Anglo American Assessment Tests

Anglo American Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You work on the technical support line for a broadband provider. A customer who works from home has had no connection for four days. Three engineer visits have been booked and each has been cancelled by the provider. She is calm but says she is losing income. The fault system shows an area problem with no fix date. Your team leader can authorise goodwill credits and priority escalation. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Explain that area faults are outside the provider's direct control, that no fix date is available, and that she will be updated when there is news.
   2. Apologise, explain that the fault is an area problem with no fix date yet, and book a fourth engineer visit for the earliest available slot.
   3. Apologise, explain the area fault honestly, and ask your team leader now about priority escalation and a goodwill credit for four days without a connection.
   4. Apply a goodwill credit to her account straight away for the four days without service, and tell your team leader afterwards.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Apologise, explain the area fault honestly, and ask your team leader now about priority escalation and a goodwill credit for four days without a connection.

   Least effective: A. Explain that area faults are outside the provider's direct control, that no fix date is available, and that she will be updated when there is news.

   A: Ignores the customer's actual need: it gives a customer losing income an open-ended wait and nothing else, when escalation and a credit are both available a few steps away. Offering only patience is a refusal of the remedies that exist.

   B: Repeats what has already failed: a fourth visit against an area fault will be cancelled like the other three, and it offers nothing for four days of lost income when a team leader could.

   D: Breaches confidentiality or process: goodwill credits are the team leader's to authorise, and applying one yourself reaches a fair outcome by removing the approval that governs it.

   The most effective response is to apologise, explain the area fault honestly, and ask your team leader now about priority escalation and a goodwill credit: the fault is genuinely an area problem, so honesty about the fix date is right, but she is losing income and the provider has two remedies available, both of which need the team leader who is right there. It beats booking a fourth engineer visit for the earliest slot, because sending an engineer against an area fault repeats what has already failed three times. It beats applying the goodwill credit yourself and telling the team leader afterwards, because the credit is hers to authorise and taking it bypasses the control rather than using it. The least effective response is telling her area faults are outside the provider’s control and that she will be updated when there is news: it tells a customer losing income to wait indefinitely and offers none of the remedies the provider has. That is worse than the fourth visit, which at least books something, and worse than the unauthorised credit, which at least compensates her. The principle: be honest about what cannot be fixed, and use every remedy your organisation actually has, through the person authorised to grant it.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are a science technician at a secondary school. Preparing for a practical lesson you find a bottle of concentrated acid in the general chemicals cupboard rather than the locked cabinet, with a loose cap. The lesson starts in twenty minutes and thirty pupils will be in the room. The head of science is teaching but the department office is next door and the site manager is available. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Move the bottle to the locked cabinet, tighten the cap, and tell the head of science about it after the lesson when she is free.
   2. Secure the bottle in the locked cabinet now, and interrupt the head of science briefly to tell her before thirty pupils come into the room.
   3. Leave the bottle where it is and mention it to the head of science at break, since the cupboard is at the back of the room and pupils are not allowed to open it.
   4. Cancel the practical and tell the class teacher the lesson cannot go ahead until the chemical storage has been checked properly.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Secure the bottle in the locked cabinet now, and interrupt the head of science briefly to tell her before thirty pupils come into the room.

   Least effective: C. Leave the bottle where it is and mention it to the head of science at break, since the cupboard is at the back of the room and pupils are not allowed to open it.

   A: Delays the decision: securing the bottle is right and it leaves unanswered how concentrated acid came to be in an unlocked cupboard, which the head of science needs to know before the next lesson, not after this one.

   C: Stays silent about a known safety risk: concentrated acid with a loose cap is left in an unlocked cupboard while thirty pupils work in the room, on the assumption that a rule about not opening cupboards will hold. That is a safety failure of a different order from the others.

   D: Escalates beyond the problem: one misplaced bottle can be secured in two minutes, and cancelling a lesson for thirty pupils is a decision for the head of science rather than a technician.

