John Lewis Assessment Tests

John Lewis Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You are a purchasing assistant at John Lewis. A supplier has rung to query a set of volumes that a colleague of yours prepared. You can see that your colleague’s numbers are right and that the supplier has misread the layout. He is impatient, has queried her figures before, and says he would rather deal with you from now on because she takes days to reply. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell him her figures are often unreliable and that he should bring the numbers to you in future, so that at least the queries get answered quickly.
   2. Show him where the layout misled him, say the figures are right, and tell him you will pass on his point about reply times to her and your manager.
   3. Answer the query yourself and agree to be his contact for volumes from now on, since he is clearly not going to deal with her and somebody has to answer him.
   4. Tell him the volumes are her work and that he should take the query back to her, since it is her supplier and answering it yourself would cut across her.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Show him where the layout misled him, say the figures are right, and tell him you will pass on his point about reply times to her and your manager.

   Least effective: A. Tell him her figures are often unreliable and that he should bring the numbers to you in future, so that at least the queries get answered quickly.

   A: Undermines a colleague to an outsider: her numbers were right, and a supplier is now told by her own team that her work cannot be trusted.

   C: Solves a relationship problem by rearranging it: she loses her own supplier contact without being consulted, and nobody addresses the reply times.

   D: Applies the boundary and ignores the customer: he is sent back to somebody he says takes days, holding a misreading you could have cleared up in a minute.

   The most effective response is to show him where the layout misled him, confirm the figures are right, and say you will pass his point about reply times to her and your manager: the query is answered on the spot, your colleague’s work is defended because it is correct, and the real complaint goes somewhere it can be dealt with. It beats agreeing to become his contact, because that quietly takes her supplier away without asking her. It beats sending him back to her with his misreading intact, because it costs a minute to clear up. The least effective response is telling him her figures are often unreliable: they were right, and a supplier has been told by her own team not to trust her, which is a different kind of wrong from over-accommodating him or from standing on the boundary. The principle: defend a colleague’s correct work to an outsider, and take the criticism of her that has substance to her and your manager instead.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are a marketing graduate at John Lewis. An agency has mentioned, in passing on a call, that they are short of people and may struggle to deliver next month’s campaign on time. They have not said it formally and asked you not to worry about it yet. Your manager is planning the next quarter this week on the basis that the campaign lands on time. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Ask the agency to confirm the position in writing, and wait for their answer before saying anything to your manager, so that what you pass on is solid.
   2. Say nothing to your manager for now, since the agency has not made it formal, asked you not to worry, and may well solve it before it becomes a problem.
   3. Tell your manager today what the agency said and how firm it was, and ask the agency for a clear position this week, since the quarter is being committed now.
   4. Raise it with the agency's account director to get it resolved before anybody here has to plan around it, since the fix is on their side of the relationship.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Tell your manager today what the agency said and how firm it was, and ask the agency for a clear position this week, since the quarter is being committed now.

   Least effective: B. Say nothing to your manager for now, since the agency has not made it formal, asked you not to worry, and may well solve it before it becomes a problem.

   A: Waits for certainty while the plan is being written: the quarter is being decided this week, and a warning that arrives afterwards is worth much less.

   B: Withholds a risk from the person planning around it: the quarter is built this week on an assumption the one person who heard otherwise has decided to keep.

   D: Escalates outside before informing inside: your own manager is still planning blind, and the agency contact who spoke openly learns that candour reaches his director.

