Lidl Assessment Tests

Lidl Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You are a procurement graduate at Lidl. 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.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are a purchasing assistant at Lidl. 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.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You are a commercial finance assistant at Lidl. A business customer has been charged twice for the same delivery and has rung to ask when the money will be back. The credit has to be raised by the billing team, who usually clear requests within two days but have a backlog this week. You can raise the request now. The customer is on the line and has already waited a week. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Explain that credits are raised by the billing team and give the customer their contact details, so that he can ask them directly how long the backlog is likely to take this week.
   2. Raise the credit request now with the duplicate reference attached, tell the customer it is with the billing team and that you will confirm the date once it is scheduled.
   3. Promise the customer the credit will be on tomorrow's statement, since requests like this usually clear overnight and it saves him ringing back a third time about the same delivery.
   4. Raise the credit request now and say nothing about timing, since any date you gave would be a guess while the billing backlog is as long as it is.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Raise the credit request now with the duplicate reference attached, tell the customer it is with the billing team and that you will confirm the date once it is scheduled.

   Least effective: C. Promise the customer the credit will be on tomorrow's statement, since requests like this usually clear overnight and it saves him ringing back a third time about the same delivery.

   A: Sends the customer to do your chasing: he rang the business once and is asked to ring it again, and the request still has not been raised by anybody.

   C: Gives a date nobody has agreed: the billing backlog makes tomorrow unlikely, and the customer plans his own week on a certainty that was offered to end the call.

   D: Withholds what little you do know: he has waited a week and puts the phone down knowing only that somebody, at some point, will do something.

   The most effective response is to raise the credit request now with the duplicate reference attached and tell the customer it is with the billing team and that you will confirm the date: the request finally exists, he knows where it is, and the one thing you cannot promise is the one thing you have not promised. It beats giving him the billing team’s details, because he rang once and is being asked to ring again. It beats raising it and saying nothing about timing, because he has waited a week and deserves to know what happens next. The least effective response is promising the credit will be on tomorrow’s statement: the backlog makes that unlikely, he plans on it, and manufacturing a date to end a call is a different kind of wrong from deflecting him or from telling him too little. The principle: give the customer the true state of their case and a commitment you control, never a date somebody else would have to deliver.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You are a purchasing assistant at Lidl. A customer has written in about a product that arrived damaged, and the complaint has been routed to you because the fault looks like a packaging problem at the supplier. The customer has now written twice and has had no reply to either message. You can arrange a replacement yourself, and the supplier meeting where packaging faults are raised is on Thursday. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Send the complaint on to the supplier and reply to the customer to say that the people who packed the product will be dealing with it from here.
   2. Reply to the customer to apologise for the delay and explain that packaging faults are reviewed with the supplier on Thursday, so a decision will follow after that meeting.
   3. Arrange the replacement today and tell the customer when it will arrive, and take the packaging fault to Thursday's supplier meeting so that the cause is looked at as well.
   4. Ask the customer to return the damaged item first so the fault can be confirmed, and explain that a replacement can be arranged once it has been received and checked.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Arrange the replacement today and tell the customer when it will arrive, and take the packaging fault to Thursday's supplier meeting so that the cause is looked at as well.

   Least effective: A. Send the complaint on to the supplier and reply to the customer to say that the people who packed the product will be dealing with it from here.

   A: Passes the problem on without owning it: the customer has now written three times to reach somebody who will act, and the one person who could arrange a replacement today has sent them somewhere else.

   B: Ignores the customer's actual need: the reply is honest and prompt, but the customer wants a working product rather than a place in an internal review.

   D: Substitutes process for the customer's outcome: the photographs already show the damage, and a return trip adds a week for evidence nobody actually needs.

   The most effective response is to arrange the replacement today, tell the customer what you have done and when it will arrive, and take the packaging fault to Thursday’s meeting: it settles the customer’s problem inside your own authority and still gets the underlying fault in front of the supplier. It beats replying that packaging faults are reviewed on Thursday, because a customer who has written twice needs a working product rather than a note about an internal timetable. It beats asking for the damaged item back before anything is arranged, because the photographs already show the fault and the return adds a week for evidence that changes nothing. The least effective response is sending the complaint on to the supplier and telling the customer they will hear from the people who packed it: the customer is handed to a third party who has no relationship with them, having already written twice, and the replacement you could have arranged today does not happen. The principle: own the customer’s outcome yourself, and raise the cause separately with whoever created it.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You are a customer care assistant at Lidl. 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.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are a customer care assistant at Lidl. 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.

7. Question 7 of 10

   You are a trading assistant at Lidl. A figure you produced for a weekly pack rests on an assumption about supplier lead times that changed on Friday. With the new lead times the figure would be materially different. The pack goes to a manager this afternoon and the meeting that uses it is tomorrow. Reworking the figure properly takes half a day, which you do not have. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Rework the figure quickly this afternoon with an estimate of the new lead times, and put the estimated version in the pack instead of the one you can support.
   2. Put the figure in the pack as it stands, without flagging that the lead times behind it changed on Friday, since the rework cannot be done before this afternoon in any case.
   3. Put the figure in with a clear note that the lead times changed on Friday and what that does to it, and tell the manager before the pack goes out so nothing surprises him.
   4. Leave the figure out of the pack altogether and explain in its place that the number is being reworked after a change to supplier lead times.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Put the figure in with a clear note that the lead times changed on Friday and what that does to it, and tell the manager before the pack goes out so nothing surprises him.

