Hilton Worldwide Assessment Tests

Hilton Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You are a procurement graduate at Hilton. 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.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are a marketing graduate at Hilton. A launch pack cannot go out until the legal team’s sign-off is recorded in the tracker. The lawyer who reviewed it told you verbally on Friday that she was happy with it, but she is away this week and has not sent the written confirmation. The pack has to go to the printers this afternoon, and your manager is chasing you for the tracker to be updated. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Record the sign-off as received in the tracker so the pack can go this afternoon, and chase the written confirmation from her when she is back next week.
   2. Hold the pack until she is back next week and can send the confirmation herself, and tell the printers that this afternoon's slot will not be used after all.
   3. Ask your manager to make the call on whether her verbal agreement is enough, and update the tracker to whatever he decides this afternoon.
   4. Tell your manager the written sign-off has not arrived, ask the legal team whether a colleague can confirm it today, and leave the tracker as it is until one of them does.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Tell your manager the written sign-off has not arrived, ask the legal team whether a colleague can confirm it today, and leave the tracker as it is until one of them does.

   Least effective: A. Record the sign-off as received in the tracker so the pack can go this afternoon, and chase the written confirmation from her when she is back next week.

   A: Enters something in a record that has not happened: the tracker is the only evidence anybody downstream has, and it is being made to say the opposite of the truth.

   B: Treats the deadline as the only thing that can move: a week is lost without anybody asking whether another lawyer could confirm what she said on Friday.

   C: Passes a recording decision upwards to have it made quickly: he can decide about the pack, and the tracker still has to say what actually happened.

   The most effective response is to tell your manager the written sign-off has not arrived, ask the legal team whether a colleague can confirm it today, and leave the tracker until one of them does: the deadline is attacked in the only way that keeps the record honest, and everybody making decisions this afternoon knows exactly where things stand. It beats holding the pack until next week, because nobody has asked whether another lawyer can confirm what was said on Friday. It beats asking your manager to rule on whether a verbal agreement is enough, because the tracker still has to record what happened rather than what was decided about it. The least effective response is recording the sign-off as received: the tracker is the only evidence anybody downstream has, and making it say something that has not happened is a different kind of wrong from losing a week or from escalating a decision. The principle: a record says what happened, and a deadline is a reason to find another route, never to write one in.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You are a stock control assistant at Hilton. The same line has run out three Fridays in a row because the level at which it reorders is set too low. You can see what it ought to be, and you have the access to change it. The setting belongs to the planning team, who review these monthly and whose next review is in three weeks. Friday is in two days. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Raise a manual order this week to cover Friday, and wait for the planning team's monthly review to deal with the setting itself in three weeks' time.
   2. Put the three Fridays into the planning team's monthly review paper, so that the setting is considered properly alongside everything else they are looking at.
   3. Send the planning team the three Fridays and the level you think it should be today, ask them to change it before Friday, and raise a manual order as cover meanwhile.
   4. Change the reorder level yourself to the number you can see it should be, since you have the access and the line has now run out three weeks running.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Send the planning team the three Fridays and the level you think it should be today, ask them to change it before Friday, and raise a manual order as cover meanwhile.

   Least effective: D. Change the reorder level yourself to the number you can see it should be, since you have the access and the line has now run out three weeks running.

   A: Treats the symptom and leaves the cause: this Friday is covered and two more will run out before anybody looks at the number behind it.

   B: Files an urgent item at the routine speed: the paper is read in three weeks and the line runs out twice more in the meantime.

   D: Breaches another team's control of their own settings: the number may well be right, and it is changed underneath the people who are accountable for it.

