scrapped run. It beats printing the leaflets using the number from the letterhead, because choosing between the two yourself is a guess about the customer’s business, and being wrong wastes the whole job. It beats ringing the customer directly to check which number is correct, because that relationship is the bureau’s to manage, and the manager may already know the answer. The least effective response is running the job exactly as supplied because proofreading is not your role: it prints 5,000 leaflets with a discrepancy you have seen, on the grounds that the artwork was signed off. That is worse than the other two, which act on it imperfectly but do act. The principle: when you see something wrong that is about to become expensive, raise it with whoever can stop the job, before it starts.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You are a first-line IT support technician at a legal practice. A monitoring alert shows the shared document server will run out of disk space in about three hours, at which point nobody in the firm will be able to save work. You are trained and authorised to clear the server’s temporary files, which usually frees significant space; anything further is the infrastructure team’s job, and they respond to urgent tickets within the hour. You have a queue of routine tickets waiting. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Run the authorised temporary-file clean-up now, check how much space it frees, and raise an urgent ticket with the infrastructure team straight away if the server is still at risk.
   2. Raise an urgent ticket with the infrastructure team immediately and wait for them to respond, leaving the server untouched since disk problems are ultimately their responsibility.
   3. Free space quickly by deleting several large, old-looking folders from the shared document server without checking with their owners, since that is certain to clear enough room.
   4. Work through your queue of routine tickets first and deal with the disk space alert afterwards, reasoning that three hours leaves plenty of time to act.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Run the authorised temporary-file clean-up now, check how much space it frees, and raise an urgent ticket with the infrastructure team straight away if the server is still at risk.

   Least effective: C. Free space quickly by deleting several large, old-looking folders from the shared document server without checking with their owners, since that is certain to clear enough room.

   B: Escalates prematurely: the first-line clean-up is exactly what you are trained and authorised to do, and it usually works; passing the problem straight to the infrastructure team leaves the server deteriorating while you wait for a response you may not need.

   C: Acts recklessly without checking: deleting folders from a legal practice's document server based on how old they look risks destroying client files nobody can recover, a destructive gamble rather than a defensible way of freeing space like the other options.

   D: Delays the decision: the three-hour window is an estimate, not a promise, and routine tickets can wait. Spending that buffer on low-priority work leaves no margin if the clean-up fails and the infrastructure team is needed.

   The most effective response is to run the authorised temporary-file clean- up now and raise an urgent ticket straight away if the server is still at risk: the alert sits squarely within your first-line remit, the clean-up is quick and usually works, and pairing it with an immediate escalation keeps the specialists in reserve without losing time. It beats raising the ticket and waiting with the server untouched, because that hands over a problem you are trained and equipped to try first, leaving the server deteriorating while you wait for a response the clean-up may make unnecessary. It beats working through your routine tickets first, because that spends the only safety margin on work that could wait, leaving no time to involve the infrastructure team if the clean-up proves insufficient. The least effective response is deleting large, old-looking folders without checking with their owners: unlike escalating and waiting, which at least puts the problem in expert hands, and unlike doing the routine queue first, which merely delays a sound plan, it risks permanently destroying colleagues’ and clients’ files on a guess about what the folders contain. The principle: handle what you are trained and authorised to handle, escalate promptly when the risk goes beyond your remit, and never buy time by gambling with things you cannot restore.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are a technician in a dental laboratory. You and a colleague, Rhian, share a batch of crowns due to the practice tomorrow morning. She has been working slowly since returning from leave and tells you she is struggling to get back up to speed. Six crowns remain and you can complete about four by the end of the day. Your laboratory manager is on site. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Send the crowns that are ready in the morning and say nothing about the missing ones, since the practice will probably not use them all on the same day.
   2. Take all six crowns yourself and work late to finish them, so the practice gets the full batch and Rhian is not put under more pressure.
   3. Complete the four you can manage and leave the remaining two for Rhian, since they are her share of the batch and she needs to get back up to speed.
   4. Work out with Rhian how many the two of you can realistically finish, and tell the laboratory manager today so the shortfall can be covered or the practice warned.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Work out with Rhian how many the two of you can realistically finish, and tell the laboratory manager today so the shortfall can be covered or the practice warned.

