Ikea Assessment Tests

Ikea Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You are a resourcing assistant at Ikea. 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.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are a stock control assistant at Ikea. 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.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You are a supplier quality assistant at Ikea. In a meeting with a supplier, he says loudly that a delay last month was caused by your colleague sitting next to you sending the specification late. You know the specification went on time and that the delay was the supplier’s own. Your colleague has gone red and is saying nothing. The meeting is deciding how the next order is handled. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Say nothing while the supplier makes his case, since contradicting him in the meeting would harden the argument and the point can be dealt with afterwards in writing.
   2. Say that your colleague sent the specification on time and ask the supplier to explain how the delay arose at his end, given that it did not arise at yours.
   3. Suggest the meeting moves on to the next order and that the delay is picked up separately, since arguing about last month will not get anybody anywhere today.
   4. Say plainly that the specification went out on time, ask what happened on his side, and suggest the two of you go through the dates together after the meeting.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Say plainly that the specification went out on time, ask what happened on his side, and suggest the two of you go through the dates together after the meeting.

   Least effective: A. Say nothing while the supplier makes his case, since contradicting him in the meeting would harden the argument and the point can be dealt with afterwards in writing.

   A: Withholds a fact your colleague needs in the room: the account that stands unchallenged is the one the meeting plans the next order around.

   B: Wins the point and hardens the room: the correction is right, the supplier is publicly wrong, and the next order still has to be agreed with him this morning.

   C: Buys progress at a colleague's expense: the meeting moves on with the accusation left standing, and she sits through the rest of it.

   The most effective response is to say plainly that the specification went out on time, ask what happened on his side, and offer to go through the dates afterwards: the untrue part is corrected in the room where it was said, the supplier is given a route that is not humiliation, and the meeting can still decide the next order. It beats correcting him and asking him to explain himself, because that is the same fact delivered so as to leave him with nowhere to go. It beats moving the meeting on, because the accusation stands and your colleague sits under it. The least effective response is saying nothing and dealing with it in writing later: the room plans the next order around an account you know to be false, and the colleague it is about is left alone with it, which is a different kind of wrong from correcting him too sharply or from changing the subject. The principle: correct the fact where it was stated, and give the other party a way to be wrong without being cornered.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You are a customer care assistant at Ikea. A customer is asking for a refund that is larger than you may approve. Refunds above your limit need a manager, and the manager is in a meeting for another hour. The customer is polite, has waited a long time already, and says he needs to know before he leaves for work. The refund itself looks reasonable to you. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Approve the part of the refund that is inside your limit now, and tell him the rest will need a manager's decision that you will chase this afternoon.
   2. Tell him it is fine to expect the full refund and that nobody senior needs to look at a case as clear as his, which you have not actually checked.
   3. Tell him the refund is above what you can approve, put the case to the manager with your recommendation as soon as her meeting ends, and give him a time you will ring back.
   4. Interrupt the manager's meeting to get a decision on the refund now, since the customer is leaving for work shortly and has already waited a good deal longer than he should have had to.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Tell him the refund is above what you can approve, put the case to the manager with your recommendation as soon as her meeting ends, and give him a time you will ring back.

   Least effective: B. Tell him it is fine to expect the full refund and that nobody senior needs to look at a case as clear as his, which you have not actually checked.

   A: Settles the easy half and leaves the substance: he gets part of an answer and still has to wait for the decision he actually rang about.

   B: States as settled something nobody has decided: he leaves for work believing the money is agreed, and the manager may see the case quite differently.

   D: Escalates by interruption: an hour's wait for a call back is a smaller cost than pulling a manager out of a meeting for a case that is not urgent in that sense.

