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You have 13 minutes to answer 10 questions. Each question describes a workplace situation and four possible responses. For every question, select the response you believe would be MOST effective and the response you believe would be LEAST effective. There are no trick questions; judge each response on how well it would work in the situation described.
About this test: this is one of a set of practice tests covering the areas Next’s assessment process typically includes. It is written by us: it is not Next’s own assessment and these are not Next’s questions.
Question 1 of 10
You are a commercial finance assistant at Next. A promotion that a manager championed has come in well below what she forecast, and you have the numbers. She is presenting the quarter to her own director on Thursday and does not know yet. You produced the figures and understand why the gap arose. Your own manager has asked you to make sure she has them. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?
Most effective: D. Go to her today with the figures and your explanation of the gap, and offer to help her prepare how it is presented on Thursday.
Least effective: C. Ask your manager to give her the figures, as bad news about a promotion she championed lands better from somebody at her own level.
A: Delivers data instead of information: she has two days to work out what happened, and you already know.
B: Warns without explaining: she knows a bad number is coming and still has to work out why it happened, hours before she presents it.
C: Hands the message on rather than delivering it: your manager has to explain a gap you understand and she does not, and two of the days before Thursday go on arranging that.
The most effective response is to go to her today with the figures and your explanation, and offer to help with how it is presented: she gets the news with two days to use it, from the person who can explain it, and the offer of help makes it a working problem rather than a verdict. It beats sending the numbers with no commentary, because she then spends two days working out what you already know. It beats a heads-up today with the figures left to Thursday’s pack, because the explanation is the part she cannot supply herself and only you have it. The least effective response is asking your manager to deliver it: the explanation sits with you and the message with somebody else, and the arranging eats the time she needs, which is a different kind of wrong from being too spare or from mistiming it. The principle: bad news is delivered early, by the person who can explain it, with help attached.
Question 2 of 10
You are an availability analyst at Next. Two teams have each asked for a report by noon, and each says their meeting depends on it. You can produce one properly by noon, not both. It is ten o’clock. Both teams have asked you directly and are waiting to hear. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?
Most effective: B. Tell both teams now that only one report can be ready by noon and ask which meeting cannot proceed without it, so that the people who know their meetings choose.
Least effective: C. Tell both teams their reports will be ready by noon, and decide later in the morning which one you actually finish.
A: Splits the work so neither is usable: two unchecked reports go into two meetings, and the caveat does not stop anybody quoting the figures in them.
C: Promises what cannot be delivered to buy quiet: both meetings are planned on a report arriving, and one of them finds out at noon that it was never coming.
D: Applies a rule instead of asking: order of arrival has nothing to do with which meeting actually cannot proceed, and the second team learns too late to adapt.
The most effective response is to tell both teams now that only one report can be ready, ask which meeting cannot proceed without it, and start on that one: the people who know what their meetings need make the choice, they make it at ten rather than at noon, and the report that matters most gets the full two hours. It beats producing rough versions of both, because unchecked numbers get quoted whatever the note on them says. It beats working to order of arrival, because who asked first has nothing to do with which meeting is stuck. The least effective response is telling both their reports will be ready and deciding later: two meetings are planned on a promise you know cannot hold, and one of them learns at noon, which is a different kind of wrong from doing both badly or from choosing by the wrong rule. The principle: when you can only do one, say so early and let the people affected choose which.
Question 3 of 10
You are an availability analyst at Next. A report you use every week double counts one type of transfer, which makes availability look better than it is. You have twice messaged the team who own the report and heard nothing. Colleagues in three areas use the same report to decide what to order. Your own workaround takes ten minutes a week and nobody else knows about it. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?
Most effective: C. Tell the three areas what the fault does to the number, and take it to the reporting team's manager with the two unanswered messages, since nothing else has moved them.
Least effective: A. Send the fault on to the reporting team a third time and take it off your own list, since the report belongs to them and you have now told them twice.
A: Passes it on and stops caring: two messages have already vanished, a third changes nothing, and the three areas ordering from the report still do not know.
B: Spreads the repair instead of the fix: every area now spends ten minutes a week on a fault that still nobody owns.
D: Waits on a team that has ignored two messages: your own numbers are right, and three areas keep ordering from a figure that is not.