   The most effective response is to secure the bottle in the locked cabinet now and interrupt the head of science briefly before thirty pupils come in: putting it away takes two minutes, and she needs to know before the room fills because a misplaced bottle implies something wrong with how chemicals are being stored. Both fit in twenty minutes. It beats moving the bottle and telling her after the lesson when she is free, because that leaves the storage question unexamined through a lesson with thirty pupils in the room. It beats cancelling the practical until chemical storage has been checked, because that is a bigger decision than the problem needs, and is not a technician’s to take when securing the bottle solves the hazard. The least effective response is leaving the bottle where it is and mentioning it at break: it leaves concentrated acid with a loose cap in an unlocked cupboard during a practical, relying on pupils following a rule. That is worse than securing it and telling her later, which at least secures it, and worse than cancelling, which at least stops the lesson. The principle: remove the hazard immediately, then tell the responsible person before the risk period starts.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You are an account handler at an insurance brokers. You and your colleague Priti share a book of commercial clients. She has twice contacted clients you look after without telling you, and one client has now asked which of you is actually handling his renewal. Renewals for eight of these clients fall in the next three weeks. Priti is senior to you but not your manager. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Email the client to confirm that you are his handler and copy Priti in, so that the position is clear to everyone at the same time.
   2. Speak to Priti this week, agree which of you handles which clients through the renewal period, and confirm it to the client who asked.
   3. Raise it with your manager, explaining that Priti has been contacting your clients and that one has now questioned who is handling his renewal.
   4. Leave it, since Priti is senior and challenging her could be awkward, and simply work round any duplication as the eight renewals come up.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Speak to Priti this week, agree which of you handles which clients through the renewal period, and confirm it to the client who asked.

   Least effective: D. Leave it, since Priti is senior and challenging her could be awkward, and simply work round any duplication as the eight renewals come up.

   A: Personalises the conflict: it settles the question by staking a claim in front of the client, which makes an internal muddle visible to the customer and puts Priti on the spot publicly.

   C: Escalates prematurely: Priti has not been told there is a problem, and the first she would hear of it is from a manager, over something two colleagues could settle before the renewals start.

   D: Avoids the difficult conversation: it accepts that clients will keep receiving conflicting contact through eight renewals, because raising it with a senior colleague feels uncomfortable. The client's confusion is left in place deliberately.

   The most effective response is to speak to Priti this week, agree which of you handles which clients through the renewal period, and confirm it to the client who asked: eight renewals are coming, a client has already noticed the confusion, and the fix is an agreement between two people about who handles what. Confirming it afterwards closes the loop cleanly. It beats raising it with your manager and explaining that she has been contacting your clients, because she has never been told this is causing a problem, and going to a manager first turns a workable conversation into a complaint about a senior colleague. It beats emailing the client to confirm you are his handler and copying her in, because settling it in front of the customer exposes the muddle rather than resolving it. The least effective response is leaving it and working round the duplication because challenging her would be awkward: it lets clients receive conflicting contact through eight renewals, so the problem the client has already flagged is knowingly allowed to continue. That is worse than the other two, which raise it in the wrong place but do raise it. The principle: agree the working boundary directly with the colleague, then tell the client, before the busy period makes it worse.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You are a lettings administrator at an estate agency. On Monday you emailed a tenant confirming that a contractor would attend on Thursday morning to fix her broken boiler, and she has booked the morning off work. On Wednesday afternoon the contractor tells you he cannot come until Monday. The tenant has no hot water. Your branch manager is out on viewings until tomorrow. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Ring the tenant today, apologise, tell her the contractor cannot come before Monday, and ask whether she wants Monday booked or would rather you look into what else can be arranged.
   2. Email the tenant to say the appointment is being rearranged and that you will confirm a new date once the contractor has come back to you with his revised availability next week.
   3. Leave the Thursday appointment in place and wait to see whether the contractor manages to fit her in after all, since telling her now would only worry her if he does turn up.
   4. Ring the tenant, apologise, and offer to find a different contractor who could attend on Thursday as originally arranged so that she does not lose the morning she has booked off.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Ring the tenant today, apologise, tell her the contractor cannot come before Monday, and ask whether she wants Monday booked or would rather you look into what else can be arranged.

