Boots Assessment Tests

Boots Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You are a duty supervisor at Boots. Two of your team are arguing about who left an area unfinished at the end of last week. You happened to be there and know it was the first of them, who has been telling everybody it was the second. The second is upset and the pair of them are barely speaking. The area has to be covered by both of them again tonight. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell the second privately that you know it was not him, and leave the first to work out for himself that the story will not hold.
   2. Speak to the first today about what you saw and what he has been telling people, then bring the two of them together to settle how tonight is covered.
   3. Say nothing about what you saw, since taking sides would make the rest of the week harder and the two of them will sort it out between themselves eventually.
   4. Raise it with both of them in tonight's briefing so that everybody hears the same account and nobody is left with the wrong version of last week.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Speak to the first today about what you saw and what he has been telling people, then bring the two of them together to settle how tonight is covered.

   Least effective: C. Say nothing about what you saw, since taking sides would make the rest of the week harder and the two of them will sort it out between themselves eventually.

   A: Corrects the record for one person only: the accusation is still circulating and the one person who could withdraw it has not been asked to.

   C: Withholds the fact that would end it: the only person who knows what happened stays quiet, and a colleague carries an accusation you could remove in a sentence.

   D: Settles a two-person dispute in front of an audience: the record is corrected and one of them is publicly established as having told a story about the other.

   The most effective response is to speak to the first today about what you saw and what he has been saying, then bring the two of them together to settle tonight’s cover: the person who has to withdraw the accusation is spoken to first and in private, and the shift still gets covered by two people who have to work together. It beats telling only the second, because the story keeps circulating. It beats settling it in the briefing, because that establishes one of them publicly as a liar. The least effective response is saying nothing about what you saw: the only witness stays quiet while a colleague carries an accusation that could be removed in a sentence, which is a different kind of wrong from a partial correction or from a public one. The principle: when you hold the fact that ends a dispute, use it, starting with the person who has to change what they have been saying.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are a shift supervisor at Boots. Two jobs are outstanding on your shift: a stock check the site manager wants finished today, and preparing an area for tomorrow’s early start. You have people for one of them. The site manager is about to leave and asks you directly whether both will be done by the end of the shift. Tomorrow’s early start cannot begin without the preparation. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell him the stock check will be done and say nothing about the preparation, since he asked mainly about the check and tomorrow is not his shift in any case.
   2. Promise the site manager that both jobs will be finished before the shift ends, then decide later in the evening which of the two actually gets done.
   3. Tell him you have people for one, say which you would do and why, and ask him to decide if he wants it the other way round.
   4. Split the shift between the two jobs so that both are half done, and tell him the position when he asks about it in the morning.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Tell him you have people for one, say which you would do and why, and ask him to decide if he wants it the other way round.

   Least effective: B. Promise the site manager that both jobs will be finished before the shift ends, then decide later in the evening which of the two actually gets done.

   A: Answers half a question and lets the rest stand: he leaves believing both are in hand because you did not correct the impression.

   B: Commits to something you know cannot happen: he leaves the site planning on two finished jobs, and finds out tomorrow which promise was real.

   D: Divides effort so neither is usable: tomorrow's early start cannot run on a half-prepared area and the stock check has to be redone.

   The most effective response is to tell him you have people for one, say which you would choose and why, and let him decide otherwise if he wants: he learns the position while he is still standing there, the judgement is offered rather than hidden, and the decision rests with the person who owns the site. It beats answering only about the stock check, because his impression that both are in hand goes uncorrected. It beats splitting the shift, because a half-prepared area stops tomorrow’s start and a half stock check has to be done again. The least effective response is promising the site manager that both jobs will be finished: he plans on two finished jobs, and which promise was real is discovered the next morning, which is a different kind of wrong from answering incompletely or from dividing the work badly. The principle: when asked whether you can do two things you cannot, say so at once and bring a recommendation.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You are a stock control assistant at Boots. A weekly count shows three hundred units fewer than the system expects on one line. The trading team needs a figure this afternoon to decide what to order for next week, and they have asked you whether the count can be relied on. Investigating the gap properly means pulling the movement history, which takes about two hours. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Give the trading team the counted figure with the gap stated alongside it, say the cause is not yet known, and start on the movement history straight away.
   2. Assure the trading team that the counted figure is sound and the gap is a scanning error, and look at the movement history later in the week if anybody comes back to you.
   3. Hold the figure back until the movement history is finished, and tell the trading team they will have something reliable by the end of the day.
   4. Give the trading team the figure the system holds rather than the counted one, since the system is what their ordering tool reads from in any case.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Give the trading team the counted figure with the gap stated alongside it, say the cause is not yet known, and start on the movement history straight away.