The most effective response is to tell the three areas what the fault does to the number and take it to the reporting team’s manager with the two unanswered messages: the people making decisions stop using a wrong figure today, and the fix goes to somebody with the standing to make it happen. It beats sharing your workaround with the three areas, because that spends everybody’s time on a fault that still has no owner. It beats waiting for a reply, because two messages have already gone unanswered while the ordering carries on. The least effective response is sending it a third time and taking it off your list: nothing about a third message is different, and the areas ordering from the report are still not told, which is a different kind of wrong from spreading the workaround or from waiting. The principle: when the owner will not act, protect the people using the output and escalate with the evidence of what you already tried.
Question 4 of 10
You are a trading assistant at Next. In Monday’s meeting a colleague said, in front of the team, that your weekly figures were guesswork and had cost her a decision. You were annoyed and said nothing. You send her those figures every Wednesday and she uses them to set her orders. It is Wednesday morning and the figures are ready. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?
Most effective: B. Send the figures as usual, then ask her for ten minutes to go through how they are built and what the decision needed that they did not give her.
Least effective: D. Stop sending her the weekly figures after that meeting and let her ask for them if she still wants them, since she made her view of their value clear enough.
A: Answers a private grievance in public: the correction is aimed at an audience rather than at her, and the person it is really about reads it alongside everyone else.
C: Prioritises harmony over honesty: the working relationship stays polite, the complaint about your work stands unexamined, and it will be repeated.
D: Withdraws your work from a colleague after a disagreement: her orders go out on nothing, and a complaint about quality is answered by removing the thing entirely.
The most effective response is to send the figures as usual and then ask her for ten minutes on how they are built and what her decision needed: it keeps the work flowing, it treats the remark as information about a gap rather than as an insult, and it puts the conversation where it belongs, which is between the two of you. It beats adding a public line to the team about how the figures are built, because that answers her in front of an audience and makes the disagreement everybody’s. It beats saying nothing at all, because the complaint stands and the next set of orders is set on the same misunderstanding. The least effective response is stopping the weekly figures after the meeting and making her ask: the work she depends on is withdrawn because of how she spoke to you, which is a different kind of wrong from being defensive in public or being silent. The principle: criticism of your work is answered by improving what the other person needed, never by taking the work away.
Question 5 of 10
You are a supply chain graduate at Next. A planner and a site contact have been arguing for two days about a change to delivery times. The site has said clearly that it will not work for them. The planner has now asked you, in front of both of them on a call, whether the site has agreed. Everybody wants the argument over, and the schedule has to be published tomorrow. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?
Most effective: B. Say plainly that the site has not agreed and set out what each side needs from the times, so that the call turns into a search for a change that would work.
Least effective: A. Assure the planner that the site is happy with the change so the argument can stop, and work quietly on the site afterwards to bring them round before the schedule is published.
A: States an agreement that does not exist: the schedule is published on it, and the site discovers tomorrow that its refusal was reported as consent.
C: Softens a fact to keep the peace: the site's position was perfectly clear, and describing it as unclear leaves the planner believing there is still room where there is none.
D: Delivers the fact and abandons the problem: the schedule is published tomorrow, and nothing on the call has moved the two sides any closer.
The most effective response is to say plainly that the site has not agreed, set out what each side needs, and ask for the one change that would make it work: the fact is on the table, and the call turns from an argument about consent into a search for a workable time. It beats describing the position as unclear, because the site was clear and the planner is left believing there is room to move. It beats stating the fact and leaving them to it, because the schedule is published tomorrow and nothing has moved. The least effective response is assuring the planner the site is happy: an agreement that does not exist becomes the basis of a published schedule, and the site learns that its refusal was reported as consent, which is a different kind of wrong from being vague or from being unhelpful. The principle: end an argument by putting the true position in the middle of it, never by reporting the answer everybody wants.
Question 6 of 10
You are a resourcing assistant at Next. A new starter due to join a manager’s team on the first of next month has told you he cannot start until the fifteenth. The manager has built his cover around the original date and has not been told. You update a tracker the manager can see, though he tends to look at it once a week. It is Monday. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?
Most effective: A. Ring the manager today and tell him the start date has moved to the fifteenth and what that leaves uncovered, then update the tracker so that the change is on the record too.
Least effective: C. Update the tracker with the new date and say nothing to the manager, since he checks the tracker most weeks and will see the change there soon enough.
