Balfour Beatty Assessment Tests

Balfour Beatty Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You are an administrator at a community sports centre. Reconciling bookings you notice that the same coach has been booking the sports hall at the discounted community rate for what your records show are commercial sessions he charges participants for. Nobody has asked you to check this. He books again next week. Your centre manager is on site today. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Take the booking records to your centre manager today, show her the pattern and the rate that has been applied, and let her decide what happens before next week's booking.
   2. Change next week's booking to the commercial rate so the centre is charging correctly, and mention it to your manager afterwards.
   3. Leave it, since checking booking entitlements is not part of your role and the centre manager approves the bookings anyway, so she has presumably accepted them.
   4. Ask the coach directly whether his sessions are commercial, so that you understand the position before raising anything with your manager.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Take the booking records to your centre manager today, show her the pattern and the rate that has been applied, and let her decide what happens before next week's booking.

   Least effective: C. Leave it, since checking booking entitlements is not part of your role and the centre manager approves the bookings anyway, so she has presumably accepted them.

   B: Substitutes own judgement for the stakeholder's: the coach may have an agreement you do not know about, and re-rating his booking without checking commits the centre to a position and a charge nobody has approved.

   C: Fails to escalate a genuine risk: the centre may be losing income on a repeating booking, and the reason for silence is that the manager must have noticed, when the records you have just reconciled are what show she has not.

   D: Acts on assumptions without checking the right source: the person benefiting from the rate is the least reliable place to establish whether he is entitled to it, and asking warns him before anyone with authority has seen the records.

   The most effective response is to take the booking records to your centre manager today, show her the pattern and the rate applied, and let her decide before next week’s booking: you have found a pattern in the centre’s own records, you cannot know whether there is an agreement behind it, and she can settle it in time. Taking her the evidence is both the fastest and the fairest route. It beats changing next week’s booking to the commercial rate and mentioning it afterwards, because that decides an entitlement question you have not checked, and may be wrong. It beats asking the coach directly whether his sessions are commercial, because the person who benefits is the least reliable source on entitlement, and it tips him off before anyone with authority has looked. The least effective response is leaving it because checking entitlements is not part of your role: it lets a possible loss of income run on a repeating booking, on the assumption that the manager approving them must have noticed, which the reconciliation you have just done contradicts. That is worse than the other two, which act clumsily but bring it into the open. The principle: take what the records show to whoever owns the decision, before the next occurrence, and before speaking to the person concerned.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You work in a student accommodation office. Deposits are returned after an inspection, with deductions for damage. A colleague asks you to record a broken door in a room as pre-existing wear, explaining that the student who caused it is a friend of hers and cannot afford the deduction. The inspection report you completed records the door as damaged. Your accommodation manager is in the building. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Refuse and report your colleague to the accommodation manager for asking you to alter an inspection record in favour of a friend.
   2. Leave the report as it is but do not submit it yet, so that your colleague has time to find another way to help the student before the deduction is applied.
   3. Record the door as pre-existing wear as she asks, since the student is struggling financially and one door will not be noticed among the year's inspections.
   4. Tell your colleague you will not change the report, and suggest the student applies through the hardship or appeals route if she cannot afford the deduction.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Tell your colleague you will not change the report, and suggest the student applies through the hardship or appeals route if she cannot afford the deduction.

   Least effective: C. Record the door as pre-existing wear as she asks, since the student is struggling financially and one door will not be noticed among the year's inspections.

   A: Escalates prematurely: the request is wrong and she has not yet been told plainly that you will not do it. Reporting first turns a bad request into a disciplinary matter without the conversation that would probably end it.

   B: Delays the decision: holding back a completed inspection report to create room for a favour is a quieter version of the same request, and it puts the student's deposit process in limbo.

   C: Falsifies an inspection record: the report is the evidence on which another person's money is withheld or returned, and changing it as a favour is dishonesty that every other student pays for through the deposit scheme.