   Least effective: B. Assure the trading team that the counted figure is sound and the gap is a scanning error, and look at the movement history later in the week if anybody comes back to you.

   B: Gives an assurance you have not earned: nothing yet distinguishes a scanning error from three hundred missing units, and next week's order is placed on a cause that was invented to close the question.

   C: Delays the decision: the order has to be placed this afternoon, so a reliable number tomorrow is worth less to them than an honest one now.

   D: Substitutes the convenient source for the checked one: the count is the only evidence anybody has looked at, and it is the number being set aside.

   The most effective response is to give the trading team the counted figure with the gap stated alongside it and start on the movement history at once: they get a number in time to order, they know exactly how much weight it carries, and the work that settles the cause begins immediately. It beats holding the figure until the history is finished, because the decision is this afternoon and an honest number now beats a certain one tomorrow. It beats handing over the system figure instead, because the count is the only thing anybody has actually observed. The least effective response is assuring them the count is sound and the gap is a scanning error: no work has been done that could support either claim, and stating a cause you have not established is a different kind of wrong from being slow or from choosing the wrong source. The principle: report what you know and what you do not, rather than supplying the certainty the person asking would prefer.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You are a purchasing assistant at Boots. A supplier has rung to query a set of volumes that a colleague of yours prepared. You can see that your colleague’s numbers are right and that the supplier has misread the layout. He is impatient, has queried her figures before, and says he would rather deal with you from now on because she takes days to reply. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell him her figures are often unreliable and that he should bring the numbers to you in future, so that at least the queries get answered quickly.
   2. Show him where the layout misled him, say the figures are right, and tell him you will pass on his point about reply times to her and your manager.
   3. Answer the query yourself and agree to be his contact for volumes from now on, since he is clearly not going to deal with her and somebody has to answer him.
   4. Tell him the volumes are her work and that he should take the query back to her, since it is her supplier and answering it yourself would cut across her.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Show him where the layout misled him, say the figures are right, and tell him you will pass on his point about reply times to her and your manager.

   Least effective: A. Tell him her figures are often unreliable and that he should bring the numbers to you in future, so that at least the queries get answered quickly.

   A: Undermines a colleague to an outsider: her numbers were right, and a supplier is now told by her own team that her work cannot be trusted.

   C: Solves a relationship problem by rearranging it: she loses her own supplier contact without being consulted, and nobody addresses the reply times.

   D: Applies the boundary and ignores the customer: he is sent back to somebody he says takes days, holding a misreading you could have cleared up in a minute.

   The most effective response is to show him where the layout misled him, confirm the figures are right, and say you will pass his point about reply times to her and your manager: the query is answered on the spot, your colleague’s work is defended because it is correct, and the real complaint goes somewhere it can be dealt with. It beats agreeing to become his contact, because that quietly takes her supplier away without asking her. It beats sending him back to her with his misreading intact, because it costs a minute to clear up. The least effective response is telling him her figures are often unreliable: they were right, and a supplier has been told by her own team not to trust her, which is a different kind of wrong from over-accommodating him or from standing on the boundary. The principle: defend a colleague’s correct work to an outsider, and take the criticism of her that has substance to her and your manager instead.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You are a stock control assistant at Boots. A recount you asked for turned up a mistake in your own figures, and the colleague who did it said, in front of two others, that he had wasted an afternoon on your arithmetic. It stung and he was largely right. The next count is due on Thursday and it needs two people, one of whom is normally him. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Ask your supervisor to put somebody else on Thursday's count, since working alongside him this week would be uncomfortable for both of you after what was said.
   2. Refuse to work with him on Thursday's count after the way he spoke to you, and say you would rather do it on your own or not at all.
   3. Acknowledge to him that the figures were wrong and say what you have changed, and do Thursday's count with him as planned since the count needs two people.
   4. Say nothing about it, do Thursday's count as planned, and let the remark fade rather than reopening something that was fair comment anyway.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Acknowledge to him that the figures were wrong and say what you have changed, and do Thursday's count with him as planned since the count needs two people.

