CVS Assessment Tests

CVS Online Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You are a supply chain graduate at CVS Online. On yesterday’s daily call a senior colleague cut you off twice and said the numbers you present are a waste of everybody’s time. Two other people on the call have since messaged you to say it was unfair. The call happens every morning, and your numbers are the only place the sites’ shortfalls are reported. Today’s call is in an hour. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Go to today's call and present as usual, then ask him afterwards what he needs from the numbers, since the complaint may contain something worth having.
   2. Stop attending the daily call after the way you were spoken to, and send the shortfalls round by email instead so that the information is still available.
   3. Reply to the two colleagues who messaged you, agree that it was unfair, and see whether they will say something on today's call if it happens again.
   4. Cut the numbers back to the two lines he has never objected to, so that today's call is short and there is nothing left for him to complain about.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Go to today's call and present as usual, then ask him afterwards what he needs from the numbers, since the complaint may contain something worth having.

   Least effective: B. Stop attending the daily call after the way you were spoken to, and send the shortfalls round by email instead so that the information is still available.

   B: Withdraws from a meeting after a disagreement: the sites' shortfalls lose the one place they are discussed, and an email nobody opens is the substitute.

   C: Builds a quiet coalition: sympathy is collected, the person concerned is not spoken to, and the call becomes a place where sides are taken.

   D: Removes the content to remove the friction: the shortfalls that go unreported are the ones that cost the sites next week.

   The most effective response is to present as usual and ask him afterwards what he needs from the numbers and what he would cut: the sites keep the only report of their shortfalls, the criticism is treated as possibly containing something useful, and it is discussed with the person who made it. It beats agreeing privately with the two sympathetic colleagues, because that turns a morning call into a matter of sides. It beats cutting the numbers back to what he tolerates, because the lines that disappear are the ones the sites need. The least effective response is leaving the call and sending an email instead: the only forum where shortfalls get discussed loses them, which is a different kind of wrong from seeking allies or from watering the content down. The principle: when your work is attacked in a meeting, keep doing the work and take the criticism to its author.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are a purchasing assistant at CVS Online. A customer has written in about a product that arrived damaged, and the complaint has been routed to you because the fault looks like a packaging problem at the supplier. The customer has now written twice and has had no reply to either message. You can arrange a replacement yourself, and the supplier meeting where packaging faults are raised is on Thursday. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Send the complaint on to the supplier and reply to the customer to say that the people who packed the product will be dealing with it from here.
   2. Reply to the customer to apologise for the delay and explain that packaging faults are reviewed with the supplier on Thursday, so a decision will follow after that meeting.
   3. Arrange the replacement today and tell the customer when it will arrive, and take the packaging fault to Thursday's supplier meeting so that the cause is looked at as well.
   4. Ask the customer to return the damaged item first so the fault can be confirmed, and explain that a replacement can be arranged once it has been received and checked.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Arrange the replacement today and tell the customer when it will arrive, and take the packaging fault to Thursday's supplier meeting so that the cause is looked at as well.

   Least effective: A. Send the complaint on to the supplier and reply to the customer to say that the people who packed the product will be dealing with it from here.

   A: Passes the problem on without owning it: the customer has now written three times to reach somebody who will act, and the one person who could arrange a replacement today has sent them somewhere else.

   B: Ignores the customer's actual need: the reply is honest and prompt, but the customer wants a working product rather than a place in an internal review.

   D: Substitutes process for the customer's outcome: the photographs already show the damage, and a return trip adds a week for evidence nobody actually needs.