   The most effective response is to tell your colleague you will not change the report, and suggest the student applies through the hardship or appeals route: the report records what you found and will not be altered, and the student’s real problem, affording the deduction, has a legitimate route. Saying both settles the matter and offers a genuine answer. It beats refusing and reporting her to the accommodation manager for asking, because she has not yet been told plainly that you will not do it, and reporting first escalates something one sentence would resolve. It beats holding the finished report back so she has time to find another way to help, because sitting on it to make space for a favour is the same request in slower form. The least effective response is recording the door as pre- existing wear as she asks: it alters the evidence on which a deposit is decided, as a personal favour, and every other student funds the difference. That is worse than the other two, which handle it awkwardly but keep the record true. The principle: refuse to change the record, say so directly to the person who asked, and point at the legitimate route for the underlying problem.

3. Question 3 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.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You are an administrator at a railway maintenance depot. Filing certificates you notice that a lifting jack used on vehicles has an inspection certificate that expired two months ago, while the depot’s register shows it as current. Lifting equipment must be inspected before use. You are not in the engineering team. The jack is in use on a vehicle now. The depot engineer is on site. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Correct the register to show the certificate as expired, so the records are accurate, and raise it at the next depot safety meeting.
   2. Leave it, since lifting equipment is the engineering team's responsibility, they use the jack daily and they would know if it was not fit for use.
   3. Tell the depot engineer immediately that the jack in use has an expired inspection certificate, and show him the certificate and the register entry.
   4. Email the engineering team manager with the certificate and register details so that the discrepancy is documented and can be dealt with through the right channel.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Tell the depot engineer immediately that the jack in use has an expired inspection certificate, and show him the certificate and the register entry.

   Least effective: B. Leave it, since lifting equipment is the engineering team's responsibility, they use the jack daily and they would know if it was not fit for use.

   A: Treats a safety failure as a records problem: correcting the register makes the paperwork true and leaves an uncertified jack holding a vehicle up right now.

   B: Fails to escalate a genuine risk: an uncertified lifting jack is holding a vehicle up, and the reason for silence is that the people using it must already know, which the register you have just checked shows they do not.

   D: Delays the decision: the routing is correct and the speed is not. An email waits in an inbox while the jack is under a vehicle now.

   The most effective response is to tell the depot engineer immediately that the jack in use has an expired inspection certificate, and show him the certificate and the register entry: an uncertified lifting jack is currently supporting a vehicle, the register that should have flagged it is wrong, and he is on site and can stop its use at once. Showing him both documents makes it undeniable. It beats correcting the register to show the certificate as expired and raising it at the next safety meeting, because that makes the paperwork accurate while the jack stays under a vehicle. It beats emailing the engineering team manager with the details, because that is the right channel at the wrong speed for equipment in use right now. The least effective response is leaving it because lifting equipment is the engineering team’s responsibility: it assumes the people using it daily would know, when the register you have just checked is precisely why they do not. That is worse than the other two, which act too slowly but do act. The principle: when a safety control has lapsed on something in use, go straight to the person who can stop it, in person.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You are an office assistant at a plumbing and heating firm. This morning the operations manager emailed asking you to compile last quarter’s supplier invoices for a cost review he is running later this week. As you begin, an engineer phones: he is at a customer’s home and cannot start a boiler repair until you email him the parts authorisation, which means finding the customer’s warranty record, about twenty minutes’ work. He and the customer are waiting. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Decide the operations manager's request should come first because it came from senior management, finish compiling the invoices, and tell the engineer to expect the authorisation this afternoon.
   2. Alternate between the two tasks, looking up the warranty record in between batches of invoices, so that both the engineer and the operations manager see steady progress.
   3. Tell the engineer the authorisation is already on its way so he stops chasing, then carry on with the invoices and actually send it once they are finished.
   4. Send the engineer's authorisation first, since he and the customer are blocked until it arrives, then return to the invoices, which are not needed until later in the week.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Send the engineer's authorisation first, since he and the customer are blocked until it arrives, then return to the invoices, which are not needed until later in the week.