   Least effective: B. Put the figure in the pack as it stands, without flagging that the lead times behind it changed on Friday, since the rework cannot be done before this afternoon in any case.

   A: Substitutes a guess for a stale fact: neither number has been checked, and the estimate carries none of the working the original at least had.

   B: Withholds the fact that decides what the number is worth: tomorrow's meeting uses a figure whose basis is known to be out of date by the only person who knows it.

   D: Removes the evidence rather than qualifying it: tomorrow's meeting loses a usable number and gains nothing it can decide with.

   The most effective response is to put the figure in with a clear note on the lead time change and what it is likely to do, and tell the manager before the pack goes out: the meeting keeps a number it can use, everybody knows what it rests on, and the manager can decide whether tomorrow needs the rework. It beats reworking it quickly on an estimate, because an unchecked guess replaces a number whose working at least exists. It beats leaving the figure out, because the meeting is then deciding with nothing. The least effective response is putting the figure in without flagging the lead time change: the only person who knows the basis has changed says nothing, and the meeting treats a stale figure as current, which is a different kind of wrong from guessing or from withdrawing the number. The principle: when you cannot fix a number in time, publish what is wrong with it to the person who is about to rely on it.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You are a duty supervisor at Lidl. A new process was explained at this morning’s briefing, but only half the team was there because the rest were dealing with a delivery. Your manager has asked whether the briefing covered everybody, as she is reporting on it this afternoon. The remaining half can be briefed tomorrow morning before they start. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell her the briefing covered everybody who was available and leave it there, since the ones who missed it were working and that is hardly a failure of the briefing.
   2. Brief the other half yourself before the end of today's shift and tell her afterwards that everybody has now been covered.
   3. Tell her the briefing has been done, and mention the delivery separately later on today when there is more time to explain.
   4. Tell her half the team was briefed and why, say the rest are booked for tomorrow morning, and ask whether she needs it done before her report goes in.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Tell her half the team was briefed and why, say the rest are booked for tomorrow morning, and ask whether she needs it done before her report goes in.

   Least effective: C. Tell her the briefing has been done, and mention the delivery separately later on today when there is more time to explain.

   A: Answers with a form of words: it is technically defensible and she still reports this afternoon that the team has been briefed.

   B: Fixes the fact and delays the answer: she is reporting this afternoon and has to write it before she hears from you.

   C: States a completion that has not happened: she writes this afternoon's report on the strength of it, and the qualification arrives after the report she needed it for.

   The most effective response is to tell her half the team was briefed and why, say the rest are booked for tomorrow morning, and ask whether she needs it finished before her report: she gets the true position, the plan that fixes it, and the chance to say that this afternoon is the deadline that matters. It beats briefing the rest today and telling her afterwards, because her report goes in before she hears. It beats answering that everybody available was briefed, because that is a form of words designed to pass rather than to inform. The least effective response is telling her the briefing has been done and mentioning the delivery later: an incomplete briefing is reported as complete to somebody who is about to write it down, which is a different kind of wrong from answering slowly or from answering evasively. The principle: when somebody needs a fact for a report, give them the fact and the plan, in that order and at once.

9. Question 9 of 10

   You are a resourcing assistant at Lidl. 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.

10. Question 10 of 10

    You are a purchasing assistant at Lidl. A piece of work you and three colleagues share, checking supplier documents before renewal, has slipped: one colleague has not done his forty for three weeks running, and the rest of you have quietly absorbed them. The renewal deadline is in a fortnight. Monday’s team stand-up is where the work is reviewed and everybody will be there. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

    1. Raise the missed documents in front of the whole team at Monday's stand-up, naming who had the action each week, before speaking to him at all.
    2. Carry on absorbing his forty between the three of you until the renewal is done, and raise how the work is shared once the fortnight is over and everybody has more time.
    3. Ask your manager to redistribute the documents formally, since three weeks of the same gap is a workload question rather than something the four of you should be solving between yourselves.
    4. Speak to him this week on his own and say plainly what the three of you have been absorbing, so that the two of you can agree who does what before the renewal.
    Show the answer

    Most effective: D. Speak to him this week on his own and say plainly what the three of you have been absorbing, so that the two of you can agree who does what before the renewal.

    Least effective: A. Raise the missed documents in front of the whole team at Monday's stand-up, naming who had the action each week, before speaking to him at all.

    A: Puts a colleague's failure in front of an audience: the facts are right, and the first he hears of a complaint about his work is in a room with everybody else in it.

    B: Defers a problem the deadline makes urgent: the fortnight is exactly when the extra hundred and twenty documents cannot be absorbed, and the conversation is postponed past the point of use.

    C: Escalates before asking: nobody has yet asked him what is going on, and the first move is a manager rearranging work over his head.

    The most effective response is to speak to him on his own this week, say plainly what has been absorbed and what the renewal needs, and agree who does what: he may have a reason nobody has asked for, the deadline needs a plan rather than a verdict, and the conversation happens where it can still change the outcome. It beats carrying on absorbing the work, because the fortnight is precisely when that stops being possible. It beats asking the manager to redistribute the documents, because nobody has yet asked him anything. The least effective response is naming him at Monday’s stand-up: the facts are accurate and the setting turns a workload problem into a public accounting, which is a different kind of wrong from postponing the conversation or from taking it over his head. The principle: raise a colleague’s shortfall with the colleague first, and keep the audience out of it.