Hays Assessment Tests

Hays Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You are an area support assistant for a restaurant chain, visiting a branch to help with stock counts. In the kitchen you notice the fridge temperature log has identical readings written in for the past two weeks, including for a day the branch was closed. Food safety is not your role and you have no authority here. The branch manager is on site. Your area manager is contactable by phone. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Say nothing, since food safety is not your role, you have no authority at this branch, and the branch manager will have his own reasons for how the log is kept.
   2. Raise it with the branch manager, ask him to check the fridges now, and ring your area manager today because the log for two weeks cannot be relied on.
   3. Mention it to the branch manager and suggest he starts recording the readings properly from now on, then get on with the stock count you came to do.
   4. Photograph the log and include it in your visit report, so that the area manager sees the evidence when the report is circulated next week.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Raise it with the branch manager, ask him to check the fridges now, and ring your area manager today because the log for two weeks cannot be relied on.

   Least effective: A. Say nothing, since food safety is not your role, you have no authority at this branch, and the branch manager will have his own reasons for how the log is kept.

   A: Fails to escalate a genuine risk: identical readings including a closed day mean the log is not a record of anything, so nobody knows whether food has been held safely. Having no authority is a reason to tell someone who has, not to say nothing.

   C: Treats a safety failure as a paperwork fix: recording properly from now on corrects the form and leaves two weeks in which nobody knows whether the fridges held temperature, with that food still in them.

   D: Delays the decision: the evidence is captured and the food is still being served. A report next week arrives long after the fortnight it describes.

   The most effective response is to raise it with the branch manager, ask him to check the fridges now, and ring your area manager today: identical readings across a fortnight including a day the branch was shut mean the log records nothing, so nobody knows whether the fridges have held temperature, and food is being served now. Getting the fridges checked today and telling the area manager addresses both the immediate risk and the recording failure. It beats suggesting he starts recording the readings properly from now on, because that leaves the last two weeks, and the food from them, entirely unexamined. It beats photographing the log for your visit report next week, because that is far too slow for a live food safety question. The least effective response is saying nothing because you have no authority at this branch: it leaves an unreliable food safety record and possibly mishandled food untouched, on grounds that are precisely why it should go to someone who does have authority. That is worse than the other two, which act too slowly but do act. The principle: when a control turns out not to be working, get the immediate check done and tell the person with authority the same day.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are an estimator at a car body repair shop. You and the workshop foreman, Gary, disagree about how long a repair should take. He has twice overridden your estimates and told customers a shorter time, and two cars have now been late, with the customers complaining to you. Gary has been at the shop twenty years. Four more estimates are due this week. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Start telling customers a longer time than your estimate, so that even if Gary shortens it the promise still holds and nobody is disappointed.
   2. Leave the estimating to Gary, since he has twenty years in the workshop and the customers complain to you either way, and concentrate on the paperwork side.
   3. Talk to Gary this week, show him the two jobs that ran late against your estimates, and agree how the two of you will set a time before it is quoted to a customer.
   4. Take it to the shop owner, explaining that Gary has overridden your estimates twice and that customers have complained about late cars.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Talk to Gary this week, show him the two jobs that ran late against your estimates, and agree how the two of you will set a time before it is quoted to a customer.

   Least effective: B. Leave the estimating to Gary, since he has twenty years in the workshop and the customers complain to you either way, and concentrate on the paperwork side.

   A: Avoids the difficult conversation: padding every estimate hides the disagreement inside the quoted price and makes the shop look slower than it is, while Gary carries on overriding you.

   B: Abandons own committed work: it gives up the job you are employed to do because the disagreement is uncomfortable, so estimates keep being wrong, cars keep running late and nobody is accountable for the times.

   D: Escalates prematurely: Gary has not been shown that his shortened times are what made the cars late, and the first he would hear of it is from the owner, over something evidence and a conversation could settle.

