Diageo Assessment Tests

Diageo Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You are a procurement graduate at Diageo. A supplier has agreed a change to what he provides, and everybody expects the written variation to be signed next week. He has offered to start on the new basis on Monday so that nothing is lost. Work started before a variation is signed is not covered by the agreement, and your manager is at a conference until Wednesday. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Ask the supplier to hold until the variation is signed, and put the signature in front of whoever can approve it in your manager's absence so it happens this week.
   2. Tell the supplier to start on Monday on the new basis, with the written variation to follow next week as everybody expects.
   3. Ask the supplier to start on Monday but to invoice only once the variation is signed, so that nothing is paid for outside the agreement.
   4. Tell the supplier nothing can happen until your manager is back on Wednesday, and let him decide for himself what to do with Monday and Tuesday.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Ask the supplier to hold until the variation is signed, and put the signature in front of whoever can approve it in your manager's absence so it happens this week.

   Least effective: B. Tell the supplier to start on Monday on the new basis, with the written variation to follow next week as everybody expects.

   B: Breaches the rule about when work may start: a week of work would sit outside the agreement entirely, and the supplier is the one carrying that if anything goes wrong.

   C: Solves the payment and not the exposure: the work is still done outside the agreement, which is what the rule about starting is actually about.

   D: Treats one person's diary as the only route: somebody is covering this week, and two days are given away without anybody being asked.

   The most effective response is to ask the supplier to hold and to put the signature in front of whoever is covering: the rule is kept, the week is not simply written off, and the person who can actually sign is asked. It beats asking him to start and invoice later, because the exposure is in the work rather than in the payment. It beats telling him to wait for Wednesday, because somebody is covering and nobody has asked them. The least effective response is telling him to start on Monday on the new basis: a week of work sits outside the agreement, and it is the supplier who carries that if it goes wrong, which is a different kind of wrong from a half fix or from a needless delay. The principle: the point of a rule about when work may begin is the work, and an expected signature is not a signature.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are an availability analyst at Diageo. An order for next week has been stopped by a system block because the volume is well above the agreed limit for that line. The manager who normally lifts a block is away, the ordering window closes at six, and you hold the rights to release a blocked order yourself. Without the order there will be nothing on that line for a week. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Release the blocked order yourself before six, using the rights you hold, and leave a note on the file for the manager to read when he is back.
   2. Ring the manager covering for him now with the volume, the limit and the six o'clock window, and ask for a decision either way before the window closes.
   3. Let the order fail at six and put it through on Monday when the manager is back and can lift the block himself in the ordinary way.
   4. Split the order into three smaller ones that each sit under the limit, and tell your supervisor what you have done when she is back on Monday.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Ring the manager covering for him now with the volume, the limit and the six o'clock window, and ask for a decision either way before the window closes.

   Least effective: A. Release the blocked order yourself before six, using the rights you hold, and leave a note on the file for the manager to read when he is back.

   A: Breaches a limit that exists to be a limit: the rights make it possible and nobody with the authority to set the volume aside has agreed that this is the week to do it.

   C: Accepts the worst outcome without testing it: nobody has yet asked a single person whether the limit can be set aside, and a week of nothing is the result of that silence.

   D: Builds a workaround around a control: the same volume arrives, the limit is neither respected nor changed, and the next person to look at the line sees three ordinary orders.

   The most effective response is to ring the manager covering for him with the volume, the limit and the six o’clock window, and ask for a decision either way: the block is a limit somebody set deliberately, somebody with authority is always covering, and the deadline is a reason to ask quickly rather than a reason not to ask. It beats letting the order fail until Monday, because nobody has been asked and a week of nothing is a heavy price for not asking. It beats splitting the order into three under the limit, because that leaves the control formally intact and practically gone. The least effective response is releasing the blocked order yourself: the volume limit is set aside by the person it was meant to stop, which is a different kind of wrong from giving up or from being too clever. The principle: rights are what let you act, not what makes the action yours to authorise.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You are a scheduling coordinator at Diageo. It is your first week covering the shift line on your own. In twenty minutes three people have called in sick for tonight, a manager has rung twice about a rota he says is wrong, and the system you book cover in has slowed to a crawl. Tonight’s cover has to be confirmed by four o’clock. You are aware of how far behind you are. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Assume the manager's rota query has been picked up by somebody else on the team, and work through the sickness calls in the order they arrived until four o'clock.
   2. List the three gaps and the rota query, tell your team leader which you are taking first, and ask her to pick up the manager so that nothing is dropped in silence.
   3. Work steadily through everything yourself in the order it came in, and tell your team leader at the end of the day how far you managed to get.
   4. Ring the manager back first to settle the rota he is unhappy about, then start on tonight's cover with whatever time is left before four o'clock.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. List the three gaps and the rota query, tell your team leader which you are taking first, and ask her to pick up the manager so that nothing is dropped in silence.