   The most effective response is to arrange the replacement today, tell the customer what you have done and when it will arrive, and take the packaging fault to Thursday’s meeting: it settles the customer’s problem inside your own authority and still gets the underlying fault in front of the supplier. It beats replying that packaging faults are reviewed on Thursday, because a customer who has written twice needs a working product rather than a note about an internal timetable. It beats asking for the damaged item back before anything is arranged, because the photographs already show the fault and the return adds a week for evidence that changes nothing. The least effective response is sending the complaint on to the supplier and telling the customer they will hear from the people who packed it: the customer is handed to a third party who has no relationship with them, having already written twice, and the replacement you could have arranged today does not happen. The principle: own the customer’s outcome yourself, and raise the cause separately with whoever created it.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You are a supply chain graduate at CVS Online. An escalation about a missed delivery has taken your whole afternoon: four people want updates, the site is ringing every twenty minutes, and you have not eaten. You are due to leave at five and the delivery is now expected at six. You are the only person who has the full picture of what has happened today. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Stay until the delivery arrives at six whatever happens, since you have carried it all afternoon and handing it over now would mean explaining the whole day to somebody else.
   2. Send the four people chasing you a short update at five saying where the delivery stands and that you are back at seven tomorrow.
   3. Hand the escalation to a colleague at five with a quick verbal summary as you leave, and point him at the message trail.
   4. Write a short handover with the times, the promises and what happens at six and give it to the evening cover, so that the picture survives your leaving, then eat.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Write a short handover with the times, the promises and what happens at six and give it to the evening cover, so that the picture survives your leaving, then eat.

   Least effective: C. Hand the escalation to a colleague at five with a quick verbal summary as you leave, and point him at the message trail.

   A: Treats the handover as a cost rather than the job: an hour of explanation is exactly what the evening shift needs, and going on alone when tired is how the last hour goes wrong.

   B: Updates the audience and leaves the job: four people know where things stand, and nobody is holding the six o'clock arrival.

   C: Passes on a live problem without what it is made of: the only person who knows the day leaves at five, and the colleague meets the six o'clock delivery with a message trail.

   The most effective response is to write a short handover with the times, the promises and what happens at six, give it to the evening cover and take twenty minutes: the picture survives your leaving, the people waiting keep getting answers, and you stop working on empty. It beats staying until six regardless, because a tired person carrying it alone is how the last hour goes wrong, and the handover has to be written anyway. It beats sending the four chasers a closing update, because it tells them where things stand and leaves the six o’clock arrival to nobody. The least effective response is handing it to a colleague with a verbal summary on the way out: the whole afternoon exists only in your head and the messages, and he meets a six o’clock delivery without it, which is a different kind of wrong from overworking or from deflecting. The principle: under pressure, the way to put something down is to write down what the next person needs.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You are a commercial graduate at CVS Online. You are one of three people scoring proposals from four suppliers, and the scores go in on Friday. A contact at one of them, whom you have dealt with for months, drops by with a hamper and a voucher for a restaurant, saying they are just a thank you for the work so far and nothing to do with the tender. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Take the hamper for the team to share and leave the voucher, since something shared around the office cannot reasonably be said to have influenced anybody's scoring on Friday.
   2. Decline both, tell him plainly that you cannot accept anything while the tender is live, and tell the person running the tender that the offer was made.
   3. Accept the hamper and the voucher as offered, and thank him for thinking of the team after a long few months of work together.
   4. Decline both politely on the doorstep and say nothing to anybody afterwards, since he took the refusal well and no harm has actually come of it.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Decline both, tell him plainly that you cannot accept anything while the tender is live, and tell the person running the tender that the offer was made.

   Least effective: C. Accept the hamper and the voucher as offered, and thank him for thinking of the team after a long few months of work together.

   A: Splits a gift into an acceptable half: the supplier still leaves having given something to a scorer during a live tender, and the line has moved rather than held.

   C: Takes a benefit the role forbids while holding the pen: whatever was meant by it, one of the four suppliers has given a scorer a present during the scoring.

   D: Keeps a fact the tender's owner needs: the refusal is right and the person responsible for a fair process never learns that an approach was made at all.