   The most effective response is to talk to Gary this week, show him the two jobs that ran late against your estimates, and agree how the two of you will set a time before it is quoted: there is now evidence that the shortened times do not hold, and four more estimates this week will repeat it unless you agree a process. Showing him the jobs makes it about the work rather than about who is right. It beats taking it to the shop owner and explaining he has overridden your estimates twice, because Gary has never been shown the consequence, and going to the owner first turns a solvable working practice into a complaint about a twenty-year employee. It beats telling customers a longer time than your estimate so the promise holds either way, because padding conceals the problem inside customer quotes and leaves the shop quoting times it does not believe. The least effective response is leaving the estimating to Gary and concentrating on the paperwork: it abandons the role altogether, so the times stay wrong, customers keep being let down, and nobody owns the problem. That is worse than the other two, which handle it poorly but keep trying. The principle: take the evidence to the colleague, agree how the decision gets made, and only escalate if that fails.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You are a duty coordinator at a courier depot. At 3pm three things need you. A driver has broken down with a vehicle full of next-day parcels and needs a recovery arranged. Your manager wants the weekly performance figures before he leaves at 4pm. And a customer is holding on the phone about a parcel that has been missing for a week. The recovery firm’s cut-off for same-day attendance is 3.30pm. The figures take twenty minutes. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Take the customer's call first since she is already holding and has been waiting a week, then arrange the recovery and do the figures if there is time before 4pm.
   2. Ask the driver to arrange his own recovery while you handle the customer and the figures, since he is at the roadside and knows the vehicle better than you do.
   3. Arrange the recovery before the 3.30pm cut-off, take the customer's number and promise a call back, then do the figures for your manager before 4pm.
   4. Do the performance figures first so your manager has them before he leaves at 4pm, then arrange the recovery and return the customer's call afterwards.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Arrange the recovery before the 3.30pm cut-off, take the customer's number and promise a call back, then do the figures for your manager before 4pm.

   Least effective: B. Ask the driver to arrange his own recovery while you handle the customer and the figures, since he is at the roadside and knows the vehicle better than you do.

   A: Ignores the closing window: her parcel has been missing a week and will still be missing in ten minutes, while the recovery cut-off passes at 3.30pm and strands a van of next-day parcels overnight.

   B: Passes responsibility to others: the depot holds the recovery account and the cut-off, not the driver at the roadside. Handing him a task he cannot complete means the cut-off passes with nobody having acted.

   D: Substitutes own judgement for the stakeholder's: it puts a reporting deadline ahead of a van of next-day parcels whose recovery window shuts in thirty minutes, and your manager has not been told the two clash.

   The most effective response is to arrange the recovery before the 3.30pm cut-off, take the customer’s number and promise a call back, then do the figures before 4pm: only the recovery has a window that shuts, and missing it strands a van of next-day parcels overnight. Once it is arranged, twenty minutes of figures still fits and the customer gets a call back today. It beats taking the customer’s call first because she is already holding, since a parcel missing for a week is not made worse by ten more minutes, while the cut-off cannot be recovered once passed. It beats doing the performance figures first so your manager has them before he leaves, because that treats a reporting deadline as outranking a closing operational window, without telling him the two clash. The least effective response is asking the driver to arrange his own recovery from the roadside: it hands it to the one person who cannot arrange it, since the depot holds the account, so the cut-off passes with nobody having acted. That is worse than the other two, which sequence badly but keep the work with someone able to do it. The principle: do the thing whose window is closing first, then fit the rest around it.

4. Question 4 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.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You are a planning assistant in a council planning office. You and a colleague, Steph, disagree about whether an application needs a further consultation round. She says it does not and has told the applicant so; you believe the amended plans are material and it does. The statutory decision deadline is in twelve days. Your team manager is on annual leave until next week. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Set out to Steph why you think the amendments are material, and if you still disagree take it to another senior planner today rather than waiting for your manager.
   2. Start the further consultation yourself, since a missed statutory step is far more serious than an unnecessary one and the deadline leaves no time to argue.
   3. Accept Steph's position since she has already told the applicant, and note your disagreement on the file in case the decision is later challenged.
   4. Wait for your team manager to return next week and put the question to her then, so that the decision is taken by the person who actually manages the team.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Set out to Steph why you think the amendments are material, and if you still disagree take it to another senior planner today rather than waiting for your manager.

