Asda Assessment Tests

Asda Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You are a shift supervisor at Asda. The handover sheet has a line for a walk of the area at the end of each shift, signed by the supervisor. Tonight the shift overran, the walk was not done, and the incoming supervisor is waiting to take over. Your manager has said more than once that unsigned handovers hold up the next shift. The area was quiet all evening and nothing has been reported. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Do the full walk now, sign the sheet, and hand over forty minutes late so that the incoming supervisor starts her own shift behind.
   2. Hand over with the walk line unsigned and tell the incoming supervisor it was not done and why, so that she knows what has been checked, and note it for your manager.
   3. Sign the handover sheet off as walked after a quiet evening with nothing reported, and mention the overrun to your manager tomorrow.
   4. Ask the incoming supervisor to do the walk at the start of her shift and sign for it herself, since the area will be covered either way within the hour.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Hand over with the walk line unsigned and tell the incoming supervisor it was not done and why, so that she knows what has been checked, and note it for your manager.

   Least effective: C. Sign the handover sheet off as walked after a quiet evening with nothing reported, and mention the overrun to your manager tomorrow.

   A: Buys a true record with the next shift's time: the walk happens, and the incoming supervisor starts forty minutes down for a line that could have said what happened.

   C: Signs for a check that was not carried out: the signature is the only evidence anybody has that the area was walked, and it now says something untrue.

   D: Moves your own task onto the next shift: she starts twenty minutes behind on a walk that belonged to the shift that has just ended.

   The most effective response is to hand over with the line unsigned, tell the incoming supervisor it was not done and why, and note it for your manager: the sheet stays true, the person taking over knows exactly what has and has not been checked, and the overrun is visible to somebody who can do something about it. It beats doing the full walk now and handing over forty minutes late, because the next shift pays for a line that could simply have told the truth. It beats asking the incoming supervisor to do it, because she starts her shift behind on somebody else’s task. The least effective response is signing the sheet as walked because the area was quiet: the signature is the only evidence anybody has, and it is made to say something untrue, which is a different kind of wrong from cutting the check short or from passing it on. The principle: an unsigned line tells the truth about a missed check, and a signature is a statement rather than a formality.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are a trading assistant at Asda. A figure you produced for a weekly pack rests on an assumption about supplier lead times that changed on Friday. With the new lead times the figure would be materially different. The pack goes to a manager this afternoon and the meeting that uses it is tomorrow. Reworking the figure properly takes half a day, which you do not have. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Rework the figure quickly this afternoon with an estimate of the new lead times, and put the estimated version in the pack instead of the one you can support.
   2. Put the figure in the pack as it stands, without flagging that the lead times behind it changed on Friday, since the rework cannot be done before this afternoon in any case.
   3. Put the figure in with a clear note that the lead times changed on Friday and what that does to it, and tell the manager before the pack goes out so nothing surprises him.
   4. Leave the figure out of the pack altogether and explain in its place that the number is being reworked after a change to supplier lead times.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Put the figure in with a clear note that the lead times changed on Friday and what that does to it, and tell the manager before the pack goes out so nothing surprises him.

   Least effective: B. Put the figure in the pack as it stands, without flagging that the lead times behind it changed on Friday, since the rework cannot be done before this afternoon in any case.

   A: Substitutes a guess for a stale fact: neither number has been checked, and the estimate carries none of the working the original at least had.

   B: Withholds the fact that decides what the number is worth: tomorrow's meeting uses a figure whose basis is known to be out of date by the only person who knows it.

   D: Removes the evidence rather than qualifying it: tomorrow's meeting loses a usable number and gains nothing it can decide with.