   Least effective: B. Refuse to work with him on Thursday's count after the way he spoke to you, and say you would rather do it on your own or not at all.

   A: Redesigns the rota around one awkward afternoon: the count is harder to staff, and the two of you have to work together again the week after in any case.

   B: Withdraws from a job that needs two people after a disagreement: Thursday's count is put at risk to answer a remark made about an afternoon.

   D: Lets an unrepaired working relationship stand: the count happens and he has no reason to think the mistake will not simply repeat.

   The most effective response is to acknowledge that the figures were wrong, say what you have changed, and do Thursday’s count with him: the criticism was largely fair, saying so is what restores the working relationship, and the count that needs two people gets them. It beats asking for somebody else on Thursday, because the rota is rearranged around one bad afternoon and you will work together next week anyway. It beats letting the remark fade, because he has no reason to expect anything different next time. The least effective response is refusing to work with him on Thursday: a count that needs two people is put at risk to answer a remark, which is a different kind of wrong from avoiding him or from staying silent. The principle: when the criticism is fair, own it and stay in the work with the person who made it.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are a brand assistant at Boots. Three things are due before Friday: a customer announcement, a set of images for the team who publish them, and a summary for your manager. The announcement has to go on a shared channel whose owner runs a queue and has given you a slot on Thursday. Your announcement matters most this week, and you can post to the channel yourself. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Do the images and the summary first because they are quick, and take the announcement to the channel owner on Thursday exactly as the queue arranges it.
   2. Ask your manager to tell the channel owner to move your announcement up the queue, since it matters more this week than the items sitting in front of it.
   3. Ask the channel owner today whether the announcement can move up, explain what is riding on it, and do the images and the summary while you wait for his answer.
   4. Post the announcement on the shared channel yourself ahead of the queue, since your item is the most time-critical this week and the slot system is only there to keep things orderly.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Ask the channel owner today whether the announcement can move up, explain what is riding on it, and do the images and the summary while you wait for his answer.

   Least effective: D. Post the announcement on the shared channel yourself ahead of the queue, since your item is the most time-critical this week and the slot system is only there to keep things orderly.

   A: Sequences by what is easy: the two small jobs are cleared, and the item with the most riding on it gets whatever attention Thursday leaves.

   B: Escalates before asking: the person who runs the queue has not been spoken to, and the first thing he hears is a manager rearranging his week.

   D: Breaches somebody else's control of a shared channel: the queue exists because everybody's item feels urgent, and jumping it decides that question on your own behalf.

   The most effective response is to ask the channel owner whether the announcement can move up, explain what is riding on it, and do the images and the summary while you wait: the request goes to the person who owns the queue, the case for it is made rather than assumed, and the other two jobs progress meanwhile. It beats doing the quick jobs first and taking Thursday as it comes, because the most important item is then given the least thought. It beats asking your manager to have it moved, because nobody has yet asked the person who runs the queue. The least effective response is posting ahead of the queue yourself: a shared arrangement is set aside by somebody who decided their own item outranked the others, which is a different kind of wrong from sequencing badly or from going over somebody’s head. The principle: where a shared queue decides the order, the way to move up it is to ask its owner, not to step round it.