   Least effective: C. Accept Steph's position since she has already told the applicant, and note your disagreement on the file in case the decision is later challenged.

   B: Substitutes own judgement for the stakeholder's: it overrides a colleague who has already told the applicant otherwise, which leaves the council saying two different things to the same applicant.

   C: Fails to escalate a genuine risk: it allows a decision you believe misses a statutory step, and records your objection so that the file protects you rather than the applicant. A note is not an escalation.

   D: Delays the decision: it spends five of the twelve remaining days waiting for one particular person, when consultation periods take time and other senior planners are available now.

   The most effective response is to set out to Steph why you think the amendments are material, and if you still disagree take it to another senior planner today: whether amendments are material is a professional question with an answer, twelve days is enough to consult only if it is settled now, and the office has other senior planners. Going to Steph first is proportionate; escalating the same day if you still disagree respects the deadline. It beats waiting for your team manager to return next week, because that burns five days a consultation period needs. It beats starting the further consultation yourself, because doing it unilaterally leaves the applicant hearing two contradictory positions from the same council. The least effective response is accepting her position and noting your disagreement on the file: it lets a decision proceed that you believe misses a statutory step, and files a note whose only function is to protect you if it is challenged. That is worse than the other two, which act on the concern rather than documenting it. The principle: raise it with the colleague, and if you still disagree escalate to whoever is available in time, rather than waiting for one person or writing a note.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are a scheduler for a solar panel installer. A customer’s installation is booked for Monday and he has arranged scaffolding at his own cost for that day. On Friday you learn the inverter for his system is out of stock for two weeks. The panels themselves could be fitted on Monday, with the inverter added later, but that would need the scaffolding twice. He is contactable. Your installations manager is available. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Ring the customer today, explain the inverter delay and that fitting the panels on Monday would mean paying for scaffolding twice, and let him choose what to do.
   2. Postpone the whole installation until the inverter arrives, and tell the customer so he can cancel his scaffolding before Monday.
   3. Leave Monday's booking in place and say nothing, since the panels can go up as planned and the inverter question can be dealt with once the installation has started.
   4. Send the team on Monday to fit the panels as planned, and tell the customer on the day that the inverter will follow in two weeks.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Ring the customer today, explain the inverter delay and that fitting the panels on Monday would mean paying for scaffolding twice, and let him choose what to do.

   Least effective: C. Leave Monday's booking in place and say nothing, since the panels can go up as planned and the inverter question can be dealt with once the installation has started.

   B: Substitutes own judgement for the stakeholder's: the scaffolding is his cost and his arrangement, so whether to use Monday's booking for the panels alone is his call, not a scheduling decision to be announced.

   C: Hides the problem: he is paying for scaffolding on the strength of a complete installation, and the plan is to let him find out mid-job. Withholding a known two-week gap from someone spending his own money is concealment.

   D: Commits the customer to a second cost: it commits him to a second scaffolding hire without asking, and he learns of the two-week gap only once the team is on his roof.

   The most effective response is to ring the customer today, explain the inverter delay and that fitting on Monday would mean paying for scaffolding twice, and let him choose: the scaffolding is his cost, the choice between one visit later and two visits with double hire is financial and belongs to him, and Friday leaves him time to cancel or keep the booking. Giving him the facts and both options is the whole job. It beats postponing the whole installation until the inverter arrives, because cancelling on his behalf decides how his own money is spent without asking. It beats sending the team on Monday and telling him on the day that the inverter follows in two weeks, because that commits him to a second hire and tells him afterwards. The least effective response is leaving Monday’s booking in place and saying nothing: it lets him pay for scaffolding believing the system will be complete, and plans to explain mid-installation. That is worse than the other two, which decide for him but at least tell him. The principle: when the trade-off costs the customer money, put the facts and the options to them while they can still change the arrangements.