   The most effective response is to tell him the refund is above your limit, put the case to the manager with your recommendation as soon as she is free, and give him a time you will ring back: he knows exactly where his case is, the decision goes to the person who owns it with your view attached, and the call back is a commitment you can keep. It beats approving the part inside your limit, because the decision he is waiting for is the rest. It beats interrupting the meeting, because an hour is a smaller cost than that. The least effective response is telling him it is fine and nobody senior needs to look at it: he leaves for work believing the money is agreed and nobody has decided anything, which is a different kind of wrong from half-answering or from escalating clumsily. The principle: say what is decided, by whom and when, rather than what the person in front of you would like to hear.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You are a brand assistant at Ikea. An agency has emailed asking whether they should keep the two versions of a design or drop one before a review on Thursday. The decision is your manager’s, and he is at a site all day but reachable by message. The agency is holding time tomorrow to make the changes and needs an answer today. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Reply to the agency that you will get an answer today and message your manager with the question and why it is urgent, so that the decision stays his and the date holds.
   2. Tell the agency to keep both versions for Thursday, since that is what your manager usually prefers and it leaves the decision open for the review itself.
   3. Send the agency's question straight on to your manager with nothing added, and tell the agency that he will pick it up from there.
   4. Wait until your manager is back from the site this evening and ring him about it then, since a decision like this one deserves a proper conversation rather than a message read between meetings.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Reply to the agency that you will get an answer today and message your manager with the question and why it is urgent, so that the decision stays his and the date holds.

   Least effective: C. Send the agency's question straight on to your manager with nothing added, and tell the agency that he will pick it up from there.

   B: Answers on somebody else's behalf from a guess: the agency spends tomorrow on two versions because of what a manager usually thinks rather than what he thinks now.

   C: Passes a message on without doing anything with it: he gets a question with no context on a day at a site, the agency has heard nothing, and nobody is holding the deadline.

   D: Delays the decision for the sake of a better conversation: the agency needs the answer today and hears nothing at all until tomorrow.

   The most effective response is to reply that you will get an answer today, message your manager with the question and why it is urgent, and come back to the agency when he answers: the agency knows somebody has it, the decision stays with the person who owns it, and the deadline is held by you rather than by chance. It beats telling the agency to keep both versions, because that answers for your manager on the basis of what he usually likes. It beats waiting to ring him this evening, because the agency needs today and gets silence. The least effective response is forwarding the question with nothing added: he receives a bare question between site visits, the agency has heard nothing, and nobody has responsibility for the deadline, which is a different kind of wrong from guessing his answer or from waiting for a better moment. The principle: when you are the channel, carry the context and the deadline as well as the question.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are a marketing graduate at Ikea. 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.

7. Question 7 of 10

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

8. Question 8 of 10

   You are a procurement graduate at Ikea. A supplier you deal with weekly, whose contract comes up for renewal in about six months, has offered you two tickets to a match this Saturday. He says he cannot use them, that they would otherwise go to waste, and that it is nothing to do with the renewal. You would have to declare anything you accepted. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Accept the gift of the two tickets, since the renewal is six months away, the tickets would otherwise be wasted, and refusing would be awkward with somebody you deal with every week.
   2. Accept the tickets and declare them straight away, since declaring is exactly the mechanism that exists for offers like this and nothing is then hidden.
   3. Decline, explain that you cannot take anything from a supplier whose renewal you handle, and mention the offer to your manager so that it is on the record.
   4. Decline for now and suggest he offers them again once the renewal has been decided, since the difficulty is entirely about the timing rather than about the tickets.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Decline, explain that you cannot take anything from a supplier whose renewal you handle, and mention the offer to your manager so that it is on the record.

   Least effective: A. Accept the gift of the two tickets, since the renewal is six months away, the tickets would otherwise be wasted, and refusing would be awkward with somebody you deal with every week.

   A: Takes a personal benefit from a supplier whose contract you handle: the renewal is in the diary, and every conversation between now and then is affected whatever either of you intends.

   B: Treats a declaration as permission: the register records what happened, and it does not make it appropriate for you to hold them.

   D: Postpones the benefit rather than refusing it: a gift promised for after the decision is still attached to the decision.

   The most effective response is to decline, explain that you cannot take anything from a supplier whose renewal you handle, and tell your manager the offer was made: it keeps the renewal clean, it is straightforward with somebody you deal with weekly, and it puts the approach where the process can see it. It beats accepting and declaring, because a declaration records a thing rather than making it appropriate. It beats deferring the tickets until after the renewal, because a benefit promised for afterwards is still attached to the decision. The least effective response is accepting the gift of the two tickets: a supplier whose contract you handle has given you something personal, which colours every conversation until the renewal, and that is a different kind of wrong from over-relying on the register or from postponing. The principle: when you hold a decision about somebody, their generosity is not a separate matter.