   The most effective response is to decline both, say plainly that you cannot accept anything while the tender is live, and tell the person running it that the offer was made: it protects the scoring, it is straightforward with a contact you will keep dealing with, and it puts the approach on the record where the process can account for it. It beats keeping the hamper for the team, because a shared gift is still a gift to a scorer. It beats declining quietly and telling nobody, because the person responsible for a fair tender is the one who has to know. The least effective response is accepting the hamper and the voucher as offered: a supplier being scored this week has given a present to one of the people scoring them, which is a different kind of wrong from mishandling the refusal or from failing to report it. The principle: while you hold the pen, take nothing, and tell the person who owns the process what was offered.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You are a brand assistant at CVS Online. A campaign you have worked on for six weeks goes live on Friday. This morning the insight team found that the headline figure it quotes is wrong. Your manager, who signs the copy off, is away until Thursday, and the printer needs final wording by Wednesday lunchtime. You have never had to unpick something this late and you feel out of your depth. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Ask the printer to hold the slot for a week so the figure can be checked properly, and tell the insight team that the campaign date has moved.
   2. Take the error to your manager's manager first thing, before you have spoken to the insight team, so that somebody senior owns the decision about the wording.
   3. Leave the copy as it stands until your manager is back on Thursday, on the grounds that approving the wording belongs to them rather than to you.
   4. Agree the corrected figure with the insight team this morning and send the amended wording for approval today, so that the print deadline is met with a figure that is right.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Agree the corrected figure with the insight team this morning and send the amended wording for approval today, so that the print deadline is met with a figure that is right.

   Least effective: C. Leave the copy as it stands until your manager is back on Thursday, on the grounds that approving the wording belongs to them rather than to you.

   A: Delays the decision: the campaign has a fixed live date on Friday, and moving the print slot spends a week the schedule does not have.

   B: Escalates prematurely: the correction is an afternoon's work with the insight team, and taking it upwards first turns a fixable error into a decision nobody senior needs to make.

   C: Waits for an authority four days away: the Wednesday cut-off passes while nothing happens, and the wrong figure reaches customers because nobody decided anything at all.

   The most effective response is to agree the corrected figure with the insight team this morning and send the amended wording for approval today: the error is fixable inside the two days that are left, and doing it now protects both the print cut-off and your manager’s sign-off. It beats asking the printer to hold the slot for a week, because the campaign has a live date on Friday and the schedule cannot absorb a week. It beats taking the error to your manager’s manager first thing, because a correction the insight team can make in an afternoon does not need a senior decision, and going upwards first spends time the Wednesday cut-off does not have. The least effective response is leaving the copy as it stands until Thursday: it is the only response that lets the cut-off pass with nothing done, so the wrong figure goes out by default. Waiting for the usual signatory is a decision here, and it is the one that cannot be undone afterwards. The principle: when the pressure is real and the fix is inside your reach, act inside the time you have rather than wait for the person who normally decides.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are a procurement graduate at CVS Online. Working through delivery notes for a different piece of work, you find that one supplier’s notes have been recording pack sizes that do not match what is actually arriving, and have done for at least six weeks. Nobody has raised it. The supplier is being reviewed in a fortnight, and the pack sizes feed the figures that review uses. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Correct the pack sizes in the figures yourself for the six weeks that you can see, so that the review in a fortnight at least starts from numbers that match what was delivered.
   2. Pass the whole thing to the manager who owns the supplier relationship without mentioning the review in a fortnight, and treat your part as finished.
   3. Raise it at the review itself in a fortnight, when the supplier and the manager are both in the room and the pack sizes are on the agenda anyway.
   4. Take it to the manager who owns the supplier today with the six weeks set out, say what it does to the review's figures, and offer to check how far back it goes.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Take it to the manager who owns the supplier today with the six weeks set out, say what it does to the review's figures, and offer to check how far back it goes.

   Least effective: A. Correct the pack sizes in the figures yourself for the six weeks that you can see, so that the review in a fortnight at least starts from numbers that match what was delivered.

   A: Alters figures nobody asked you to alter: the numbers stop matching the notes that produced them, and the recording fault that caused it is now invisible to the person accountable for the supplier.

   B: Hands a finding on without what makes it urgent: the manager receives six weeks of notes with no mention of the review that is about to use them.

   C: Times the disclosure for the meeting it should have preceded: the review is prepared on figures everybody now knows are wrong, and the correction lands as a surprise.

   The most effective response is to take it to the manager who owns the supplier today with the six weeks set out, say what it does to the review’s figures, and offer to check how far back it goes: it reaches the person who can act while a fortnight is still enough time, and it carries the consequence rather than only the observation. It beats passing it across without mentioning the review, because the manager cannot act on a deadline nobody has told him about. It beats raising it at the review, because the preparation everybody does beforehand is built on figures already known to be false. The least effective response is correcting the pack sizes in the figures yourself: the numbers stop matching the notes behind them, the supplier carries on recording the wrong sizes, and the person accountable for that supplier can no longer see any of it, which is a different kind of wrong from handing the finding on bare or from raising it too late. The principle: something you found outside your own remit is carried to somebody who can act on it, with what it means attached, and never quietly repaired.