   Least effective: C. Leave the Thursday appointment in place and wait to see whether the contractor manages to fit her in after all, since telling her now would only worry her if he does turn up.

   B: Delays the message: it reaches her in time but withholds the two facts she needs to act on, the four extra days without hot water and the Monday date you already have, so she cannot decide about her booked morning off.

   C: Hides the problem / silent deadline slip: she has taken a morning off for a visit you know is not happening. Staying silent for the chance of being proved right costs her a day's leave and every option to plan. That is concealment, not optimism.

   D: Over-promises: you have no second contractor lined up and no authority from your manager to appoint one, so the call replaces a firm bad fact with a commitment you may not be able to keep.

   The most effective response is to ring the tenant today, apologise, tell her the contractor cannot come before Monday, and ask what she wants to do: she has a morning of booked leave riding on Thursday, so the news has to reach her today, in full, with the Monday date and a choice about what happens next. It beats emailing that the appointment is being rearranged, because a vague rearrangement withholds the two things she needs, how long she will be without hot water and the date you already hold, and leaves her unable to decide about her leave. It beats offering to find a different contractor for Thursday, because promising a replacement you have not found, and cannot authorise, risks a second broken commitment on top of the first. The least effective response is leaving the Thursday appointment in place to see whether he turns up: it is the only response where she takes a morning off for an appointment you already know will not happen, and it trades her time for the chance that the problem solves itself. That is worse than the vague email, which at least tells her something in time, and worse than promising a replacement, whose fault is trying too hard on her behalf. The principle: when a commitment you made is going to break, tell the person it affects while they can still act on it, and tell them what you actually know.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You volunteer at a food bank warehouse. Your fellow volunteer Grace is sorting a large donation alone against a 4pm van collection for the distribution centres, and it is 3pm. The sorting needs two people to be finished in time. You have completed the task you were given and nothing else is outstanding. The warehouse coordinator is on a call in the office. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Wait for the warehouse coordinator to finish her call and suggest that someone is put on to help Grace with the donation before the van arrives.
   2. Tidy your own area until someone asks you to help, since the donation was assigned to Grace and she has not said she is struggling with it.
   3. Ask Grace whether she would like help and find something else to do if she says she is managing, since she has her own way of sorting the donations into categories.
   4. Go over to Grace, tell her your own task is done, and sort alongside her until the donation is ready for the 4pm collection.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Go over to Grace, tell her your own task is done, and sort alongside her until the donation is ready for the 4pm collection.

   Least effective: B. Tidy your own area until someone asks you to help, since the donation was assigned to Grace and she has not said she is struggling with it.

   A: Delays the decision: waiting for the call to end spends part of the only hour available to arrange what you could simply start doing.

   B: Waits to be asked: a two-person job is being done by one against a van collection, and the reason for not helping is that nobody has asked. Waiting to be asked is what makes the van leave short.

   C: Substitutes own judgement for the stakeholder's: a volunteer an hour from a collection will usually say she is managing, so the offer is courteous and predictably leaves her sorting alone.

   The most effective response is to go over to Grace, tell her your own task is done, and sort alongside her until the donation is ready for the 4pm collection: the sorting needs two people, there is an hour, and your task is finished, so joining her is what actually makes the collection. Saying your work is done removes any need for her to ask. It beats asking whether she would like help and finding something else if she says she is managing, because a volunteer under time pressure will usually decline a general offer, and the donation is no further sorted. It beats waiting for the warehouse coordinator to finish her call and suggesting someone helps, because that spends part of the hour arranging what you could begin immediately. The least effective response is tidying your own area until someone asks you to help: it leaves a two-person job with one person against a van collection. That is worse than waiting for the coordinator, which at least seeks help, and worse than offering, which at least asks. The principle: when your own work is finished and a colleague plainly cannot finish alone, start helping rather than waiting to be asked.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are a receptionist at a medical centre, sharing the front desk with your colleague Daniel. You disagree about how patient booking notes should be handed over between shifts, and mistakes have crept in from both sides. This morning Daniel posted in the team messaging channel that he is “tired of clearing up” your booking errors, naming two recent examples. Colleagues have seen the message, and you feel it is unfair. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Let the message go unanswered and quietly double-check your own bookings from now on, hoping the friction fades once Daniel has fewer errors to point to.
   2. Conclude that Daniel has a problem with you personally and ask the practice manager to reorganise the rota so the two of you rarely share the desk.
   3. Ask Daniel to talk privately, say the public post felt unfair, and suggest going through the recent mistakes together to agree one clear handover routine for both of you.
   4. Reply in the team messaging channel with a list of Daniel's own recent booking mistakes, so colleagues can see that the errors have come from both sides.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Ask Daniel to talk privately, say the public post felt unfair, and suggest going through the recent mistakes together to agree one clear handover routine for both of you.