   Least effective: C. Tell the engineer the authorisation is already on its way so he stops chasing, then carry on with the invoices and actually send it once they are finished.

   A: Substitutes own judgement for the stakeholder's: it ranks the manager's request first because of seniority, when his own email says the review is later this week, inventing an urgency he never expressed while two people stand waiting.

   B: Splits effort so nothing finishes: the authorisation is a single twenty-minute job, and breaking it into fragments between invoice batches stretches the engineer's and customer's wait far beyond what doing it in one go would take.

   C: Is dishonest to the engineer's face: claiming the authorisation is already on its way buys quiet at the cost of the truth, leaving him and the customer waiting on something that is not coming. That is deception, not a defensible ordering of tasks.

   The most effective response is to send the engineer’s authorisation first and then return to the invoices: he and the customer are blocked right now, the authorisation takes about twenty minutes, and the invoices are not needed until the review later in the week, so urgency and importance both point the same way. It beats finishing the invoices because the request came from senior management, since that invents an urgency the operations manager never expressed and ranks his request first on seniority while two people stand waiting. It beats alternating between the two tasks, because that chops a single short job into fragments and stretches the engineer’s and customer’s wait well beyond the twenty minutes it needs. The least effective response is telling the engineer the authorisation is already on its way when it is not: unlike putting the invoices first, which at least gives him an honest timeline, and unlike alternating, which at least makes real progress on the authorisation, it tells him a straightforward lie and leaves him and the customer waiting on something that is not coming. The principle: order work by real urgency and stated need, since a person blocked now outranks a task wanted later in the week, and never manage the gap with a lie.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are a project administrator for a shopfitting contractor. A retail client’s store refit is due to complete on Friday for a Saturday opening. On Wednesday the flooring subcontractor tells you the specified floor is not available and a visually similar alternative could be laid in time. The client chose the original floor to match its other stores. The client’s project lead is contactable. Your contracts manager is available. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Hold the flooring and tell the client the opening may have to move, since the specified floor is what they chose and substituting it is not something the contractor should propose.
   2. Ring the client's project lead today, explain the specified floor is unavailable and the alternative could still meet Saturday, and let them decide which matters more.
   3. Email the client's project lead setting out the problem and asking how they would like to proceed, then wait for a written instruction before doing anything.
   4. Instruct the subcontractor to lay the alternative floor so Saturday's opening is protected, and tell the client once the store is finished.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Ring the client's project lead today, explain the specified floor is unavailable and the alternative could still meet Saturday, and let them decide which matters more.

   Least effective: D. Instruct the subcontractor to lay the alternative floor so Saturday's opening is protected, and tell the client once the store is finished.

   A: Withholds the workable alternative: it puts only the option that costs them their Saturday opening, when a floor that could still be laid in time exists and the client is never told of it.

   C: Delays the decision: an email and a wait for written instruction is the right formality on the wrong clock, with a Saturday opening and a floor that has to be laid before it.

   D: Substitutes own judgement for the stakeholder's and hides it: the client chose that floor to match its other stores, and both the decision and the disclosure are withheld until the floor is down and cannot be changed.

   The most effective response is to ring the client’s project lead today, explain the specified floor is unavailable and the alternative could still meet Saturday, and let them decide: they chose that floor to match their other stores, and only they can weigh that against opening on time. Wednesday still leaves room for either route if they decide today. It beats holding the flooring and telling them the opening may have to move, because offering only a delay hides a workable alternative from the person entitled to choose it. It beats emailing the problem and waiting for a written instruction, because that exchange spends the narrow window the flooring needs. The least effective response is instructing the subcontractor to lay the alternative and telling the client once the store is finished: it substitutes a different floor in a store designed to match others, and discloses it only when it is irreversible. That is worse than the other two, which are too slow but leave the choice with the client. The principle: when a substitution touches something the client chose deliberately, put both options to them at once and let them decide.