   The most effective response is to send the planning team the three Fridays and your proposed level, ask for the change before Friday, and raise a manual order as cover: the immediate gap is covered, the cause goes to the people who own it with the evidence attached, and the timescale asked for matches the problem rather than the calendar. It beats raising a manual order and waiting for the monthly review, because two more Fridays fail first. It beats writing it into the review paper, because that treats a repeating failure at the speed of a routine agenda. The least effective response is changing the reorder level yourself: the number may be exactly right and it is altered underneath the team accountable for it, which is a different kind of wrong from being too slow or from filing it in the wrong place. The principle: bring the evidence and the urgency to whoever owns the setting, rather than exercising an access you happen to hold.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You are a trading assistant at Hilton. A business customer has asked four times when new pricing will be issued, and each time you have said it is coming. The person who sets it has not given you a date and is not answering messages. The customer says he cannot plan his own ordering without it and is starting to sound as though he does not believe you. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell the customer honestly that you do not yet have a date, say what you are doing to get one and by when, and go to the pricing manager's team leader today.
   2. Stop replying until you have something concrete to tell him, since a fifth message that says the same thing as the other four will only make matters worse than they already are.
   3. Tell him the pricing is held up by the person who sets it and that you have chased repeatedly, so that he can see the delay is not something you control.
   4. Promise the customer the new pricing by Friday, since these usually come through within a week or so and a date is what he keeps asking you for.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Tell the customer honestly that you do not yet have a date, say what you are doing to get one and by when, and go to the pricing manager's team leader today.

   Least effective: D. Promise the customer the new pricing by Friday, since these usually come through within a week or so and a date is what he keeps asking you for.

   B: Answers a loss of confidence with silence: the customer is left to conclude that nobody is dealing with it at all, which is worse than a thin answer.

   C: Explains your own position instead of solving his: the customer still cannot plan, and he now knows the business does not answer its own people either.

   D: Gives a date nobody has agreed to: the one thing he still trusts is what you say, and Friday is invented to end a conversation rather than to be met.

   The most effective response is to tell him honestly that you have no date yet, say what you are doing about it and by when, and go to the pricing manager’s team leader today: he gets the truth and a commitment you control, and the blockage finally reaches somebody with the standing to clear it. It beats going quiet until there is something concrete, because silence reads as nobody dealing with it. It beats explaining that the hold-up is with the person who sets pricing, because that tells him about your problems rather than solving his. The least effective response is promising the pricing by Friday: no such date exists, he plans on it, and a fifth assurance that fails is the one that ends his belief in anything you say, which is a different kind of wrong from going silent or from explaining too much. The principle: when the only thing you can offer is honesty and a next step, offer those rather than a date you cannot deliver.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You are a supply chain graduate at Hilton. A site has told you that a delivery due tomorrow will arrive after they close, which means it will sit unattended overnight. You have seen this happen twice this month at the same site. Your supervisor is on leave and has asked to be contacted only for genuine emergencies. The transport team can still change tomorrow’s booking if they hear before five. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Ask the site to stay open late tomorrow and take the delivery after closing, since that avoids changing a booking that transport has already confirmed.
   2. Ask transport to move tomorrow's booking before five, then send the three occurrences to your supervisor's cover, since the pattern needs a decision from somebody who is available.
   3. Refer the whole thing to the site team, since the closing times are theirs and they are better placed to sort out both tomorrow and the pattern behind it.
   4. Ask transport to move tomorrow's booking before five, and raise the three occurrences with your supervisor when she is back next week.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Ask transport to move tomorrow's booking before five, then send the three occurrences to your supervisor's cover, since the pattern needs a decision from somebody who is available.

   Least effective: C. Refer the whole thing to the site team, since the closing times are theirs and they are better placed to sort out both tomorrow and the pattern behind it.

   A: Moves the cost onto somebody else: the site works late for a booking that could simply have been changed before five, and the pattern is untouched.

   C: Passes the problem to people who cannot solve it: transport holds the booking and closes at five, and the site team has no way to change tomorrow from their end.

   D: Fixes the instance and lets the pattern wait: the immediate risk is handled, and a fault that has now happened three times sits unexamined for another week.