   Least effective: A. Assume the manager's rota query has been picked up by somebody else on the team, and work through the sickness calls in the order they arrived until four o'clock.

   A: Assumes a live problem away: nobody else knows the manager rang, so the only person aware of an unanswered query has decided it belongs to someone unnamed.

   C: Reports after the deadline instead of before it: four o'clock passes with three gaps part-filled, and the position is shared when nobody can act on it.

   D: Lets the loudest voice set the order: the rota query has no deadline today and the three uncovered shifts have one at four o'clock.

   The most effective response is to list the three gaps and the rota query, tell your team leader what you are taking first and that the system is slow, and ask her to pick up the manager: the cover deadline is protected, the query is answered by somebody, and the person who can reallocate work knows the position while it can still be changed. It beats working steadily through everything alone, because four o’clock does not move and asking is what makes the difference. It beats ringing the manager back first, because his query has no deadline today and three shifts do. The least effective response is assuming somebody else has picked the manager up: nobody else knows he called, so an open problem is quietly transferred to a person who does not exist, which is a different kind of wrong from struggling on alone or from taking the calls in the wrong order. The principle: under pressure, make the position visible to somebody who can act on it rather than deciding alone what can safely be dropped.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You are a marketing graduate at Diageo. A line of copy for a new range says customers rate it the best they have tried. The survey it comes from asked people who had already bought the range how it compared with what they bought before, and most said it was better. The claim goes out on Monday. Your manager likes the line and says the survey supports it. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Ask the insight team to run a fresh survey that would support the line as written, and hold the copy until the new results are back and can be quoted properly.
   2. Change the line yourself to say that most customers who bought it preferred it to what they bought before, and send the copy out on Monday without discussing it further.
   3. Show your manager exactly what the survey asked and who it asked, propose wording that says what it actually found, and agree the line before Monday.
   4. Leave the line as it stands: it presents the survey result as fact and your manager is perfectly happy that it does.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Show your manager exactly what the survey asked and who it asked, propose wording that says what it actually found, and agree the line before Monday.

   Least effective: D. Leave the line as it stands: it presents the survey result as fact and your manager is perfectly happy that it does.

   A: Starts from the answer and looks for evidence: the claim is treated as fixed and the research is asked to catch up with it.

   B: Fixes the wording and skips the conversation: the copy is now accurate and your manager still believes the survey supports a claim it does not.

   D: Puts a claim to customers that the evidence does not carry: the survey asked existing buyers to compare with their own last purchase, which is not what the sentence tells the public.

   The most effective response is to show your manager exactly what the survey asked and who it asked, propose wording that matches what it found, and agree the line before Monday: the claim ends up supportable, the decision stays with the person who owns the copy, and it happens before the deadline rather than after it. It beats commissioning a survey to fit the line, because that starts from the answer and shops for evidence. It beats quietly rewriting the line, because your manager carries on believing the survey says something it does not. The least effective response is leaving the line as it stands because your manager is happy with it: a claim goes to customers that the evidence does not support, which is a different kind of wrong from working backwards from a conclusion or from correcting it silently. The principle: the evidence decides what the claim may say, and seniority is not evidence.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You are a people team graduate at Diageo. You and two colleagues share the induction packs for new starters, and this month’s twelve are due on Friday. One colleague is off sick until next week and the other is already working late on a separate deadline. You have four of the twelve done. A colleague from another team has offered to help if somebody tells her what is needed. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Pass the eight remaining packs to the colleague from the other team without showing her what a pack needs, and finish your own four.
   2. Work through as many of the eight as you can yourself and tell the team on Friday how many were finished, since everybody else is already stretched this week.
   3. Ask your team leader to move Friday's deadline, since two of the three people who normally do this work are unavailable and the date was set before anybody knew that.
   4. Take the colleague up on her offer, show her two packs and split the eight with her, and tell your team leader what you have arranged and where the risk is.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Take the colleague up on her offer, show her two packs and split the eight with her, and tell your team leader what you have arranged and where the risk is.

   Least effective: A. Pass the eight remaining packs to the colleague from the other team without showing her what a pack needs, and finish your own four.

   A: Hands the work on rather than sharing it: she has offered help, not ownership, and the person who knows what the packs need is the one stepping back from them.