7. Question 7 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.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You work at a farm shop. At 9am a delivery of fresh fish arrives that must go into the chiller within twenty minutes. A customer is waiting at the counter to collect a pre-ordered meat box, which takes five minutes to fetch and check. Your manager has asked you to price up the new season’s preserves before lunchtime, a job of about an hour. You are alone on the shop floor. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Get the fish into the chiller first, then fetch and check the waiting customer's pre-ordered meat box, and price up the preserves before lunchtime.
   2. Leave the fish on the delivery bay while you serve the customer and price the preserves, and put it into the chiller once the shop floor is quieter.
   3. Serve the waiting customer's meat box first since she is standing at the counter, then put the fish away and price the preserves.
   4. Start pricing the preserves since your manager asked for them this morning, and deal with the fish and the customer as you work through the shelves.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Get the fish into the chiller first, then fetch and check the waiting customer's pre-ordered meat box, and price up the preserves before lunchtime.

   Least effective: B. Leave the fish on the delivery bay while you serve the customer and price the preserves, and put it into the chiller once the shop floor is quieter.

   B: Acts recklessly with a food safety risk: fresh fish left out beyond its chiller window is unsafe to sell, so the whole delivery is put at risk to make the morning run more smoothly.

   C: Delays the decision: five minutes at the counter takes a quarter of the chiller window on a fresh fish delivery that cannot be recovered if it warms.

   D: Substitutes own judgement for the stakeholder's: an hour of pricing with a whole morning available is put ahead of a twenty-minute chiller window and a customer already waiting.

   The most effective response is to get the fish into the chiller first, then fetch and check the waiting customer’s pre-ordered meat box, and price the preserves before lunchtime: the fish has a twenty-minute window after which it cannot be sold at all, the meat box takes five minutes, and the preserves have hours. Only one of the three is irreversible. It beats serving the waiting customer’s meat box first because she is at the counter, since five minutes there spends a quarter of a window that cannot be extended. It beats starting on the preserves because your manager asked for them this morning, because an hour of pricing with a whole morning available should not precede either a chiller window or a waiting customer. The least effective response is leaving the fish on the delivery bay until the shop floor is quieter: it leaves fresh fish out well beyond its window, risking the entire delivery becoming unsafe to sell. That is worse than the other two, which sequence badly but get the fish away in time. The principle: protect what spoils first, then serve the person waiting, then do the job with hours of room.

9. Question 9 of 10

   You work in a council customer services team. You and your colleague Nadia job-share the housing repairs inbox. She believes tenants should be told realistic timescales even when they are long; you have been giving the target timescales the service publishes. A tenant has complained that he was told two different things by the two of you. Your team leader has asked you both to sort it out. Forty repair emails are waiting. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Agree to use Nadia's realistic timescales from now on, since the complaint came from a tenant being given the published target and then finding it was not met.
   2. Ask your team leader to rule on which timescales should be quoted, and hold the forty repair emails until she has decided so that no more tenants get conflicting answers.
   3. Carry on quoting the published targets, since they are the service's official position, and let Nadia answer her share however she prefers until somebody tells one of you otherwise.
   4. Sit down with Nadia today, agree a single form of words that gives the published target and what is realistic, use it on the forty waiting emails, and take it to your team leader to confirm.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Sit down with Nadia today, agree a single form of words that gives the published target and what is realistic, use it on the forty waiting emails, and take it to your team leader to confirm.

   Least effective: C. Carry on quoting the published targets, since they are the service's official position, and let Nadia answer her share however she prefers until somebody tells one of you otherwise.

   A: Prioritises harmony over honesty: it settles the disagreement by conceding rather than resolving it, and commits the team to quoting timescales that differ from the ones the service publishes.

