Royal Mail Assessment Tests

Royal Mail Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You are an account executive at a marketing agency. In this morning’s client call your colleague Rachel presented a campaign idea as her own; you developed it and she knows that. The client liked it and the call ended warmly. You are annoyed. You and Rachel have to work together on this account for the next six months, and the next client call is in a fortnight. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Send a follow-up email to the client summarising the campaign idea and the thinking behind it, so that your involvement in developing it is on the record.
   2. Raise it with your account director, explaining what happened on the call and asking her to make clear to Rachel that ideas should be credited to whoever developed them.
   3. Say nothing, since the client is happy and the campaign is going ahead, and make sure in future that you copy your account director into your ideas before Rachel sees them.
   4. Speak to Rachel privately today, tell her the idea was yours and that presenting it as her own is not something you are willing to repeat, and agree how you will each present work on the next call.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Speak to Rachel privately today, tell her the idea was yours and that presenting it as her own is not something you are willing to repeat, and agree how you will each present work on the next call.

   Least effective: C. Say nothing, since the client is happy and the campaign is going ahead, and make sure in future that you copy your account director into your ideas before Rachel sees them.

   A: Personalises the conflict: it uses a client email to settle a credit dispute, which puts the client in the middle of something that is nothing to do with them.

   B: Escalates prematurely: Rachel has not been told there is a problem, so the first she hears of it comes from her director, on an account you both have to work for six more months.

   C: Avoids the difficult conversation: it swallows the grievance and replaces open working with quiet defensive paperwork for six months. Rachel never learns anything is wrong, so the pattern is free to repeat.

   The most effective response is to speak to Rachel privately today and agree how you will each present work on the next call: this is a two- person problem with a six-month working relationship attached, it needs saying once and clearly, and there are two weeks before that call. Speaking privately preserves both the point and the relationship. It beats raising it with your account director and asking her to make the credit rule clear, because Rachel has not yet been told there is a problem, and having her director raise it first makes a formal matter of something one conversation can settle. It beats sending the client a follow-up email summarising the idea and your thinking, because an email written to reclaim credit drags the client into an internal dispute they have no interest in. The least effective response is saying nothing and copying your account director into your ideas in future: it neither raises the issue nor resolves it, and replaces it with six months of defensive copying, so the behaviour continues and the working relationship quietly sours. That is worse than the other two, which raise it in the wrong place but do raise it. The principle: take a grievance to the person who caused it, once, in private, and agree what happens next time.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are a school office administrator. A parent rings to say the minibus driver who takes pupils to swimming was, in her son’s account, using a mobile phone while driving yesterday. You have no other information. The same driver is booked to take a group this afternoon. The headteacher is in school and the transport contractor can be reached. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Take the parent's account in full and tell the headteacher now, so she can decide about this afternoon's trip before it leaves.
   2. Ring the transport contractor to pass on the parent's report and ask them to speak to the driver before this afternoon's trip.
   3. Log the parent's call and raise it at the next transport review, since it is one child's account, there is no other evidence and the driver has never given cause for concern.
   4. Speak to the driver when he arrives this afternoon to hear his account before deciding whether the report needs taking any further.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Take the parent's account in full and tell the headteacher now, so she can decide about this afternoon's trip before it leaves.

   Least effective: C. Log the parent's call and raise it at the next transport review, since it is one child's account, there is no other evidence and the driver has never given cause for concern.

   B: Passes responsibility to others: the contractor does need to know, and the decision about whether children travel with that driver this afternoon is the school's, not the contractor's, to take.

   C: Fails to escalate a genuine risk: an allegation of a driver using a phone with children aboard is about this afternoon's trip, and treating it as an agenda item defers it past the very journey it concerns.

   D: Acts outside own authority: it makes a single administrator the judge of a safety allegation about children, on the driver's own account, in the minutes before the trip departs.

   The most effective response is to take the parent’s account in full and tell the headteacher now, so she can decide about this afternoon’s trip: an allegation about a driver using a phone with children in the vehicle concerns a trip leaving in hours, she is in school and it is her decision whether pupils travel, and the full account gives her something to act on. It beats ringing the transport contractor to pass on the report and ask them to speak to the driver, because they should certainly be told, but whether the school’s pupils travel with that driver today is the school’s call. It beats speaking to the driver when he arrives to hear his account first, because putting the allegation to him minutes before departure makes an administrator the judge of a child safety report. The least effective response is logging the call and raising it at the next transport review: it defers an allegation about children’s safety so it is considered long after the journey it concerns. That is worse than the other two, which act on the wrong authority but act today. The principle: a safety allegation goes immediately to the person who can stop the thing it concerns, with the account you were given.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You are an office administrator at a commercial printing company. While filing paperwork you notice that the shared template the sales team uses for customer quotes still contains last year’s paper prices, which rose noticeably in January. Nobody has been asked to look at the template, and two salespeople are preparing quotes with it this week. The current prices are held in the purchasing system, which you can access. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Update the template now with the January price rises you remember, marking the new figures as provisional to be checked later, so the salespeople are at least closer to the current rates.
   2. Mention to this month's new starter that the template could do with tidying up when they get a chance, without explaining that the prices are wrong, and return to your filing.
   3. Email the sales manager to explain the template still shows last year's prices and that quotes are being prepared this week, leaving the correction with them as owner of the quoting process.
   4. Check the current prices in the purchasing system, update the template to match, and tell the two salespeople and the sales manager what you found and changed.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Check the current prices in the purchasing system, update the template to match, and tell the two salespeople and the sales manager what you found and changed.

   Least effective: B. Mention to this month's new starter that the template could do with tidying up when they get a chance, without explaining that the prices are wrong, and return to your filing.