   Least effective: D. Reply in the team messaging channel with a list of Daniel's own recent booking mistakes, so colleagues can see that the errors have come from both sides.

   A: Avoids the difficult conversation: quietly tightening your own bookings addresses only half the problem. The disputed handover routine and the public accusation are left untouched, so the friction and the mistakes are likely to continue.

   B: Personalises the conflict: treating a fixable disagreement about the handover routine as a clash of personalities asks the manager to separate you instead of solving anything, and leaves the underlying process producing mistakes for whoever shares the desk.

   D: Retaliates publicly: answering a public accusation with a public counter-attack escalates the conflict in front of the whole team and turns a solvable process disagreement into a personal feud. That is a category failure, not a defensible reply.

   The most effective response is to ask Daniel to talk privately and agree one clear handover routine: it takes the dispute out of the public channel, names the impact honestly, and moves both of you toward the real fix while preserving the working relationship. It beats leaving the message unanswered and quietly double-checking your own bookings, because that leaves both the disputed routine and the public accusation unaddressed, so the mistakes and the resentment are likely to continue. It beats asking the practice manager to reorganise the rota, because that treats a solvable process disagreement as a personality clash and asks for the two of you to be separated, fixing nothing for whoever staffs the desk next. The least effective response is replying in the team channel with a list of Daniel’s own mistakes: unlike saying nothing, which at least does no further damage, and unlike going to the practice manager, which at least involves someone who could help, it escalates the conflict publicly and converts a disagreement about process into a personal feud in front of the team. The principle: take conflict out of public view, address the issue rather than the person, and fix the process that is generating the friction.

7. Question 7 of 10

   You work behind the counter of a bakery. A customer ordered a birthday cake for collection at noon today with ‘Happy Birthday Amelie’ piped on it. It is 11am and you notice the cake in the fridge reads ‘Happy Birthday Amelia’. The decorator is in until 1pm and could re-pipe the inscription in twenty minutes. The customer’s phone number is on the order. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Hand the cake over at noon as it is, since the difference is one letter, the customer may not notice and it is too late to change it now.
   2. Ring the customer, explain the spelling error, and ask whether she would like it corrected or would rather collect the cake as it is.
   3. Have the decorator re-pipe the inscription and say nothing about the error, since the cake will be correct by the time the customer collects it at noon.
   4. Ask the decorator to re-pipe the inscription now, and ring the customer to let her know it is being corrected and will be ready at noon as arranged.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Ask the decorator to re-pipe the inscription now, and ring the customer to let her know it is being corrected and will be ready at noon as arranged.

   Least effective: A. Hand the cake over at noon as it is, since the difference is one letter, the customer may not notice and it is too late to change it now.

   A: Ignores the customer's actual need: a misspelled name on a child's birthday cake is the whole point of the order, and it is not too late, since the decorator is in and there is an hour. Relying on her not noticing is concealment of a known defect.

   B: Delays the decision: it hands her a choice she does not need to make. The name is simply wrong, the decorator is in, and twenty minutes is available before noon.

   C: Hides the problem: the outcome is right and the customer is never told that a cake with her daughter's name misspelled nearly went out, so she cannot check the spelling on the order for next time.