7. Question 7 of 10

   You are a duty supervisor at CVS Online. A weekly walk round the area you cover has to be recorded every week. On two of the last eight weeks it was not done, both times during unusually busy periods, and the sheet simply has gaps. A reviewer is going through the records with you this afternoon and has asked whether the walk has been completed every week. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Say that the walk is done every week as a matter of routine, and offer to send the reviewer the sheet afterwards so that she can look through the detail in her own time.
   2. Tell the reviewer the walk was missed twice in eight weeks, show her the sheet, and say what was happening in the area on both of those weeks.
   3. Tell her the sheet has gaps and that you will look into what happened on those two weeks, without saying that you already know both were busy periods.
   4. Assure the reviewer that the walk was completed in every one of the eight weeks, since it nearly always is and the two gaps were the result of unusually busy periods.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Tell the reviewer the walk was missed twice in eight weeks, show her the sheet, and say what was happening in the area on both of those weeks.

   Least effective: D. Assure the reviewer that the walk was completed in every one of the eight weeks, since it nearly always is and the two gaps were the result of unusually busy periods.

   A: Answers with the routine rather than the record: the gaps are still there and the reviewer finds them later, having been told something different to her face.

   C: Holds back the half you already know: the gaps are disclosed, and the explanation that would let her judge them properly is kept in reserve.

   D: Gives an assurance you know to be untrue: the reviewer's whole purpose is to find out what happened, and she is told the opposite by the one person who knows.

   The most effective response is to tell the reviewer the walk was missed twice in eight weeks, show her the sheet and say what was happening on those weeks: the record and your account of it agree, the context that makes the gaps understandable is offered rather than withheld, and she can do the job she is here to do. It beats answering with what happens as a matter of routine, because she will find the gaps afterwards having heard otherwise from you. It beats disclosing the gaps while keeping back what you know about them, because the explanation is the part that lets her judge them. The least effective response is assuring her that the walk was completed in every one of the eight weeks: the person with the facts tells the person checking them something untrue, which is a different kind of wrong from deflecting or from being incomplete. The principle: when somebody is checking a record, the record and what you say about it must be the same thing.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You are a people team graduate at CVS Online. You and two colleagues run a shared inbox. One of them answered a query yesterday in a way you think was wrong and rather blunt, and the person who asked has replied saying she found it unhelpful. The three of you share a group chat. The colleague is out this morning and the query is still open. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Answer the query again yourself properly and say nothing to him about it, since the person who asked needs a decent answer more than he needs a conversation.
   2. Answer the query properly today, then speak to him when he is back about what she said and how the three of you want questions like it answered.
   3. Put the reply and her response in the group chat and criticise the way he handled it, with the other two of you copied in.
   4. Forward the exchange to your manager and ask her to speak to him, since the tone of it is really a management matter rather than something for a peer to raise.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Answer the query properly today, then speak to him when he is back about what she said and how the three of you want questions like it answered.

   Least effective: C. Put the reply and her response in the group chat and criticise the way he handled it, with the other two of you copied in.

   A: Repairs the case and leaves the cause: he answers the next one the same way, having never been told that this one landed badly.

   C: Personalises a work question in front of the team: he is absent, the exchange is exhibited to a colleague who was not involved, and he reads it when he gets back.

   D: Escalates before speaking to him: the first he hears about a blunt reply is from his manager, over something a colleague could have raised directly.

   The most effective response is to answer the query properly today and speak to him when he is back about what she said and how the three of you want such questions handled: the person waiting gets an answer, the feedback goes to him rather than around him, and the outcome is an agreement about the inbox. It beats answering it yourself and saying nothing, because the next query gets the same reply. It beats forwarding it to your manager, because a peer could raise this in a minute. The least effective response is putting the exchange in the group chat with a criticism attached: it is exhibited to a third colleague while he is out and he reads it on his return, which is a different kind of wrong from quietly repairing it or from escalating it. The principle: take an issue with a colleague’s work to the colleague, and keep the audience out of it.