7. Question 7 of 10

   You are a commercial finance assistant at Boots. A promotion that a manager championed has come in well below what she forecast, and you have the numbers. She is presenting the quarter to her own director on Thursday and does not know yet. You produced the figures and understand why the gap arose. Your own manager has asked you to make sure she has them. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Send her the figures today with no commentary, since the numbers speak for themselves and it is not your place to interpret somebody else's promotion for her.
   2. Put the figures in Thursday's pack and send her a heads-up today that the promotion number is below forecast, so that she is not surprised in the room.
   3. Ask your manager to give her the figures, as bad news about a promotion she championed lands better from somebody at her own level.
   4. Go to her today with the figures and your explanation of the gap, and offer to help her prepare how it is presented on Thursday.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Go to her today with the figures and your explanation of the gap, and offer to help her prepare how it is presented on Thursday.

   Least effective: C. Ask your manager to give her the figures, as bad news about a promotion she championed lands better from somebody at her own level.

   A: Delivers data instead of information: she has two days to work out what happened, and you already know.

   B: Warns without explaining: she knows a bad number is coming and still has to work out why it happened, hours before she presents it.

   C: Hands the message on rather than delivering it: your manager has to explain a gap you understand and she does not, and two of the days before Thursday go on arranging that.

   The most effective response is to go to her today with the figures and your explanation, and offer to help with how it is presented: she gets the news with two days to use it, from the person who can explain it, and the offer of help makes it a working problem rather than a verdict. It beats sending the numbers with no commentary, because she then spends two days working out what you already know. It beats a heads-up today with the figures left to Thursday’s pack, because the explanation is the part she cannot supply herself and only you have it. The least effective response is asking your manager to deliver it: the explanation sits with you and the message with somebody else, and the arranging eats the time she needs, which is a different kind of wrong from being too spare or from mistiming it. The principle: bad news is delivered early, by the person who can explain it, with help attached.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You are a shift supervisor at Boots. A delivery the team has been waiting for since eight o’clock has not arrived, and the transport desk cannot say when it will. Six people are standing available and their shift ends at two. The team leader is asking you for a time, and the work that depends on the delivery has to be finished today or it moves to the weekend. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell the team exactly what transport has said and that you do not have a time yet, since guessing helps nobody, and come back to them by eleven with a time or another plan.
   2. Say nothing to the team until transport gives you a time, so that you are not passing on information that might turn out to be wrong an hour later.
   3. Put the team on other work for the morning and mention the delivery only if somebody asks about it, since there is nothing anybody standing here can do about a vehicle that has not arrived.
   4. Tell the team leader the delivery is on its way and will be with them before the shift ends, which is what a team standing about needs to hear this morning.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Tell the team exactly what transport has said and that you do not have a time yet, since guessing helps nobody, and come back to them by eleven with a time or another plan.

   Least effective: D. Tell the team leader the delivery is on its way and will be with them before the shift ends, which is what a team standing about needs to hear this morning.

   B: Treats uncertainty as a reason for silence: six people spend the morning planning around a delivery nobody can promise, and the person who knows that is the one saying nothing.

   C: Manages the shift without informing it: the morning is used sensibly and the team leader still cannot plan the afternoon or the weekend around what you know.

   D: Gives an assurance nothing supports: transport has no time to give, so the comfort lasts until two o'clock and then the weekend plan is made on a promise that was never true.

   The most effective response is to tell the team exactly what transport has said, that there is no time yet, and that you will come back by eleven: it gives six people the real picture, it puts a decision point in the morning rather than at two o’clock, and it commits you to the follow-up rather than to a fact you do not have. It beats saying nothing until transport gives a time, because the morning is spent planning around something nobody can promise. It beats moving the team to other work and mentioning it only if asked, because the team leader is deciding about the afternoon and the weekend without what you know. The least effective response is telling the team leader the delivery is on its way and will arrive before the shift ends: no such assurance exists, and inventing one is a different kind of wrong from withholding or from managing quietly, because the plans made on it are wrong until two o’clock. The principle: when you do not know, say what you do know and when you will know more.