   B: Absorbs a shortfall silently: Friday arrives with an unknown number of packs missing and nobody has had the chance to do anything about it.

   C: Asks for the deadline to move before trying the help on offer: the starters arrive whether the packs are ready or not, and an offer of help sits unused.

   The most effective response is to take up the offer, show her two packs and split the remaining eight, and tell your team leader what you have arranged: the help becomes useful because somebody spends twenty minutes making it useful, the work stays shared, and the person who owns the deadline knows what is happening. It beats working through as many as you can and reporting on Friday, because nobody can act on a shortfall they hear about at the deadline. It beats asking for the deadline to move, because the starters arrive regardless and an offer of help has not been tried. The least effective response is passing the eight remaining packs to the colleague from the other team: she offered help rather than ownership, and the person who knows what a pack needs steps away from twelve of them, which is a different kind of wrong from carrying it alone or from asking for more time. The principle: an offer of help is taken up by working alongside somebody, not by handing them the job.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are a customer experience graduate at Diageo. A customer you helped last week has been sent a fifty pound voucher as an apology, and has written back to say she does not want it and would rather it went to nobody. The voucher is active and cancelling it means a form and a wait. Nobody else knows it exists. Your team has a small budget that these come from. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Cancel the voucher through the form so the fifty pounds goes back to the team budget, and note on the case what the customer asked for.
   2. Leave the voucher active and unused, since the customer has said she does not want it and it will simply expire without anybody having to fill in a form about it.
   3. Keep the voucher for yourself, since it has already been issued, the customer does not want it, and cancelling it takes longer than the fifty pounds is worth to anybody.
   4. Offer the voucher to the colleague who handled the case before you, as she did most of the work on it and the customer has no use for it.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Cancel the voucher through the form so the fifty pounds goes back to the team budget, and note on the case what the customer asked for.

   Least effective: C. Keep the voucher for yourself, since it has already been issued, the customer does not want it, and cancelling it takes longer than the fifty pounds is worth to anybody.

   B: Leaves money committed to nothing: the budget carries a fifty pound hole for the life of the voucher because a form was not worth the trouble.

   C: Takes a benefit the role forbids: the money belongs to the team budget whatever the customer decided, and the fact that nobody would notice is what makes it a decision rather than an oversight.

   D: Passes on a benefit that was never anybody's to give: it feels generous, and it disposes of company money on the strength of who deserves it.

   The most effective response is to cancel the voucher through the form so the money returns to the team budget, and note what the customer asked for: the customer’s wish is honoured, the budget is whole, and the case shows what happened. It beats leaving it active to expire, because the budget carries the commitment for months for want of a form. It beats offering it to the colleague who did the work, because that hands out company money on the basis of merit. The least effective response is keeping the voucher yourself: it is the team’s money, the customer’s refusal did not make it yours, and the fact that nobody would ever know is the part that makes it a choice rather than a slip, which is a different kind of wrong from being lazy or from being loosely generous. The principle: money that was never yours does not become yours because nobody is watching and the paperwork is tedious.

7. Question 7 of 10

   You are a commercial graduate at Diageo. A quote you sent a customer last week used a price file that had already been replaced, so the price quoted is lower than the one now in force. The customer has not yet ordered. A colleague spotted it this morning while tidying the folder, and nobody else knows. Your manager reviews quotes over a certain value on Friday. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Send the customer a corrected quote today with a short apology, and mention the old file to your manager at Friday's review when the quote comes up in any case.
   2. Tell your manager today what happened and which file you used, agree with her what the customer is told, and make sure the replaced file cannot be picked up again.
   3. Correct the price file yourself this afternoon, say nothing about which version the quote came from, and hope it will not be traced back to last week.
   4. Honour the quote you sent, since the customer received it in good faith, and raise the file problem separately once the order has been placed.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Tell your manager today what happened and which file you used, agree with her what the customer is told, and make sure the replaced file cannot be picked up again.

   Least effective: C. Correct the price file yourself this afternoon, say nothing about which version the quote came from, and hope it will not be traced back to last week.

   A: Delays the part that is not about the customer: the quote is fixed quickly, and the manager learns on Friday that a replaced file was still in use for a week.

   C: Conceals your own error while tidying the evidence of it: the folder looks right, the customer still holds a quote nobody can honour, and the concealment is the part that was chosen deliberately.

   D: Decides a pricing question that is not yours: honouring it may well be right, and it is a call your manager makes with the value in front of her.