   The most effective response is to ask the decorator to re-pipe the inscription now and ring the customer to say it is being corrected and will be ready at noon: the name is wrong, there is an hour and a decorator on site, so it can be put right and still be ready. Telling her means she is not surprised and can confirm the spelling. It beats ringing to ask whether she would like it corrected or would rather collect it as it is, because that puts a decision to her that does not need making, when the fix is already possible. It beats having it re-piped and saying nothing about the error, because that gets the cake right but leaves her unaware of a mistake that came from the order itself. The least effective response is handing it over as it is on the grounds that the difference is one letter she may not notice: it claims the change is too late when an hour and a decorator are available, and relies on a misspelled name on a child’s birthday cake going unremarked. That is worse than the other two, which both produce a correct cake. The principle: when there is time to put a mistake right, put it right and tell the customer you have.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You are an assistant coach at a swimming club. Swimmers must record their qualifying times at officially timed sessions to enter a regional gala. A swimmer misses the qualifying time by half a second at the last session. Her parent asks you to write down the faster time she achieved in training last week, saying she is plainly capable of it and one entry form will not matter. The head coach is at the poolside. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell the parent that the time cannot be changed and that she should raise it with the head coach if she wants to challenge how qualifying works.
   2. Tell the parent you can only record officially timed results, and ask the head coach whether there is another qualifying session before the gala entry closes.
   3. Record the official time but add a note to the entry that she swam faster in training, so the organisers can take that into account when they consider the entry.
   4. Write the training time on the entry form, since the swimmer has genuinely swum it and the qualifying session was only half a second out.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Tell the parent you can only record officially timed results, and ask the head coach whether there is another qualifying session before the gala entry closes.

   Least effective: D. Write the training time on the entry form, since the swimmer has genuinely swum it and the qualifying session was only half a second out.

   A: Passes responsibility to others: the refusal is right and it leaves the swimmer's real question, whether another qualifying session exists, unasked, when the head coach is standing at the poolside.

   C: Acts on assumptions without checking: the entry rules ask for an officially timed result, and appending an unofficial one invites the organisers to weigh something the rules exclude, which is the same request in a politer form.

   D: Falsifies a competition record: an official qualifying time is a statement that a swim happened under timed conditions, and entering a training time is a false declaration that displaces another club's swimmer. That is dishonesty, not a technicality.

   The most effective response is to tell the parent you can only record officially timed results, and ask the head coach whether there is another qualifying session before entries close: only official results can go on the form, and the swimmer’s actual problem may still be solvable if another session falls in time. Refusing clearly and asking addresses both. It beats telling her the time cannot be changed and that she should raise it with the head coach herself, because that gives the same refusal and then leaves her to pursue the useful question alone, when the person who can answer it is at the poolside. It beats recording the official time with a note that she swam faster in training, because attaching that invites the organisers to consider something the rules exclude, which is the original request with a note on it. The least effective response is writing the training time on the entry form: it puts a time on an official entry that was never officially swum, which is a false declaration and takes a place from another swimmer. That is worse than the other two, which keep the entry honest. The principle: refuse to record what did not officially happen, and put the swimmer’s real problem to whoever can solve it.

9. Question 9 of 10

   You are a delivery driver for a white goods retailer. You arrive to install a washing machine and find the customer’s existing waste pipe is corroded and will leak if reconnected. Replacing it is a plumber’s job, not yours, and takes about an hour. The customer has taken the day off and has a week’s washing waiting. Your depot controller is contactable. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Install the machine and connect it to the existing pipe, telling the customer to have the pipe replaced soon and to keep an eye on it meanwhile.
   2. Connect the machine and say nothing about the pipe, since the corrosion was there before you arrived and any leak would not be down to the installation.
   3. Explain the corroded pipe, leave the machine safely in place unconnected, and ring your depot controller to arrange a plumber while the customer is still with you.
   4. Take the machine away again and tell the customer to rebook the delivery once she has arranged for a plumber to replace the waste pipe.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Explain the corroded pipe, leave the machine safely in place unconnected, and ring your depot controller to arrange a plumber while the customer is still with you.

   Least effective: B. Connect the machine and say nothing about the pipe, since the corrosion was there before you arrived and any leak would not be down to the installation.