   The most effective response is to put the figure in with a clear note on the lead time change and what it is likely to do, and tell the manager before the pack goes out: the meeting keeps a number it can use, everybody knows what it rests on, and the manager can decide whether tomorrow needs the rework. It beats reworking it quickly on an estimate, because an unchecked guess replaces a number whose working at least exists. It beats leaving the figure out, because the meeting is then deciding with nothing. The least effective response is putting the figure in without flagging the lead time change: the only person who knows the basis has changed says nothing, and the meeting treats a stale figure as current, which is a different kind of wrong from guessing or from withdrawing the number. The principle: when you cannot fix a number in time, publish what is wrong with it to the person who is about to rely on it.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You are a trading assistant at Asda. In Monday’s meeting a colleague said, in front of the team, that your weekly figures were guesswork and had cost her a decision. You were annoyed and said nothing. You send her those figures every Wednesday and she uses them to set her orders. It is Wednesday morning and the figures are ready. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Send the figures as usual and add a line to the whole team explaining how they are built, so that everybody can see the remark on Monday was unfair.
   2. Send the figures as usual, then ask her for ten minutes to go through how they are built and what the decision needed that they did not give her.
   3. Send the figures as usual and say nothing about Monday, on the basis that raising it now would only make the next meeting more uncomfortable for both of you.
   4. Stop sending her the weekly figures after that meeting and let her ask for them if she still wants them, since she made her view of their value clear enough.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Send the figures as usual, then ask her for ten minutes to go through how they are built and what the decision needed that they did not give her.

   Least effective: D. Stop sending her the weekly figures after that meeting and let her ask for them if she still wants them, since she made her view of their value clear enough.

   A: Answers a private grievance in public: the correction is aimed at an audience rather than at her, and the person it is really about reads it alongside everyone else.

   C: Prioritises harmony over honesty: the working relationship stays polite, the complaint about your work stands unexamined, and it will be repeated.

   D: Withdraws your work from a colleague after a disagreement: her orders go out on nothing, and a complaint about quality is answered by removing the thing entirely.

   The most effective response is to send the figures as usual and then ask her for ten minutes on how they are built and what her decision needed: it keeps the work flowing, it treats the remark as information about a gap rather than as an insult, and it puts the conversation where it belongs, which is between the two of you. It beats adding a public line to the team about how the figures are built, because that answers her in front of an audience and makes the disagreement everybody’s. It beats saying nothing at all, because the complaint stands and the next set of orders is set on the same misunderstanding. The least effective response is stopping the weekly figures after the meeting and making her ask: the work she depends on is withdrawn because of how she spoke to you, which is a different kind of wrong from being defensive in public or being silent. The principle: criticism of your work is answered by improving what the other person needed, never by taking the work away.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You are a service recovery assistant at Asda. Last week a colleague took a case of yours to the team leader because you had missed a reply date, rather than mentioning it to you first. You were annoyed: you would have fixed it in an hour. The two of you cover each other’s queues at lunchtime, and today is your turn to cover hers. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Cover her queue as normal and let it go, since raising it now would make the rest of the week awkward and the missed date was real enough in any case.
   2. Cover her queue as normal and mention to the team leader that you would rather hear about your own missed dates before she does.
   3. Cover her queue as normal, and ask her at lunchtime why she went to the team leader first and what the two of you should do next time.
   4. Stop covering her queue at lunchtime after that, and let her arrange cover with the team leader she went to, since that is evidently how she prefers to work.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Cover her queue as normal, and ask her at lunchtime why she went to the team leader first and what the two of you should do next time.

   Least effective: D. Stop covering her queue at lunchtime after that, and let her arrange cover with the team leader she went to, since that is evidently how she prefers to work.

   A: Prioritises harmony over honesty: the cover continues and so does an arrangement where a problem with your work goes to your team leader first.

   B: Answers a colleague through a manager: the same route that annoyed you is used to complain about it, and the person concerned is not part of the conversation.

   D: Withdraws a working arrangement in retaliation: her customers wait at lunchtime because of something that happened between the two of you last week.