   Least effective: A. Send the crowns that are ready in the morning and say nothing about the missing ones, since the practice will probably not use them all on the same day.

   A: Hides the problem / silent deadline slip: an incomplete batch arrives with nobody told, so the practice discovers the shortfall with patients booked. Assuming they will not need them is a guess made on their behalf.

   B: Hides the strain until failure: it delivers tomorrow and conceals from the manager that the batch needed one person working late, so the same workload is planned again next week.

   C: Passes responsibility to others: it hands the shortfall to the person who has already said she cannot keep pace, which makes the batch late and teaches her nothing.

   The most effective response is to work out with Rhian how many the two of you can realistically finish, and tell the laboratory manager today: the shortfall is real and knowable now, and he is the only person who can add capacity or warn the practice in time for tomorrow morning. Working the number out with her first makes it accurate rather than pessimistic. It beats taking all six yourself and working late, because absorbing it delivers tomorrow and hides that the batch was never deliverable in normal hours, so it recurs. It beats completing four and leaving the remaining two for Rhian, because leaving them with a colleague who has said she cannot keep pace guarantees the batch is late and helps nobody. The least effective response is sending the crowns that are ready and saying nothing about the missing ones: it sends an incomplete batch to a practice with patients booked, on an assumption about what they will need. That is worse than the other two, which mishandle the workload but do not conceal the outcome. The principle: size the gap with your colleague, then tell whoever can fix or communicate it while tomorrow can still be changed.

7. Question 7 of 10

   You are a dispensing assistant at an opticians. It is 3pm. A customer is waiting for glasses promised for today, and the lenses need twenty minutes of fitting work. At the same time the practice manager asks you to complete the monthly stock return, due to head office by 5pm, which takes about an hour. A third customer is browsing frames and has not been greeted. You are alone in the dispensary. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell the practice manager you cannot do the stock return today and ask her to submit it herself, since two customers are in the practice and you are alone in the dispensary.
   2. Start the stock return first because head office has a fixed 5pm deadline, then fit the lenses and greet the browsing customer once the return has been submitted.
   3. Greet the browsing customer and say you will be with her shortly, fit the waiting customer's lenses, then do the stock return before 5pm.
   4. Fit the lenses, then the stock return, and leave the browsing customer to look at the frames on her own, since she has not asked for help and may prefer to browse undisturbed.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Greet the browsing customer and say you will be with her shortly, fit the waiting customer's lenses, then do the stock return before 5pm.

   Least effective: A. Tell the practice manager you cannot do the stock return today and ask her to submit it herself, since two customers are in the practice and you are alone in the dispensary.

   A: Passes responsibility to others: it hands a manageable task back to the manager before doing the arithmetic. Twenty minutes of fitting and an hour of reporting sit comfortably inside the two hours available, so the refusal is based on a clash that does not exist.

   B: Substitutes own judgement for the stakeholder's: it puts an hour of internal reporting ahead of a customer who was promised her glasses today and is already waiting in the practice.

   D: Ignores the customer's actual need: a few seconds of greeting costs nothing and is what stops a browsing customer leaving. Treating silence as a preference is an assumption made for your own convenience.