7. Question 7 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.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You are a reporter at a local newspaper. You and a colleague, Suzanne, have both been working on the same council story without realising it, and she has told a contact that the story is hers. The contact has now stopped returning your calls. The story is due to run this week and the editor does not know there has been any overlap. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Speak to Suzanne today, work out what each of you has, agree who takes it forward and how the contact is approached, then tell the editor where the story stands.
   2. Drop your version and let Suzanne run with it, since the contact is talking to her now and arguing about who started first would only damage the newsroom.
   3. Tell the editor that Suzanne has claimed the story with your contact and ask him to decide which of you should take it forward.
   4. Go back to the contact directly, explain that you were working on the story first, and ask him to deal with you rather than with Suzanne.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Speak to Suzanne today, work out what each of you has, agree who takes it forward and how the contact is approached, then tell the editor where the story stands.

   Least effective: B. Drop your version and let Suzanne run with it, since the contact is talking to her now and arguing about who started first would only damage the newsroom.

   B: Avoids the difficult conversation: it abandons work and material the story may need, so the paper runs a weaker piece and the duplication that caused it is never addressed. The editor never learns two reporters duplicated a week.

   C: Escalates prematurely: Suzanne may not know you were working on it at all, and the editor's first knowledge of the overlap being a complaint makes an argument out of a misunderstanding.

   D: Personalises the conflict: it asks a source to choose between two reporters from the same paper, which puts an internal muddle in front of a contact and is likely to lose him altogether.

   The most effective response is to speak to Suzanne today, work out what each of you has, agree who takes it forward and how the contact is approached, then tell the editor where the story stands: two reporters have duplicated work on a story running this week, the fastest way to a good piece is to pool what you both have, and the editor needs an accurate picture rather than a complaint. Agreeing how the contact is approached also protects the source. It beats telling the editor she has claimed the story with your contact, because she may not know you were on it, and taking it upward first frames a misunderstanding as a dispute. It beats going back to the contact to say you were working on it first, because asking a source to choose between two reporters from the same paper exposes the muddle and risks losing him. The least effective response is dropping your version and letting her run with it: it discards material the story may need and leaves the duplication unexamined, so the paper runs a weaker piece and it happens again. That is worse than the other two, which handle it badly but keep both reporters’ work in play. The principle: sort out the overlap with your colleague first, protect the source, then give the editor the true position.

9. Question 9 of 10

   You are a sales assistant at a garden centre. Your manager asked you this morning to price and shelve a delivery of spring bulbs before you finish at 5pm; the bulbs are not on promotion and no customer is waiting for them. At 2pm the till supervisor tells you the card terminal on the main till has failed, a queue is building at the single working till, and you are the only other member of staff trained to open the second one. Your manager is running a planting workshop outside for the next hour. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Open the second till straight away to clear the queue, then go back to the bulbs and let your manager know afterwards that the pricing may run past 5pm.
   2. Carry on pricing the bulbs because your manager asked for them personally, and leave the till supervisor to manage the queue without mentioning that you are trained on the second till.
   3. Serve at the second till between trips to the stockroom, pricing a few trays of bulbs each time the queue drops, so that both jobs keep moving through the afternoon.
   4. Interrupt your manager's planting workshop to ask whether the bulbs or the till queue should come first, and wait for her decision before doing anything else.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Open the second till straight away to clear the queue, then go back to the bulbs and let your manager know afterwards that the pricing may run past 5pm.

   Least effective: B. Carry on pricing the bulbs because your manager asked for them personally, and leave the till supervisor to manage the queue without mentioning that you are trained on the second till.

   B: Hides the problem: you hold the one fact that would fix the queue and you withhold it, so the supervisor cannot solve a problem she does not know is solvable. That is concealment, not a priority call.