   The most effective response is to cover her queue as normal and ask her at lunchtime why she went to the team leader first and what the two of you should do next time: the cover is unaffected, the question is put to the person who can answer it, and the two of you leave with an agreement rather than a grievance. It beats letting it go, because the same thing happens next time and the resentment stays. It beats raising it with the team leader, because that answers a colleague by going round her, which is the thing you objected to. The least effective response is stopping the lunchtime cover because she evidently prefers to work through the team leader: customers wait because of a disagreement they have no part in, and withdrawing an arrangement to make a point is a different kind of wrong from staying silent or from complaining upwards. The principle: settle a working arrangement with the person you have it with, and keep the people it serves out of the argument.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You are a resourcing assistant at Asda. You place temporary staff through three agencies. One of them has told you it pays fifty pounds for every candidate a client puts forward, and has offered to set that up for you personally. You already use that agency more than the others because their people turn up. The choice of agency is yours to make each time. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Decline it, tell your manager the offer was made, and ask whether the way agencies are chosen should be written down given what has just been offered.
   2. Accept the payment the agency offers for each candidate you put forward, since you would have used them anyway and the arrangement changes nothing about who gets placed.
   3. Decline it politely and say nothing to anybody, since you have turned it down and there is no need to make trouble for a contact you have to keep working with.
   4. Ask the agency to pay the fifty pounds into the team's social fund instead of to you, so that nobody is personally better off from any placement.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Decline it, tell your manager the offer was made, and ask whether the way agencies are chosen should be written down given what has just been offered.

   Least effective: B. Accept the payment the agency offers for each candidate you put forward, since you would have used them anyway and the arrangement changes nothing about who gets placed.

   B: Takes a payment the role forbids: whatever you would have done anyway, every placement from now on has a personal fifty pounds attached to it.

   C: Keeps a fact your manager needs: the same offer may be sitting with colleagues, and nobody who could look at that knows it was ever made.

   D: Redirects a benefit rather than refusing it: the agency is still paying the people who choose it, and the team now has a reason to prefer them.

   The most effective response is to decline it, tell your manager the offer was made, and ask whether the basis for choosing agencies should be written down: the offer is refused, the person responsible for how placements are made learns that an agency is trying to buy them, and the fix outlasts your own conscience. It beats declining quietly, because the same offer may be with colleagues and nobody can look at that if nobody knows. It beats redirecting the money to a team fund, because the agency is still paying the people who choose it. The least effective response is accepting the payment: every future placement carries a personal reason to pick one agency, which is a different kind of wrong from keeping quiet or from redirecting the money. The principle: when a supplier offers money to the person who chooses suppliers, refuse it and make sure it is on the record.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are a commercial graduate at Asda. Two managers have each asked you for a piece of analysis by Friday. One is for a decision that is being made on Monday; the other is for a paper that will be read at the end of the month, though that manager has said hers is urgent. Both take two days and you have three. You have not told either about the other. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Refer both requests to your manager and let her decide which one you do, without setting out what each piece needs or when it is really wanted.
   2. Do the analysis for the Monday decision first and start the other on Friday, telling the second manager only if she asks where hers has got to.
   3. Give each manager a shorter version by Friday, so that both have something to work with even though neither piece is the full analysis that was asked for.
   4. Tell both managers today that you can do one properly by Friday, explain what each would get and when, and propose doing the Monday decision first.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Tell both managers today that you can do one properly by Friday, explain what each would get and when, and propose doing the Monday decision first.

   Least effective: A. Refer both requests to your manager and let her decide which one you do, without setting out what each piece needs or when it is really wanted.

   A: Hands the decision on stripped of what it needs: she has to go back to both managers to learn what you already know, and Friday is three days away.

   B: Makes the right call and hides it: the manager waiting on the paper plans for Friday and finds out by chasing.

   C: Splits the work so neither is what was wanted: a Monday decision is made on half an analysis, which is the one place a shortcut is least affordable.

   The most effective response is to tell both managers today that only one can be done properly by Friday, explain what each would get and when, and propose doing the Monday decision first: both know where they stand while they can still act, the recommendation is made rather than concealed, and the piece with a real date attached is protected. It beats doing the Monday piece and telling the other manager only if she asks, because she plans for Friday and learns by chasing. It beats giving both a shorter version, because a Monday decision is exactly where half an analysis costs most. The least effective response is referring both requests upwards without setting out what each needs: your manager has to rediscover what you already know, three days before the deadline, which is a different kind of wrong from deciding quietly or from thinning the work. The principle: when two claims collide, put the choice and your recommendation in front of the people affected, rather than passing the problem up bare.