   The most effective response is to tell your manager today what was said and how firm it was, and ask the agency for a clear position by the end of the week: the person building the quarter gets the risk while it can still shape the plan, and it is passed on with its actual weight rather than dressed up. It beats waiting for written confirmation, because the plan is written this week. It beats going to the agency’s account director, because your own manager is still planning blind and the contact learns that talking to you is expensive. The least effective response is saying nothing to your manager because the agency has not made it formal: the quarter is built on an assumption the only person who heard otherwise decided to keep, which is a different kind of wrong from waiting for certainty or from escalating outside. The principle: pass on a risk with its uncertainty attached rather than waiting for it to become a fact.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You are a brand assistant at John Lewis. Three things are due before Friday: a customer announcement, a set of images for the team who publish them, and a summary for your manager. The announcement has to go on a shared channel whose owner runs a queue and has given you a slot on Thursday. Your announcement matters most this week, and you can post to the channel yourself. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Do the images and the summary first because they are quick, and take the announcement to the channel owner on Thursday exactly as the queue arranges it.
   2. Ask your manager to tell the channel owner to move your announcement up the queue, since it matters more this week than the items sitting in front of it.
   3. Ask the channel owner today whether the announcement can move up, explain what is riding on it, and do the images and the summary while you wait for his answer.
   4. Post the announcement on the shared channel yourself ahead of the queue, since your item is the most time-critical this week and the slot system is only there to keep things orderly.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Ask the channel owner today whether the announcement can move up, explain what is riding on it, and do the images and the summary while you wait for his answer.

   Least effective: D. Post the announcement on the shared channel yourself ahead of the queue, since your item is the most time-critical this week and the slot system is only there to keep things orderly.

   A: Sequences by what is easy: the two small jobs are cleared, and the item with the most riding on it gets whatever attention Thursday leaves.

   B: Escalates before asking: the person who runs the queue has not been spoken to, and the first thing he hears is a manager rearranging his week.

   D: Breaches somebody else's control of a shared channel: the queue exists because everybody's item feels urgent, and jumping it decides that question on your own behalf.

   The most effective response is to ask the channel owner whether the announcement can move up, explain what is riding on it, and do the images and the summary while you wait: the request goes to the person who owns the queue, the case for it is made rather than assumed, and the other two jobs progress meanwhile. It beats doing the quick jobs first and taking Thursday as it comes, because the most important item is then given the least thought. It beats asking your manager to have it moved, because nobody has yet asked the person who runs the queue. The least effective response is posting ahead of the queue yourself: a shared arrangement is set aside by somebody who decided their own item outranked the others, which is a different kind of wrong from sequencing badly or from going over somebody’s head. The principle: where a shared queue decides the order, the way to move up it is to ask its owner, not to step round it.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You are a stock control assistant at John Lewis. A recount you asked for turned up a mistake in your own figures, and the colleague who did it said, in front of two others, that he had wasted an afternoon on your arithmetic. It stung and he was largely right. The next count is due on Thursday and it needs two people, one of whom is normally him. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Ask your supervisor to put somebody else on Thursday's count, since working alongside him this week would be uncomfortable for both of you after what was said.
   2. Refuse to work with him on Thursday's count after the way he spoke to you, and say you would rather do it on your own or not at all.
   3. Acknowledge to him that the figures were wrong and say what you have changed, and do Thursday's count with him as planned since the count needs two people.
   4. Say nothing about it, do Thursday's count as planned, and let the remark fade rather than reopening something that was fair comment anyway.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Acknowledge to him that the figures were wrong and say what you have changed, and do Thursday's count with him as planned since the count needs two people.

   Least effective: B. Refuse to work with him on Thursday's count after the way he spoke to you, and say you would rather do it on your own or not at all.

   A: Redesigns the rota around one awkward afternoon: the count is harder to staff, and the two of you have to work together again the week after in any case.

   B: Withdraws from a job that needs two people after a disagreement: Thursday's count is put at risk to answer a remark made about an afternoon.

   D: Lets an unrepaired working relationship stand: the count happens and he has no reason to think the mistake will not simply repeat.