   A: Acts recklessly with a known fault: connecting to a pipe you have judged will leak puts the customer's floor at risk and makes her responsible for watching for a failure you created.

   B: Hides the problem: it connects to a pipe known to be failing and conceals the fact to avoid responsibility. Leaving a customer with an undisclosed leak risk is concealment, not a boundary of the job.

   D: Ignores the customer's actual need: it undoes the delivery she took a day off for and puts the whole arrangement back on her, when the machine could safely stay and the depot can arrange a plumber.

   The most effective response is to explain the corroded pipe, leave the machine safely in place unconnected, and ring your depot controller to arrange a plumber while she is still with you: the pipe will leak if used, that is a plumber’s job rather than yours, and she has taken a day off, so the machine stays and the depot arranges the rest. It preserves as much of her day as the situation allows. It beats connecting it to the existing pipe and telling her to have it replaced soon, because that transfers a risk you have identified onto her floor. It beats taking the machine away and telling her to rebook once a plumber has been, because that undoes the delivery entirely and puts the whole problem back on her, when it can safely stay. The least effective response is connecting the machine and saying nothing about the pipe: it completes work on a failing pipe and chooses silence specifically to avoid being blamed for the leak. That is worse than connecting it with a warning, which at least warns her, and worse than taking it away, which at least leaves nothing unsafe. The principle: do not complete work you know will fail, tell the customer plainly, and use your own organisation to arrange the part you cannot do.

10. Question 10 of 10

    You work in a hospital outpatient booking office. At 11am three things need you. A consultant’s clinic next Tuesday has been cancelled and forty patients need contacting before letters go out tomorrow. A patient is on hold asking to move an appointment scheduled for tomorrow. And your manager wants the weekly waiting-time return by 2pm, which takes an hour. Contacting forty patients takes most of the day. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

    1. Start ringing the forty patients immediately since that is the largest task and the letters go out tomorrow, and deal with the waiting patient and the return when you can.
    2. Take the patient off hold and move tomorrow's appointment, do the waiting-time return before 2pm, then spend the rest of the day on the forty cancellations.
    3. Let the cancellation letters go out as they are and contact the forty patients afterwards, so that today's shorter tasks can all be completed properly.
    4. Do the waiting-time return first since it has the earliest deadline, then the patient on hold, then start the cancellation calls.
    Show the answer

    Most effective: B. Take the patient off hold and move tomorrow's appointment, do the waiting-time return before 2pm, then spend the rest of the day on the forty cancellations.

    Least effective: C. Let the cancellation letters go out as they are and contact the forty patients afterwards, so that today's shorter tasks can all be completed properly.

    A: Splits effort so nothing finishes: it starts the long job while leaving a patient on hold and an hour-long return due at 2pm, so the waiting-time deadline is put at risk by a task that has until tomorrow.

    C: Hides the problem: it lets forty patients receive letters for a clinic that has been cancelled, which generates forty wasted journeys and forty calls back. Knowingly sending wrong information is worse than mis-sequencing it.

    D: Ignores the customer's actual need: an hour of reporting is put ahead of a patient already holding on the line about an appointment tomorrow, when her call takes a few minutes.

    The most effective response is to take the patient off hold and move tomorrow’s appointment, do the waiting-time return before 2pm, then spend the rest of the day on the forty cancellations: the patient takes a few minutes and concerns tomorrow, the return takes an hour against a fixed deadline, and the calls have until the letters go out. Doing the two short fixed items first leaves the whole afternoon for the long one. It beats starting the forty calls immediately as the largest task, because that puts an hour-long 2pm deadline at risk for work that has until tomorrow. It beats doing the waiting-time return first because it has the earliest deadline, because that leaves a patient holding on the line while an internal report is prepared. The least effective response is letting the cancellation letters go out as they are and contacting the forty afterwards: it sends letters for a clinic that will not happen, producing wasted journeys and forty return calls. That is worse than the other two, which order the day badly but do not knowingly send wrong information. The principle: clear the short items with fixed deadlines, then give the long task the time it needs, and never let known wrong information go out.