   The most effective response is to ask transport to move tomorrow’s booking before five and send the three occurrences to your supervisor’s cover: tomorrow is dealt with inside the window that exists for it, and the pattern goes to somebody who is actually available to decide about it. It beats asking the site to stay open late, because the booking can still be changed before five and the site should not pay for that. It beats fixing tomorrow and waiting a week on the pattern, because three occurrences in a month is the thing that needs a decision. The least effective response is referring the whole thing to the site team: they cannot change a transport booking, so the one action that has a deadline today is given to people who have no way of taking it, which is a different kind of wrong from escalating to the wrong person or from being slow on the pattern. The principle: send each part of a problem to whoever can act on it, and check that they actually can.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are a scheduling coordinator at Hilton. A customer has an appointment booked for tomorrow morning that needs two people, and only one is rostered. Nobody has offered to cover. The customer took a morning off work for it and has already had it rearranged once. A colleague who is not rostered lives nearby, and you can add her to the rota yourself without asking her. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Add the colleague who lives nearby to tomorrow's rota, and let her know about it when she next looks at the rota.
   2. Ring round the people who could cover, and if nobody can, tell the customer today and offer the earliest slot that is genuinely staffed, so that she keeps her morning.
   3. Let the appointment go ahead with one person and see how far they get, since something is better than nothing and the customer has already been rearranged once.
   4. Cancel the appointment first thing tomorrow and offer the customer the next available slot, so that nobody makes a wasted journey to a job that cannot be done.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Ring round the people who could cover, and if nobody can, tell the customer today and offer the earliest slot that is genuinely staffed, so that she keeps her morning.

   Least effective: A. Add the colleague who lives nearby to tomorrow's rota, and let her know about it when she next looks at the rota.

   A: Breaches the rota agreement the team works under: she finds out she is working tomorrow by looking at a rota she did not agree to be on.

   C: Sends somebody into a job that needs two: the customer takes a second morning off for a visit that cannot be finished.

   D: Tells the customer at the last possible moment: the cancellation is right and tomorrow morning is too late for her to do anything with it.

   The most effective response is to ring round for cover and, if there is none, tell the customer today and offer the earliest genuinely staffed slot: every real option for tomorrow is tried first, and if it cannot be saved she hears in time to keep her morning. It beats letting one person attend, because she takes a second morning off for a job that cannot be completed. It beats cancelling first thing tomorrow, because the same news a day earlier is worth far more to her. The least effective response is adding the colleague to the rota without asking: she discovers she is working tomorrow from a rota she never agreed to, which is a different kind of wrong from under-serving the customer or from telling her late. The principle: solve a cover problem with people who have agreed to be solved with, and tell the customer while the information is still worth something.

7. Question 7 of 10

   You are a customer experience graduate at Hilton. A change to how refunds are processed starts on Monday and will add three days to how long they take. About four hundred customers are waiting on refunds now. A notice has gone on their online accounts, though most customers open those only when something goes wrong. You have their contact details and the change is public. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Add a line about the change to the standard reply the team sends when customers write in, so that anybody who contacts us from Monday is told about the delay.
   2. Draft a message to all four hundred explaining the change in detail and why it is being made, and send it once your manager has approved the wording next week.
   3. Propose a short message to the four hundred waiting customers today, saying what is changing and what it means for their refund, so that they hear before it bites.
   4. Assume the customers who need to know will see the notice on their accounts, since it is published there and the change has been made public already.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Propose a short message to the four hundred waiting customers today, saying what is changing and what it means for their refund, so that they hear before it bites.

   Least effective: D. Assume the customers who need to know will see the notice on their accounts, since it is published there and the change has been made public already.

   A: Waits for the customer to make the first move: the people who write in are told, and the ones who simply wait and wonder are not.

   B: Times a warning to arrive after the event: the fullest explanation is worth less than a short one that reaches people before their refund is late.

   D: Assumes a published notice is a message received: the people affected rarely open those accounts, and the one team that knows that has decided publication is enough.

   The most effective response is to propose a short message to the four hundred waiting customers today, saying what is changing and what it means for them, and get it agreed before Monday: the people affected hear before they are affected, and the message says the one thing they need rather than everything there is to say. It beats adding a line to the standard reply, because that reaches only the customers who write in. It beats a full explanation approved next week, because a warning that arrives after the delay is not a warning. The least effective response is assuming the online notice will do the telling: the team knows those accounts are rarely opened, so a publication is treated as a message received, which is a different kind of wrong from reacting only to contact or from being too slow. The principle: when something you have published matters to identifiable people, tell them, and tell them before it bites.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You are a supplier quality assistant at Hilton. Documents from a supplier have to be checked against a list of six points before they go to the approver. Three sets have come in at once, the approver leaves at four, and it is half past two. The same supplier’s last three sets were all correct. Checking one set properly takes about forty minutes. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Check one set properly and hold the other two until tomorrow, without telling the approver that two of the three sets he is expecting will not be coming today.
   2. Check all three quickly against the two points that usually cause problems, and send them through to the approver before four with the other four points left unchecked.
   3. Send all three sets through to the approver without running the checks at all, and rely on this supplier's record over the last three sets.
   4. Check the first set now and tell the approver at three that only one will reach him today, so that he can decide whether the other two wait or go to another checker.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Check the first set now and tell the approver at three that only one will reach him today, so that he can decide whether the other two wait or go to another checker.