   The most effective response is to acknowledge that the figures were wrong, say what you have changed, and do Thursday’s count with him: the criticism was largely fair, saying so is what restores the working relationship, and the count that needs two people gets them. It beats asking for somebody else on Thursday, because the rota is rearranged around one bad afternoon and you will work together next week anyway. It beats letting the remark fade, because he has no reason to expect anything different next time. The least effective response is refusing to work with him on Thursday: a count that needs two people is put at risk to answer a remark, which is a different kind of wrong from avoiding him or from staying silent. The principle: when the criticism is fair, own it and stay in the work with the person who made it.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You are a customer care assistant at John Lewis. A customer has just spent twenty minutes on the phone shouting at you about a promise another colleague made him last month that was never going to be possible. You kept your temper and arranged what you could. You are shaken, there are eleven calls waiting, and the colleague who made the promise is sitting two desks away. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Take five minutes away from the desk, then tell your team leader what the customer was promised and ask her to look at how that promise came to be made.
   2. Go straight back into the queue and put the call out of your mind, since eleven people are waiting and dwelling on it will only make the next call harder than it needs to be.
   3. Ask your team leader to move you off the phones for the rest of the day, since a call like that is not something you should have to follow with eleven more.
   4. Repeat the call to the team afterwards, criticise the colleague who set the customer's expectation last month, and say she should be the one taking the next call like it.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Take five minutes away from the desk, then tell your team leader what the customer was promised and ask her to look at how that promise came to be made.

   Least effective: D. Repeat the call to the team afterwards, criticise the colleague who set the customer's expectation last month, and say she should be the one taking the next call like it.

   B: Treats recovery as time you have not got: the queue is served, and a promise that will do this to somebody else again is left entirely unexamined.

   C: Answers a hard hour by withdrawing from the work: the reaction is understandable, and a whole afternoon of other people's calls is handed to colleagues.

   D: Personalises a bad hour in front of colleagues: an expectation that should never have been set becomes a story about the person who set it, told to everybody except her.

   The most effective response is to take five minutes, then tell your team leader what the customer was promised and ask her to look at how it was made: it deals with the state you are in, it keeps the queue moving afterwards, and it puts the real cause in front of somebody who can stop it repeating. It beats going straight back into the queue, because the promise that caused the call is left in place to catch the next person. It beats asking to be taken off the phones for the day, because an afternoon of calls is transferred to colleagues who had the same sort of morning. The least effective response is repeating the call to the team and criticising the colleague who set the customer’s expectation: the problem becomes a story about a person, told to everybody but her, which is a different kind of wrong from carrying on regardless or from stepping away. The principle: after a difficult hour, deal with yourself, then send the cause to somebody who can fix it, never to an audience.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are a customer care assistant at John Lewis. 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.

7. Question 7 of 10

   You are a shift supervisor at John Lewis. Two of your team have fallen out over a rota change that moved one of them off Fridays. Each has told you the change was the other’s doing. In fact it was made by the scheduling team for reasons neither knows. Both are refusing to swap cover for each other, which is making the week harder for everybody. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Get the two of them together, explain that the change came from scheduling and why, and ask them to agree how cover works between them for the rest of the month.
   2. Tell each of them separately that the other had nothing to do with it, since a conversation between the three of you would be more heat than it is worth.
   3. Rearrange the cover yourself so that the two of them do not have to rely on each other, which takes the immediate pressure off the rest of the week.
   4. Promise both of them that the rota change will be reversed next month, which stops the argument and gets everybody covering for each other again.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Get the two of them together, explain that the change came from scheduling and why, and ask them to agree how cover works between them for the rest of the month.

   Least effective: D. Promise both of them that the rota change will be reversed next month, which stops the argument and gets everybody covering for each other again.

   B: Corrects the facts and leaves the relationship: both know they were wrong about the cause, and neither has said anything to the other.

   C: Designs around the fallout: the week runs, and two people who work the same shifts are formally kept apart by their supervisor.

   D: Buys peace with something nobody has agreed: the change belongs to scheduling, and next month both of them learn that your word was worth nothing.

   The most effective response is to get the two of them together, explain that the change came from scheduling and why, and ask them to agree how cover works for the rest of the month: the false belief that started it is removed in front of both, and the thing that actually has to work again, which is the cover between them, is what they are asked to settle. It beats telling them separately, because neither has to say anything to the other and the working relationship stays broken. It beats rearranging the cover around them, because their supervisor has formally kept them apart. The least effective response is promising the change will be reversed next month: it is not yours to reverse, and when it is not, both of them learn what your word is worth, which is a different kind of wrong from correcting them privately or from working around them. The principle: end a dispute with the truth in front of both parties, never with a promise you cannot keep.