   The most effective response is to greet the browsing customer, fit the waiting customer’s lenses, then do the stock return before 5pm: two hours remain, the fitting takes twenty minutes and the return an hour, so everything fits if it is sequenced properly, and a greeting costs seconds. Doing the promised glasses first honours the commitment already made. It beats starting the stock return first because head office has a fixed deadline, since that treats an internal report as outranking a customer who was promised her glasses today and is sitting there waiting for them. It beats leaving the browsing customer to look at the frames on her own, because a customer who is never greeted is the one most likely to leave, and acknowledging her costs nothing. The least effective response is telling the practice manager you cannot do the stock return today: it hands a manageable task back to her without checking that it fits, when twenty minutes and an hour sit comfortably inside the two hours available. That is worse than the other two, which at least attempt everything. The principle: check whether the work actually fits before declining any of it, then sequence by who is waiting and what was promised.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You are a travel consultant at a high street travel agency. A couple booked a package holiday with you last week. This morning the tour operator emails to say their hotel has been changed to a different one two miles from the beach, not the beachfront hotel they chose. They fly in three weeks. The couple specifically asked for a beachfront hotel when they booked. Your branch manager is in this afternoon. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Email the couple explaining that the operator has made a change to their accommodation and that you will send the new hotel details once you have checked what alternatives might be available.
   2. Ring the tour operator and push for the couple to be reinstated at the beachfront hotel before you contact them, so that you can present the problem and its solution together.
   3. Ring the couple today, explain that the operator has moved them to a hotel two miles from the beach, and set out what their options are before deciding what to ask the operator for.
   4. Say nothing for now, since the operator may yet move them back, and tell them at the airport briefing if the hotel has not changed back by the time they travel.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Ring the couple today, explain that the operator has moved them to a hotel two miles from the beach, and set out what their options are before deciding what to ask the operator for.

   Least effective: D. Say nothing for now, since the operator may yet move them back, and tell them at the airport briefing if the hotel has not changed back by the time they travel.

   A: Delays the message: it tells them a change has happened while withholding the part that matters to them, that the new hotel is not on the beach they specifically asked for.

   B: Delays the decision: the instinct is decent and the clock is theirs, not yours. They have three weeks to decide whether to accept, change or cancel, and every day you spend negotiating is a day taken off that.

   D: Hides the problem / silent deadline slip: they discover at the airport that the one thing they specified is gone, with no time to decide anything. Waiting on a change that may not come is concealment, not patience.

   The most effective response is to ring the couple today, explain that the operator has moved them to a hotel two miles from the beach, and set out their options: they chose a beachfront hotel deliberately, the change removes exactly that, and with three weeks to travel they still have real choices. Telling them today, in full, is what makes those choices available. It beats emailing that the operator has made a change to their accommodation, because a vague notice withholds the single fact they care about and forces them to ask. It beats pushing the operator to reinstate the beachfront hotel before you contact them, because negotiating first, however well meant, spends their decision-making time on a position they have not been consulted about. The least effective response is saying nothing and telling them at the airport briefing: it is the only response where they learn when nothing can be changed, and it gambles their holiday on the operator reversing a decision it has already made. That is worse than the other two, which communicate late or partially but do not let them travel in ignorance. The principle: when a booking changes in the specific way a customer cared about, tell them at once and let them choose what to do about it.

9. Question 9 of 10

   You are a process operator at a waste water treatment works. Passing a monitoring screen that is not part of your round, you notice the outflow ammonia reading has been climbing steadily for three days and is close to the permitted limit. Exceeding it is reportable to the environmental regulator. The operator responsible is on leave. Your works manager is on site. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Adjust the aeration settings yourself to bring the ammonia down, since the trend is clear and the limit is close.
   2. Take the three-day trend to your works manager now, show him the readings and how close they are to the limit, and let him decide what to do.
   3. Record the trend in the shift log so the operator responsible picks it up when he returns from leave next week.
   4. Leave it, since the screen is not on your round, the reading is still inside the permitted limit and the plant's alarms would trigger if it went over.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Take the three-day trend to your works manager now, show him the readings and how close they are to the limit, and let him decide what to do.

   Least effective: D. Leave it, since the screen is not on your round, the reading is still inside the permitted limit and the plant's alarms would trigger if it went over.