9. Question 9 of 10

   You are a supply chain graduate at Boots. A planner and a site contact have been arguing for two days about a change to delivery times. The site has said clearly that it will not work for them. The planner has now asked you, in front of both of them on a call, whether the site has agreed. Everybody wants the argument over, and the schedule has to be published tomorrow. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Assure the planner that the site is happy with the change so the argument can stop, and work quietly on the site afterwards to bring them round before the schedule is published.
   2. Say plainly that the site has not agreed and set out what each side needs from the times, so that the call turns into a search for a change that would work.
   3. Say that the position is not clear to you and offer to speak to both of them separately after the call, so that nobody has to give ground in front of the other.
   4. Answer that the site has not agreed and leave it there, since the two of them have been going round this for two days and it is their argument rather than yours.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Say plainly that the site has not agreed and set out what each side needs from the times, so that the call turns into a search for a change that would work.

   Least effective: A. Assure the planner that the site is happy with the change so the argument can stop, and work quietly on the site afterwards to bring them round before the schedule is published.

   A: States an agreement that does not exist: the schedule is published on it, and the site discovers tomorrow that its refusal was reported as consent.

   C: Softens a fact to keep the peace: the site's position was perfectly clear, and describing it as unclear leaves the planner believing there is still room where there is none.

   D: Delivers the fact and abandons the problem: the schedule is published tomorrow, and nothing on the call has moved the two sides any closer.

   The most effective response is to say plainly that the site has not agreed, set out what each side needs, and ask for the one change that would make it work: the fact is on the table, and the call turns from an argument about consent into a search for a workable time. It beats describing the position as unclear, because the site was clear and the planner is left believing there is room to move. It beats stating the fact and leaving them to it, because the schedule is published tomorrow and nothing has moved. The least effective response is assuring the planner the site is happy: an agreement that does not exist becomes the basis of a published schedule, and the site learns that its refusal was reported as consent, which is a different kind of wrong from being vague or from being unhelpful. The principle: end an argument by putting the true position in the middle of it, never by reporting the answer everybody wants.

10. Question 10 of 10

    You are a customer care assistant at Boots. In a team meeting this morning a colleague said your handovers were sloppy and had caused her to reopen two cases last week. She said it in front of everybody and you disagree with the second example. The two of you hand work to each other every afternoon, and this afternoon’s handover is at four. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

    1. Reopen the point in front of the team at tomorrow's meeting with both cases in front of you, so that the record is corrected where the remark was made.
    2. Stop giving her the detailed handover after that meeting and send her the bare case list instead, since her view of the notes you write is clear enough already.
    3. Ask the team leader to set out a standard for handovers, so that the question stops being about your work and becomes a matter of the process everybody follows.
    4. Do the four o'clock handover, then ask her to go through both cases with you and agree what a handover needs to contain from now on.
    Show the answer

    Most effective: D. Do the four o'clock handover, then ask her to go through both cases with you and agree what a handover needs to contain from now on.

    Least effective: B. Stop giving her the detailed handover after that meeting and send her the bare case list instead, since her view of the notes you write is clear enough already.

    A: Continues a dispute in the room it started in: the team watches two colleagues litigate two cases, and the handover between them is no better afterwards.

    B: Withdraws the useful part of a handover after a disagreement: her cases get worse, customers wait longer, and the response to a complaint about quality is less of it.

    C: Escalates a two-person problem into a policy: it may produce a standard eventually, and it answers a colleague by going round her.

    The most effective response is to do the four o’clock handover and then ask her to go through both cases and agree what a handover should contain: this afternoon’s work is unaffected, the disagreement about the second case is tested with the person who raised it, and the two of you leave with a standard rather than a grievance. It beats reopening the point in front of the team tomorrow, because the team then watches two colleagues argue about two cases and the handover itself is no better. It beats letting the remark pass, because half of it was wrong and all of it now stands. The least effective response is cutting her handover back to a bare case list: her cases and her customers pay for a disagreement between the two of you, and answering a complaint about quality by giving less is a different kind of wrong from arguing in public or from staying quiet. The principle: when somebody criticises the work you hand them, improve the handover and settle the facts with them, never reduce what you hand over.