   Least effective: C. Send all three sets through to the approver without running the checks at all, and rely on this supplier's record over the last three sets.

   A: Hides a slip from the person planning around it: the choice is defensible and the approver arranges his afternoon around three sets that were never going to arrive.

   B: Invents a shorter standard under time pressure: the six points are the check, and a version of it improvised at half past two is not one anybody has agreed.

   C: Breaches the check the approver is relying on: he signs on the understanding that six points have been verified, and a good record last time is not verification this time.

   The most effective response is to check the first set now, tell the approver at three that only one will reach him today, and ask how he wants the other two handled: the check keeps its meaning, the person whose afternoon depends on it knows in time to change it, and a second checker is a possibility somebody may still be able to arrange. It beats checking one and holding the others silently, because the approver plans around three. It beats checking all three against the two points that usually fail, because a standard invented under pressure is not the standard he thinks he is getting. The least effective response is sending all three sets through without running the checks: he signs believing six points were verified, and a clean record last time is not a check this time, which is a different kind of wrong from going quiet or from cutting the check short. The principle: when there is not enough time, change what you promise, never what the check means.

9. Question 9 of 10

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

10. Question 10 of 10

    You are a resourcing assistant at Hilton. A new starter is on tomorrow’s rota, and his induction record shows the safety module outstanding. Nobody may work a shift until it is signed as complete, and the next session is on Wednesday. The duty manager tells you the shift is already one person short and asks you to mark the module done, saying the starter can sit it later in the week. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

    1. Tell the duty manager today that the module is outstanding so cover can be arranged for tomorrow, and book the starter onto Wednesday's session yourself while you are in the system.
    2. Mark the safety module as complete so tomorrow's shift is covered, and make sure the starter actually sits the session on Wednesday as the duty manager suggested.
    3. Explain to the duty manager that you are not comfortable marking the module as complete, and leave tomorrow's rota gap with him to solve as he sees fit, since the shift is his to cover.
    4. Put the request in writing to the people team and wait for their ruling before doing anything about tomorrow, since the rule is theirs rather than yours.
    Show the answer

    Most effective: A. Tell the duty manager today that the module is outstanding so cover can be arranged for tomorrow, and book the starter onto Wednesday's session yourself while you are in the system.

    Least effective: B. Mark the safety module as complete so tomorrow's shift is covered, and make sure the starter actually sits the session on Wednesday as the duty manager suggested.

    B: Certifies something that was not done: the record now says a check was completed when it was not, and everyone downstream who relies on that record is reading a statement that is untrue.

    C: Avoids the difficult half of the job: refusing is right, and stopping there leaves a manager with a shift to cover by tomorrow and no help from the person holding the induction diary.

    D: Escalates a settled point: the rule is not in doubt, and a ruling that arrives after tomorrow's shift leaves the gap unaddressed and the starter unbooked.

    The most effective response is to tell the duty manager today that the module is outstanding so cover can be arranged, and book the starter onto Wednesday’s session: it holds the line the record exists for and it deals with the manager’s real problem, which is the shift, rather than leaving him with it. It beats saying you are not comfortable and leaving the gap with him, because the refusal is only half the answer and the half you hold is the diary. It beats putting the request to the people team and waiting for a ruling, because nothing about the rule is unclear and the shift is tomorrow. The least effective response is marking the safety module as complete so tomorrow is covered: everything downstream treats that record as a statement that the check happened, and writing something untrue into it is a different kind of wrong from being unhelpful or slow. The principle: a record is a statement of fact, and the pressure to make one say something convenient is exactly when it matters that it does not.