   The most effective response is to tell your manager today what happened and which file you used, agree what the customer is told, and make sure the replaced file cannot be picked up again: the person who owns the pricing decision makes it, the customer hears one consistent thing, and the cause is closed rather than the instance. It beats sending a corrected quote today and mentioning the file on Friday, because a replaced file in live use is the more urgent half. It beats honouring the quote and raising the file afterwards, because that is a commercial decision above your level taken by default. The least effective response is correcting the file quietly and hoping it is not traced back: the evidence is tidied while the customer holds a quote nobody can honour, and hiding your own error is a different kind of wrong from telling somebody late or from deciding too much. The principle: fix the cause in the open, and let the person who owns the decision take it with the facts in front of them.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You are a commercial finance assistant at Diageo. It is the last day of month end. Four reconciliations are outstanding, two of them half-finished with workings only you understand, and everything has to be closed by nine tomorrow morning. You have been at it since seven, you are making mistakes, and a colleague who knows the process has offered to take two of them. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Take his offer and give him the two that are untouched, since those need no explanation, walk him through where they start, and keep the two half-finished ones yourself.
   2. Thank him and carry on alone, since explaining the workings would take as long as finishing them and the whole thing is due by nine in the morning.
   3. Pass him the two half-finished reconciliations without going through where the workings had got to, since they are the furthest along and should be quickest to close.
   4. Ask your manager tonight to extend the deadline past nine, since four reconciliations cannot be finished properly by then and the numbers matter more than the hour.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Take his offer and give him the two that are untouched, since those need no explanation, walk him through where they start, and keep the two half-finished ones yourself.

   Least effective: C. Pass him the two half-finished reconciliations without going through where the workings had got to, since they are the furthest along and should be quickest to close.

   B: Treats handing over as pure cost: two of the four need no explanation at all, and the mistakes are already being made.

   C: Hands over the part only you can explain, unexplained: he inherits half-built workings at nine at night with a nine o'clock deadline and no way to read them.

   D: Asks for the fixed thing to move before using the help in front of you: month end closes when it closes, and an offer of help is sitting unused.

   The most effective response is to take his offer, give him the two untouched reconciliations, show him where they start, and keep the two half-finished ones: the work splits along the line that costs nothing to explain, and the pieces only you can read stay with you. It beats carrying on alone, because two of the four need no handover and you are already making mistakes. It beats asking for the deadline to move, because month end does not move and there is help standing in front of you. The least effective response is handing him the two half-finished reconciliations without going through the workings: he inherits workings he cannot read, late at night, against a fixed deadline, which is a different kind of wrong from refusing help or from asking for more time. The principle: when you are tired and help arrives, give away the work that travels, and keep what only you can finish.

9. Question 9 of 10

   You are a people team graduate at Diageo. 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.

10. Question 10 of 10

    You are an insight assistant at Diageo. You are finishing a pack of customer survey results for a decision meeting on Thursday. One question in the survey went out to a much smaller group than the rest, so its result rests on about a fifth of the usual number of replies. The result is the most striking number in the pack, and nobody reading it would know how few replies sit behind it. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

    1. Leave the striking result out of the pack altogether, since a number resting on a fifth of the usual replies is not solid enough to put in front of a decision meeting.
    2. Include the result in the pack as it stands, without flagging that the sample behind it was a fifth of the size of the others.
    3. Include the result with the number of replies shown next to it and a line saying what that means for how much weight it should carry.
    4. Include the result as it stands and mention the small sample verbally if the question comes up while you are presenting the pack on Thursday.
    Show the answer

    Most effective: C. Include the result with the number of replies shown next to it and a line saying what that means for how much weight it should carry.

    Least effective: B. Include the result in the pack as it stands, without flagging that the sample behind it was a fifth of the size of the others.

    A: Removes evidence rather than qualifying it: the meeting loses a real signal because it could not be given a sentence of context.

    B: Withholds the fact that decides how much weight the number carries: the most striking figure in the pack is the one nobody is told to treat carefully.

    D: Leaves a caveat to chance: the pack outlives the meeting and is read by people who were never in the room to hear the qualification.

    The most effective response is to include the result with the number of replies shown next to it and a line on what that means for its weight: the meeting gets the signal and the size of it, which is what lets people decide how far to lean on it. It beats leaving the result out, because a real finding is discarded when a sentence would have made it usable. It beats mentioning the small sample only if somebody asks, because the pack is read later by people who were never in the room. The least effective response is including the striking result without flagging the size of the sample behind it: the most eye-catching number in the pack is presented as though it were as solid as the rest, and the one person who knows otherwise says nothing, which is a different kind of wrong from being over-cautious or from relying on the meeting to ask. The principle: publish the caveat next to the number, in the document, where everybody who reads one reads the other.