   A: Acts outside own authority: changing process settings on a plant running near a permitted limit can drive the reading the wrong way, and the works manager has not been told the trend exists.

   C: Delays the decision: the log reaches the right person on the wrong day. The reading is close to a reportable limit now, and next week is after any breach would have happened.

   D: Fails to escalate a genuine risk: a three-day climb towards a reportable limit is exactly the signal that precedes a breach, and relying on the alarm means acting only once the limit has already been exceeded.

   The most effective response is to take the three-day trend to your works manager now, show him the readings and how close they are to the limit, and let him decide: a steady climb towards a reportable limit is a developing breach rather than a stable reading, you are the only person who has noticed with the responsible operator away, and he can act today. It beats adjusting the aeration settings yourself to bring the ammonia down, because that is a process decision beyond your authority on a plant running close to a limit, and could make the reading worse. It beats recording the trend in the shift log for the operator returning next week, because that arrives after the breach it should have prevented. The least effective response is leaving it because the reading is still inside the permitted limit and the alarms would trigger: it waits for an alarm that by definition sounds only once the limit has been exceeded and the breach is already reportable. That is worse than the other two, which act wrongly or slowly but do act. The principle: a trend towards a limit is information somebody needs before the limit is reached, so take it to whoever can act while it is still preventable.

10. Question 10 of 10

    You work in the billing team of an energy supplier. A customer rings about a bill for £520 covering nine months, caused by the supplier failing to bill her since she moved in. She says that even the standard twelve-month plan would be more than she can manage each month. Company policy allows a repayment plan over twelve months for billing errors of this kind, and a longer plan needs a team leader’s approval. Your team leader is at her desk. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

    1. Apologise for the nine months of missed billing, set out the twelve- month plan, and ask your team leader now whether a longer plan can be approved given the supplier's error.
    2. Explain that the energy was used and the bill is correct, and set up the standard twelve-month repayment plan the policy allows.
    3. Tell her the bill stands and must be paid within the usual payment terms, since the energy was genuinely used and the debt is hers regardless of when it was billed.
    4. Reduce the bill by the amount covering the first three months, since the supplier's failure to bill caused the problem and the customer should not pay for the company's error.
    Show the answer

    Most effective: A. Apologise for the nine months of missed billing, set out the twelve- month plan, and ask your team leader now whether a longer plan can be approved given the supplier's error.

    Least effective: C. Tell her the bill stands and must be paid within the usual payment terms, since the energy was genuinely used and the debt is hers regardless of when it was billed.

    B: Treats the policy floor as the ceiling: the twelve-month plan is offered as the only option when a longer one exists and a team leader who can approve it is at her desk, and she has not been asked.

    C: Ignores the customer's actual need: it demands full payment on normal terms for the supplier's own nine-month failure, and withholds a repayment plan the policy explicitly provides. That is a refusal of a remedy she is entitled to.

    D: Breaches confidentiality or process: writing off part of a bill is not a decision the billing team takes, and doing it unilaterally replaces an approval route with a personal judgement about fairness.

    The most effective response is to apologise for the nine months of missed billing, set out the twelve-month plan, and ask your team leader now whether a longer plan can be approved: the supplier caused this by not billing, the policy provides a repayment plan, and a longer one is available through a team leader sitting at her desk. That gives the customer the best the company actually allows. It beats explaining that the energy was used and setting up the standard twelve-month plan, because that treats it as the only option when a longer one exists and can be approved in minutes. It beats reducing the bill by the first three months, because that is not the billing team’s decision, however sympathetic the case. The least effective response is telling her the bill must be paid within the usual payment terms: it insists on normal terms for a debt created by the supplier’s own failure, and withholds a repayment plan the policy provides. That is worse than the standard plan, which at least offers one, and worse than the reduction, which at least tries to help. The principle: when your organisation caused the problem, find the most the policy allows and use the approval route for anything beyond it.