9. Question 9 of 10

   You are a brand assistant at CVS Online. An agency has said it will “try” to have the campaign artwork ready for the launch date, which is in three weeks, and has twice declined to confirm it. Your manager asks you in a corridor whether the date is safe, because she is about to commit the launch to a wider group. Everything else about the launch depends on that date. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Say the date looks likely but that you would rather she waited a day, and go back to the agency for a firm answer before she commits to anybody.
   2. Tell her the agency has twice declined to confirm and has only said it will try, and offer to get a definite answer today before she commits the date.
   3. Tell her you will check and come back to her, then chase the agency and reply once you have something firm, rather than answering in a corridor.
   4. Tell her the date has been booked with the agency, since they have said they will try and there is no sign yet that it will actually slip.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Tell her the agency has twice declined to confirm and has only said it will try, and offer to get a definite answer today before she commits the date.

   Least effective: D. Tell her the date has been booked with the agency, since they have said they will try and there is no sign yet that it will actually slip.

   A: Softens the position without resolving it: she is left holding a probability, and the wider group is waiting on a commitment she cannot yet make.

   C: Withholds what you already know: she may commit the date in the meantime, and the fact that the agency has twice refused to confirm is exactly what she needs now.

   D: Reports an intention as a commitment: she commits a wider group to a date the agency has twice refused to confirm, on the strength of a word you chose for them.

   The most effective response is to tell her the agency has twice declined to confirm and has only said it will try, and offer to get a definite answer today: she has the true position at the moment she needs it, and the gap is being closed rather than described. It beats saying the date looks likely and asking her to wait, because she is left with a probability and no commitment. It beats saying you will check and come back, because she may commit while you are chasing and you already know the important part. The least effective response is telling her the date is booked: an intention is reported as a commitment, and a wider group is committed to a date the agency has twice refused to confirm, which is a different kind of wrong from hedging or from deferring. The principle: when somebody is about to commit, give them what you know at once, especially when what you know is that nothing is confirmed.

10. Question 10 of 10

    You are an insight assistant at CVS Online. You hold a list of two thousand customers who gave their details to take part in research, and were told the details would be used for research only. A colleague in marketing has asked for the list to send a message about a new range, which he says is nearly the same thing and would perform far better than a cold list. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

    1. Send him the list on the understanding that he sends one message only, since a single message to people who have already engaged is a small step from what they agreed to.
    2. Say no, explain what those customers were told when they gave their details, and offer to ask the next research group whether they are happy to hear about new ranges.
    3. Tell him it is not something you can do and leave it there, since the answer is no and going into the reasons will only invite an argument about how big a difference it makes.
    4. Send the list over, given these customers have shown they are interested in the range and would probably want to hear about a new one.
    Show the answer

    Most effective: B. Say no, explain what those customers were told when they gave their details, and offer to ask the next research group whether they are happy to hear about new ranges.

    Least effective: D. Send the list over, given these customers have shown they are interested in the range and would probably want to hear about a new one.

    A: Attaches a condition to something that should not happen at all: the promise made to two thousand people is not repaired by limiting how often it is broken.

    C: Refuses without the reason or the alternative: he will ask somebody else who holds a similar list, and nothing has been built for next time.

    D: Breaches the basis on which people handed over their details: two thousand of them were told research only, and that is decided against them by somebody they never spoke to.

    The most effective response is to say no, explain what those customers were told, and offer to ask the next research group whether they want to hear about new ranges: the promise holds, the colleague understands why rather than being blocked, and a legitimate route exists for next time. It beats sending the list with a one-message condition, because a promise is not repaired by limiting how often it is broken. It beats refusing with no reason, because he simply asks somebody else. The least effective response is sending the list over because those customers have shown they are interested: two thousand people were told their details were for research, and that is decided against them by people they never spoke to, which is a different kind of wrong from half-refusing or from refusing unhelpfully. The principle: what people were told when they gave you their details is a promise, and no expected performance uplift outranks it.