7. Question 7 of 10

   You are a customer care assistant at Asda. A refund you processed last week went out at forty pounds instead of four hundred, and a colleague has just spotted it while closing the case. The customer has not been in touch. Your team leader is at her desk. Refunds of this size are corrected by her, and the weekly payment run closes on Friday afternoon. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Send the customer the missing amount from the goodwill budget today and note what happened in the case, then raise the error at the team meeting next week.
   2. Tell your team leader this morning what you got wrong, with the case reference and the two amounts, so the shortfall can be corrected before Friday's payment run closes.
   3. Keep it between you and the colleague who found it, correct the figure in the case notes, and hope the customer does not compare what was promised with what arrived.
   4. Ask the colleague who spotted the shortfall to raise it with the team leader, since she found it and can explain what she saw in the case more clearly than you can.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Tell your team leader this morning what you got wrong, with the case reference and the two amounts, so the shortfall can be corrected before Friday's payment run closes.

   Least effective: C. Keep it between you and the colleague who found it, correct the figure in the case notes, and hope the customer does not compare what was promised with what arrived.

   A: Delays the decision: the customer is made whole, but the person who owns refunds of this size hears about it a week after the payment run she has to correct it in.

   C: Conceals your own error by agreement: the notes read correctly, the customer is still three hundred and sixty pounds short, and the one person who could put it right before Friday is deliberately not told.

   D: Passes responsibility to others: the error is yours, and handing the conversation to the person who caught it makes the correction slower and the account of it second hand.

   The most effective response is to tell your team leader this morning what you got wrong, with the case reference and both amounts: she is the person who can correct a refund of that size, Friday’s run is the deadline that decides whether the customer waits days or weeks, and owning the mistake out loud is what makes the correction possible. It beats sending the missing amount from the goodwill budget and raising it next week, because the correction lands after the run and the budget is not what a mispayment should be repaired from. It beats asking the colleague who spotted the shortfall to raise it, because the error is yours to report and a second-hand account is slower and less complete. The least effective response is keeping it between the two of you and hoping the customer does not compare the figures: the record is tidied while the customer stays short, and concealment is a different kind of wrong from reporting late or reporting through somebody else. The principle: your own error is the one you take to the person who can fix it, at once and in your own words.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You are a service recovery assistant at Asda. A case you were handling has sat for a fortnight because you never actioned a note a colleague sent you. The customer has now written again. Your colleague sent the note by message and would have no reason to check what happened to it. Cases open longer than ten days are listed for your team leader each week. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Put the case right today at speed and mention the fortnight to your team leader only if it comes up on this week's list of cases open longer than ten days.
   2. Apologise to the customer, sort the case out today, and tell the colleague who sent the note what happened so that she knows it was not ignored deliberately.
   3. Keep it to yourself and reopen the matter as a fresh case, so the fortnight does not show up anywhere and the customer is dealt with from today.
   4. Tell your team leader today that you missed the note and say what you are doing for the customer, so that she can look at how notes like it get picked up.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Tell your team leader today that you missed the note and say what you are doing for the customer, so that she can look at how notes like it get picked up.

   Least effective: C. Keep it to yourself and reopen the matter as a fresh case, so the fortnight does not show up anywhere and the customer is dealt with from today.

   A: Leaves the disclosure to a report: the customer is served, and whether your manager hears about it is decided by a list rather than by you.

   B: Tells the person least able to act: the colleague is reassured, the customer is served, and the manager who could stop it happening again hears nothing.

   C: Conceals your own error by starting the clock again: the customer's two lost weeks disappear from the record, and the list your team leader reads is made to show something that did not happen.

   The most effective response is to tell your team leader today that you missed the note, say what you are doing for the customer, and ask her to look at how such notes get picked up: the customer is dealt with, the person who can change the process knows, and the account of it comes from you rather than from a report. It beats leaving it to the ten-day list, because that lets a report decide whether your manager is told. It beats telling only the colleague who sent it, because she cannot change anything. The least effective response is reopening it as a fresh case so the fortnight disappears: the record is made to show a delay that never happened, and hiding your own error is a different kind of wrong from disclosing it passively or from telling the wrong person. The principle: own a lapse to the person who can act on it, and never make the record tidier than the truth.