B: Sends somebody to look rather than telling them: the message competes with everything else in his inbox and the fortnight of missing cover is not mentioned in it.
C: Withholds a change somebody is planning around: he is building cover against a date that no longer exists, and the person who knows has decided a weekly habit will do the telling.
D: Tests a hope before passing the news on: he does hear today, and the morning he could have spent rearranging cover is gone.
The most effective response is to ring the manager today, tell him the date has moved and what that leaves uncovered, then update the tracker and confirm in writing: he learns it from a person, he learns the part that affects him, and the record still gets made. It beats updating the tracker and asking him to look, because that leaves him to discover a fortnight of missing cover among everything else in his inbox. It beats asking the starter to reconsider before telling the manager, because the morning goes whatever the answer is. The least effective response is updating the tracker and saying nothing: he goes on building cover against a date that no longer exists, and the person who knows has decided that a weekly habit counts as telling him, which is a different kind of wrong from telling him badly or from telling him late. The principle: when a change breaks somebody’s plan, tell them directly, and let the system record it rather than deliver it.
Question 7 of 10
You are a purchasing assistant at Next. 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?
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.
Question 8 of 10
You are a stock control assistant at Next. 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?
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.
Question 9 of 10
You are a resourcing assistant at Next. You place temporary staff through three agencies. One of them has told you it pays fifty pounds for every candidate a client puts forward, and has offered to set that up for you personally. You already use that agency more than the others because their people turn up. The choice of agency is yours to make each time. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?
Most effective: A. Decline it, tell your manager the offer was made, and ask whether the way agencies are chosen should be written down given what has just been offered.
Least effective: B. Accept the payment the agency offers for each candidate you put forward, since you would have used them anyway and the arrangement changes nothing about who gets placed.
B: Takes a payment the role forbids: whatever you would have done anyway, every placement from now on has a personal fifty pounds attached to it.
C: Keeps a fact your manager needs: the same offer may be sitting with colleagues, and nobody who could look at that knows it was ever made.
D: Redirects a benefit rather than refusing it: the agency is still paying the people who choose it, and the team now has a reason to prefer them.
The most effective response is to decline it, tell your manager the offer was made, and ask whether the basis for choosing agencies should be written down: the offer is refused, the person responsible for how placements are made learns that an agency is trying to buy them, and the fix outlasts your own conscience. It beats declining quietly, because the same offer may be with colleagues and nobody can look at that if nobody knows. It beats redirecting the money to a team fund, because the agency is still paying the people who choose it. The least effective response is accepting the payment: every future placement carries a personal reason to pick one agency, which is a different kind of wrong from keeping quiet or from redirecting the money. The principle: when a supplier offers money to the person who chooses suppliers, refuse it and make sure it is on the record.
Question 10 of 10
You are a brand assistant at Next. An agency has said it will “try” to have the campaign artwork ready for the launch date, which is in three weeks, and has twice declined to confirm it. Your manager asks you in a corridor whether the date is safe, because she is about to commit the launch to a wider group. Everything else about the launch depends on that date. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?
Most effective: B. Tell her the agency has twice declined to confirm and has only said it will try, and offer to get a definite answer today before she commits the date.
Least effective: D. Tell her the date has been booked with the agency, since they have said they will try and there is no sign yet that it will actually slip.
A: Softens the position without resolving it: she is left holding a probability, and the wider group is waiting on a commitment she cannot yet make.
C: Withholds what you already know: she may commit the date in the meantime, and the fact that the agency has twice refused to confirm is exactly what she needs now.
D: Reports an intention as a commitment: she commits a wider group to a date the agency has twice refused to confirm, on the strength of a word you chose for them.
The most effective response is to tell her the agency has twice declined to confirm and has only said it will try, and offer to get a definite answer today: she has the true position at the moment she needs it, and the gap is being closed rather than described. It beats saying the date looks likely and asking her to wait, because she is left with a probability and no commitment. It beats saying you will check and come back, because she may commit while you are chasing and you already know the important part. The least effective response is telling her the date is booked: an intention is reported as a commitment, and a wider group is committed to a date the agency has twice refused to confirm, which is a different kind of wrong from hedging or from deferring. The principle: when somebody is about to commit, give them what you know at once, especially when what you know is that nothing is confirmed.
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