   C: Splits effort so nothing finishes: customers are waiting now and the queue only clears if someone stays on the till, so stepping away repeatedly leaves the queue growing and the bulbs still unpriced.

   D: Escalates prematurely: a queue at the only working till against unpriced stock nobody is waiting for is a call you can make yourself, and interrupting a customer workshop costs more than it settles.

   The most effective response is to open the second till straight away and tell your manager afterwards: customers are waiting now, the bulbs are waiting for nobody, and the pricing deadline is internal and movable while the queue is neither. Telling her afterwards keeps her informed without pulling her out of a workshop. It beats serving at the second till between trips to the stockroom, because serving in bursts never clears a queue; the till needs someone sitting at it, and dividing yourself leaves both jobs half done. It beats interrupting her planting workshop to ask which comes first, because this is a straightforward call between a waiting customer and a task nobody is waiting on, and it does not need a manager pulled away from a customer event to make it. The least effective response is carrying on with the bulbs without mentioning that you are trained on the second till: you are the only other trained operator and you keep that to yourself, so the supervisor is left unable to fix something you could have fixed in seconds. That is worse than serving in bursts, which at least serves some customers, and worse than asking your manager, which at least surfaces the clash to someone. The principle: when one task has people waiting on it and the other does not, serve the people, then tell the person whose deadline slipped.

10. Question 10 of 10

    You are a scheduling coordinator at a home care agency. A carer rings from a client’s house to say the eighty-year-old client seems confused, is unsteady on her feet and does not recognise her, which is not how she normally is. The carer’s visit ends in ten minutes and the next one is not until the evening. Your care manager is in the building. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

    1. Rearrange the rota to send another carer round in an hour so the client is not left alone for long, and update the care manager at the end of the day.
    2. Advise the carer to ring the client's GP surgery herself and describe the symptoms, since she is with the client and can answer any questions the surgery asks.
    3. Tell the carer to finish the visit as scheduled and note the confusion in the client's record so that the evening carer knows to keep an eye on her.
    4. Tell the carer to stay with the client, get the care manager now, and have her decide whether the client needs medical attention before the visit ends.
    Show the answer

    Most effective: D. Tell the carer to stay with the client, get the care manager now, and have her decide whether the client needs medical attention before the visit ends.

    Least effective: C. Tell the carer to finish the visit as scheduled and note the confusion in the client's record so that the evening carer knows to keep an eye on her.

    A: Fails to escalate a genuine risk: extra cover is useful and a sudden change in an elderly client's mental state and balance is a clinical question, not a staffing one. An hour alone may be an hour too long.

    B: Passes responsibility to others: it puts a carer at the end of her visit in charge of a clinical escalation, when the care manager is in the building and is the person the agency expects to make that call.

    C: Stays silent about a known clinical risk: it leaves a confused and unsteady elderly woman alone until the evening, with the observation recorded but nobody told who could act on it. Writing it down is not reporting it.

    The most effective response is to tell the carer to stay with the client and get the care manager now to decide whether the client needs medical attention: a sudden change in an elderly client’s mental state and balance may be a medical emergency, the carer is the only person with her, and the manager is in the building and can decide within the ten minutes remaining. Keeping the carer there is what prevents the worst outcome. It beats rearranging the rota to send another carer round in an hour, because that treats a possible medical problem as a rota gap and still leaves her alone. It beats advising the carer to ring the client’s GP surgery herself, because that hands a clinical escalation to someone at the end of her shift when the person the agency employs to make that judgement is a few steps away. The least effective response is telling the carer to finish the visit as scheduled and note the confusion in the record: it leaves a confused, unsteady woman alone until the evening with the concern written down but nobody told. That is worse than the other two, which act imperfectly but keep somebody involved. The principle: when someone vulnerable may be at immediate risk, keep a person with them and get the decision to whoever is qualified to make it, now.