   B: Delays the decision: it seeks the right ruling at the cost of forty tenants waiting longer for any answer at all, when a shared form of words could go out today and be confirmed afterwards.

   C: Avoids the difficult conversation: it accepts that tenants will keep getting two different answers from the same inbox, which is the exact complaint, and waits for someone else to fix it. Choosing to continue a known defect is worse than choosing the wrong fix.

   The most effective response is to sit down with Nadia today, agree a single form of words giving both the published target and what is realistic, use it on the forty waiting emails, and take it to your team leader to confirm: there are two problems, forty tenants waiting and a genuine disagreement about what to tell them, and a shared form of words solves both at once. Giving the target and the realistic expectation together is not a compromise between the two positions, it is the answer a tenant actually needs. It beats agreeing to use her realistic timescales from now on, because conceding to one view commits the team to quoting something other than the published target without anyone senior agreeing. It beats asking your team leader to rule and holding the emails until she has decided, because that makes tenants pay for an internal disagreement. The least effective response is carrying on quoting the published targets and letting Nadia answer her share however she prefers: it knowingly continues the practice that generated the complaint, with tenants still receiving two different answers from one inbox, and waits to be told to stop. That is worse than the other two, which pick a direction. The principle: agree a shared answer with your colleague, use it now, and have it confirmed afterwards rather than pausing the work.

10. Question 10 of 10

    You are a benefits assessor at a council. Processing a housing benefit claim you recognise the applicant as a neighbour from your own street. The claim looks straightforward and you have no personal dealings with him beyond saying hello. Your team’s code of conduct requires personal connections to be declared before assessing a claim. Your team leader is at her desk and the claim is due this week. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

    1. Assess the claim strictly on the evidence and note on the file that the applicant is known to you, so the connection is recorded.
    2. Pass the claim quietly to a colleague to assess instead, without saying why, so that you are not involved in a decision about a neighbour.
    3. Tell your team leader today that the applicant is a neighbour, and let her decide whether you should continue with the assessment or pass it to someone else.
    4. Process the claim without mentioning it, since you barely know him, the claim is straightforward and declaring it would only slow down a decision he needs.
    Show the answer

    Most effective: C. Tell your team leader today that the applicant is a neighbour, and let her decide whether you should continue with the assessment or pass it to someone else.

    Least effective: D. Process the claim without mentioning it, since you barely know him, the claim is straightforward and declaring it would only slow down a decision he needs.

    A: Substitutes own judgement for the stakeholder's: the code asks you to declare before assessing, precisely because whether you can assess it fairly is not yours to determine. A note added by the assessor is not a declaration.

    B: Hides the problem: it removes you from the claim and leaves no record of why, so the council has no evidence that a conflict was identified and managed, and your colleague is unaware of the connection.

    D: Breaches a conflict of interest rule: the code requires the connection to be declared regardless of how well you know the person, and deciding for yourself that it does not matter is exactly what the rule removes. Concealment is the failure, not the outcome.

    The most effective response is to tell your team leader today that the applicant is a neighbour and let her decide whether you continue: the code requires the connection to be declared before assessment, she is at her desk, and declaring costs nothing while protecting the applicant, the council and you. It beats assessing strictly on the evidence and noting on the file that he is known to you, because the code asks for a declaration in advance, not a note added by the person whose impartiality is in question, and whether you may proceed is her call. It beats passing the claim quietly to a colleague without saying why, because that manages the conflict without recording it, so nothing shows it was ever identified. The least effective response is processing the claim without mentioning it because you barely know him: it handles a neighbour’s benefit claim with the connection concealed, on your own judgement that it does not matter, which is precisely the judgement the rule exists to take out of your hands. That is worse than the other two, which handle it imperfectly but do not hide it. The principle: declare the connection to the person the code names, before you touch the claim, and let them decide.