9. Question 9 of 10

   You are an availability analyst at Asda. A report you use every week double counts one type of transfer, which makes availability look better than it is. You have twice messaged the team who own the report and heard nothing. Colleagues in three areas use the same report to decide what to order. Your own workaround takes ten minutes a week and nobody else knows about it. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Send the fault on to the reporting team a third time and take it off your own list, since the report belongs to them and you have now told them twice.
   2. Write up your workaround and share it with the three areas, so that everybody can correct the number for themselves until the report is fixed.
   3. Tell the three areas what the fault does to the number, and take it to the reporting team's manager with the two unanswered messages, since nothing else has moved them.
   4. Keep applying your own correction and wait for the reporting team to reply, since chasing a third time and going over their heads would both be premature.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Tell the three areas what the fault does to the number, and take it to the reporting team's manager with the two unanswered messages, since nothing else has moved them.

   Least effective: A. Send the fault on to the reporting team a third time and take it off your own list, since the report belongs to them and you have now told them twice.

   A: Passes it on and stops caring: two messages have already vanished, a third changes nothing, and the three areas ordering from the report still do not know.

   B: Spreads the repair instead of the fix: every area now spends ten minutes a week on a fault that still nobody owns.

   D: Waits on a team that has ignored two messages: your own numbers are right, and three areas keep ordering from a figure that is not.

   The most effective response is to tell the three areas what the fault does to the number and take it to the reporting team’s manager with the two unanswered messages: the people making decisions stop using a wrong figure today, and the fix goes to somebody with the standing to make it happen. It beats sharing your workaround with the three areas, because that spends everybody’s time on a fault that still has no owner. It beats waiting for a reply, because two messages have already gone unanswered while the ordering carries on. The least effective response is sending it a third time and taking it off your list: nothing about a third message is different, and the areas ordering from the report are still not told, which is a different kind of wrong from spreading the workaround or from waiting. The principle: when the owner will not act, protect the people using the output and escalate with the evidence of what you already tried.

10. Question 10 of 10

    You are a purchasing assistant at Asda. A supplier has changed two of its delivery terms, and the change affects a colleague’s ordering more than it affects yours. He is meeting that supplier on Thursday and does not know about it. The note explaining the change is in a shared folder he has access to but rarely opens. You found out yesterday. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

    1. Raise it at the team meeting on Thursday morning so the whole team hears about the change together, which is a better use of everybody's time than a set of separate messages.
    2. Let him find out at Thursday's meeting, and leave the note where it is in the shared folder that he already has access to.
    3. Forward him the note today with a line saying which two terms have changed and what they mean for his ordering, since Thursday's meeting is where he will need it.
    4. Rework his order proposal yourself with the new terms applied, and send it to him on Thursday morning so that he has something ready to take into the meeting.
    Show the answer

    Most effective: C. Forward him the note today with a line saying which two terms have changed and what they mean for his ordering, since Thursday's meeting is where he will need it.

    Least effective: B. Let him find out at Thursday's meeting, and leave the note where it is in the shared folder that he already has access to.

    A: Times the telling for the sender's convenience: Thursday morning is hours before his meeting, which is not enough time to rework what he was going to ask for.

    B: Leaves a colleague to discover it in the room: the information is technically available to him, and the only person who knows it matters to Thursday chooses not to say so.

    D: Does a colleague's thinking for him: he arrives with a proposal he did not build and cannot defend when the supplier pushes back on it.

    The most effective response is to forward him the note today with a line on which terms changed and what they mean for his ordering: he gets it in time to think, it comes with the part that makes it matter to him, and the work stays his. It beats raising it at Thursday’s team meeting, because that is hours before he sits down with the supplier. It beats reworking his proposal for him, because he then walks in with a position he cannot defend. The least effective response is letting him find out at the meeting because the note was in a shared folder: availability is not telling, and the one person who knew it mattered to Thursday decided not to mention it, which is a different kind of wrong from mistiming the message or from over-helping. The principle: when you know something changes a colleague’s week, tell them yourself and early, whatever else it was published in.