9. Question 9 of 10

   You are a stock control assistant at Ikea. The same line has shown a discrepancy at count on four occasions in six weeks, always in the same direction and always in the same area. Each time it has been written off as a counting error. You have now checked and the counts were done correctly. Discrepancies of this size and pattern are supposed to be reported to the loss prevention team. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Hand the four counts to the colleague who covers that area on Thursdays, since he knows the line better than you do, and consider your part in it finished.
   2. Keep watching the line for another two counts to be sure the pattern is real, since four occasions could still turn out to be an unfortunate run of coincidences.
   3. Raise it with your supervisor and let her decide whether it goes any further, without mentioning that the counts themselves have now been checked and are sound.
   4. Report the four counts to the loss prevention team today with the checking you have done, since a pattern like that is what the reporting route exists for, and tell your supervisor.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Report the four counts to the loss prevention team today with the checking you have done, since a pattern like that is what the reporting route exists for, and tell your supervisor.

   Least effective: A. Hand the four counts to the colleague who covers that area on Thursdays, since he knows the line better than you do, and consider your part in it finished.

   A: Passes a reportable pattern on without owning it: the colleague has no idea it is four occurrences or that it should be reported, so the one person who knew both facts has stepped out of it.

   B: Waits for certainty that a report does not require: two more counts is three more weeks, and the threshold for reporting was passed some time ago.

   C: Escalates without the fact that changes the decision: she is asked to judge a pattern while the one thing that rules out a counting error is left out.

   The most effective response is to report the four counts to the loss prevention team today with your checking attached, and tell your supervisor you have done it: the pattern is exactly what the reporting route exists for, your checking is what makes it more than a suspicion, and nobody is surprised later. It beats waiting for two more counts, because the threshold was passed weeks ago and waiting adds three weeks. It beats raising it with your supervisor while leaving out that the counts were checked, because that is the fact the decision turns on. The least effective response is handing the four counts to the Thursday colleague and treating your part as finished: he does not know it is four occurrences or that it is reportable, so the only person holding both facts has stepped out, which is a different kind of wrong from waiting too long or from telling somebody too little. The principle: when something crosses a reporting line, take it there yourself, with what you know attached.

10. Question 10 of 10

    You are a customer care assistant at Ikea. A customer has been waiting three weeks for a replacement and has now rung for the fourth time. You can see a manager’s authorisation code in a shared document, left there for a different type of case, which would let you settle the whole thing today. Your team leader is in a meeting until three, and the customer is on the line now. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

    1. Settle the case now with the manager's authorisation code from the shared document, since the customer has waited three weeks and the outcome would be the same either way.
    2. Tell the customer that nothing can be done until your team leader is out of her meeting this afternoon, and ask him to ring the team back himself after three o'clock.
    3. Apologise, take the case number, and put a written request to your team leader so that she can look at it when her meeting finishes this afternoon.
    4. Tell the customer what you can do now and what needs approval, put an urgent note to your team leader with the case number, and commit to ringing him back before five.
    Show the answer

    Most effective: D. Tell the customer what you can do now and what needs approval, put an urgent note to your team leader with the case number, and commit to ringing him back before five.

    Least effective: A. Settle the case now with the manager's authorisation code from the shared document, since the customer has waited three weeks and the outcome would be the same either way.

    A: Breaches an authority that was never given to you: the code was left for another purpose, and a good outcome reached that way is still an approval nobody made.

    B: Ignores the customer's actual need: a fourth call is answered with a fifth call, and the work that could be done meanwhile is not started.

    C: Leaves the customer holding the uncertainty: the request is sound, and the person who has rung four times is told nothing about what will happen or when.

    The most effective response is to tell the customer what you can do now and what needs approval, put an urgent note to your team leader, and commit to ringing back before five: it gives a customer on his fourth call the two things he does not have, which are a picture and a time, and it moves the approval without pretending you hold it. It beats asking him to ring back after three, because the fifth call is his to make and nothing progresses meanwhile. It beats a written request with nothing said to him, because he is left holding the uncertainty for another afternoon. The least effective response is settling it now with a manager’s code found in a shared document: the outcome may be right and the approval is one nobody gave, which is a different kind of wrong from being unhelpful or slow. The principle: an authority you can reach is not an authority you have, and the customer’s wait is not the thing that grants it.