8. Question 8 of 10

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

9. Question 9 of 10

   You are a service recovery assistant at John Lewis. Last week a colleague took a case of yours to the team leader because you had missed a reply date, rather than mentioning it to you first. You were annoyed: you would have fixed it in an hour. The two of you cover each other’s queues at lunchtime, and today is your turn to cover hers. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Cover her queue as normal and let it go, since raising it now would make the rest of the week awkward and the missed date was real enough in any case.
   2. Cover her queue as normal and mention to the team leader that you would rather hear about your own missed dates before she does.
   3. Cover her queue as normal, and ask her at lunchtime why she went to the team leader first and what the two of you should do next time.
   4. Stop covering her queue at lunchtime after that, and let her arrange cover with the team leader she went to, since that is evidently how she prefers to work.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Cover her queue as normal, and ask her at lunchtime why she went to the team leader first and what the two of you should do next time.

   Least effective: D. Stop covering her queue at lunchtime after that, and let her arrange cover with the team leader she went to, since that is evidently how she prefers to work.

   A: Prioritises harmony over honesty: the cover continues and so does an arrangement where a problem with your work goes to your team leader first.

   B: Answers a colleague through a manager: the same route that annoyed you is used to complain about it, and the person concerned is not part of the conversation.

   D: Withdraws a working arrangement in retaliation: her customers wait at lunchtime because of something that happened between the two of you last week.

   The most effective response is to cover her queue as normal and ask her at lunchtime why she went to the team leader first and what the two of you should do next time: the cover is unaffected, the question is put to the person who can answer it, and the two of you leave with an agreement rather than a grievance. It beats letting it go, because the same thing happens next time and the resentment stays. It beats raising it with the team leader, because that answers a colleague by going round her, which is the thing you objected to. The least effective response is stopping the lunchtime cover because she evidently prefers to work through the team leader: customers wait because of a disagreement they have no part in, and withdrawing an arrangement to make a point is a different kind of wrong from staying silent or from complaining upwards. The principle: settle a working arrangement with the person you have it with, and keep the people it serves out of the argument.

10. Question 10 of 10

    You are a trading assistant at John Lewis. A large account has queried a charge on last month’s invoice. You have pulled the figures and can see the charge is correct, but the reason it changed is a contract term you do not fully understand. The account manager is out today. The customer wants an answer before the end of the week, and it is Wednesday. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

    1. Reply with the figures you have checked and what they show, say that the contract point needs the account manager, and book time with him for tomorrow morning.
    2. Explain the contract term to the customer as best you understand it, and say you will confirm it with the account manager tomorrow.
    3. Send the query on to the account team without the figures you have already checked, and let them start the contract point again from the beginning.
    4. Reply to the customer that the charge is correct and leave the reason for the account manager to explain when he is back in the office tomorrow.
    Show the answer

    Most effective: A. Reply with the figures you have checked and what they show, say that the contract point needs the account manager, and book time with him for tomorrow morning.

    Least effective: C. Send the query on to the account team without the figures you have already checked, and let them start the contract point again from the beginning.

    B: Answers outside what you actually know: an approximate account of a contract term is the thing most likely to be quoted back at the business later.

    C: Passes the problem on stripped of the work already done: the account team starts from nothing, the day you have spent on it is wasted, and Friday is two days away.

    D: Answers the easy half only: the customer did not ask whether the charge was right, they asked why it changed, and that is the part being deferred.

    The most effective response is to reply with the figures you have checked and what they show, say the contract point needs the account manager, and book time with him for tomorrow: the customer sees progress and an honest boundary, the checking work is used, and Friday is still comfortably reachable. It beats explaining the contract term as best you understand it, because an approximation about a contract is exactly the sentence that gets quoted back later. It beats replying that the charge is correct and leaving the reason to the account manager, because the reason is what was asked. The least effective response is sending the query on without the figures you have already checked: the next person starts from nothing, a day of work disappears, and the deadline is two days out, which is a different kind of wrong from over-reaching or from answering only half. The principle: escalate the part you cannot answer, with the part you can attached to it.