   A: Acts on assumptions without checking: even flagged as provisional, remembered figures are still guesses in a live quoting template, and the purchasing system could give you the accurate prices in roughly the time the guesswork takes.

   B: Dumps the problem on the least able person: a vague request to tidy up the template, with no mention that its prices are wrong or that live quotes depend on it, buries the risk you spotted with the one person who cannot recognise it. That is abandonment, not a handover.

   C: Passes responsibility to others: the sales manager does own the quoting process, but leaving the whole correction in their inbox lets this week's quotes go out on old prices, when you could fix the figures accurately now and simply tell them.

   The most effective response is to check the current prices in the purchasing system, update the template to match, and tell the salespeople and their manager what you found: you spotted the problem, the accurate figures are within your reach, and quoting is live this week, so fixing it and informing the owners removes the risk. It beats updating the template from the prices you remember and marking them provisional, because the purchasing system could supply the real figures just as quickly, and the salespeople would otherwise be quoting from flagged guesses. It beats emailing the sales manager and leaving the correction with them, because that gives the owner the full picture but leaves the fix waiting in an inbox while this week’s quotes are prepared, when you could complete it accurately straight away. The least effective response is asking the new starter to tidy the template up sometime: unlike using remembered figures, which at least moves them closer to reality and flags the doubt, and unlike emailing the manager, which tells the responsible person exactly what is wrong, it hands a vague job to the one person who cannot know the prices are wrong, so the risk you spotted disappears with nobody equipped to act on it. The principle: when you spot an unowned problem you can fix, verify the facts, fix it, and tell the people it affects. Never bury it with someone who cannot recognise it.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You work in a field sales team and process your colleagues’ expense claims. A colleague submits mileage for a client visit on a day you know he was at the regional office, because you saw him there. The amount is small. He is popular and has just had a difficult quarter. The expenses policy is clear that claims must reflect actual journeys. Your sales manager is available. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Process the claim and mention to your sales manager that the mileage looked unusual, so that she can look into it if she thinks it is worth it.
   2. Go back to the colleague, tell him the claimed journey does not match the day he was at the regional office, and ask him to correct or explain it before you process it.
   3. Reject the claim in the system with a note that the journey could not have taken place, and let him take it up if he disagrees.
   4. Process the claim as submitted, since the amount is small, he has had a hard quarter and querying it would be awkward and probably damage your working relationship.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Go back to the colleague, tell him the claimed journey does not match the day he was at the regional office, and ask him to correct or explain it before you process it.

   Least effective: D. Process the claim as submitted, since the amount is small, he has had a hard quarter and querying it would be awkward and probably damage your working relationship.

   A: Passes responsibility to others: it pays the claim first and raises a vague concern afterwards, so the money has gone and the manager is given a hint rather than a fact.

   C: Escalates prematurely: a formal rejection recorded against a colleague is a serious step taken before he has been asked, when there may be a simple explanation such as a wrong date.

   D: Breaches process to protect a colleague: it knowingly pays a claim for a journey that did not happen, because the sum is small and the conversation would be uncomfortable. That is dishonesty by omission, not discretion.

   The most effective response is to go back to the colleague, tell him the claimed journey does not match the day he was at the regional office, and ask him to correct or explain it: the discrepancy is a fact, there may be an innocent explanation such as the wrong date entered, and the person who can settle it in a sentence is the one who made the claim. Asking him first is both fairer and faster than any other route. It beats rejecting the claim in the system with a note that the journey could not have taken place, because a formal rejection on his record is a heavy step before he has had the chance to explain a possible typing error. It beats processing it and mentioning to your sales manager that the mileage looked unusual, because that pays out first and passes her a suspicion instead of a question that could already have been answered. The least effective response is processing the claim as submitted because the amount is small and querying it would be awkward: it knowingly pays for a journey that did not take place, which is precisely the reasoning that makes small false claims routine. That is worse than the other two, which act clumsily but do not knowingly pay. The principle: put the discrepancy to the person who created it before either paying it or recording it against them.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You are an events assistant at a hotel. A wedding reception is due to begin in the function room at 6pm, and guests will start arriving from 5:30pm. At 3pm you finish your own tasks for the day. You notice your colleague Amira, who is setting up the function room alone, is well behind schedule because the furniture delivery arrived two hours late. Your shift ends at 5pm. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Spend the rest of your shift on quiet low-priority admin and leave at 5pm without mentioning to anyone that the room is unlikely to be ready in time.
   2. Tell Amira to take her break and promise you will finish the whole room set-up yourself before the guests arrive, although you have never set up this room before.
   3. Report to the duty manager that Amira is behind schedule and suggest they find her some help, then return to your desk and carry on with low-priority admin.
   4. Offer Amira your help straight away and ask which tasks are most useful for you to take, so the room is ready before guests begin arriving at 5:30pm.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Offer Amira your help straight away and ask which tasks are most useful for you to take, so the room is ready before guests begin arriving at 5:30pm.

   Least effective: A. Spend the rest of your shift on quiet low-priority admin and leave at 5pm without mentioning to anyone that the room is unlikely to be ready in time.

   A: Hides the problem / silent deadline slip: watching a guest event head for failure and leaving without a word to Amira or the duty manager is silence and avoidance, a category failure unlike the weaker options, which at least act on the problem.

   B: Over-promises: taking on the entire set-up alone, in a room you have never set up, gambles the reception's start time on untested capacity; working alongside Amira, who knows the plan, would be faster and safer.

   C: Passes responsibility to others: alerting the duty manager is reasonable, but handing the problem over and returning to low-priority admin withholds the most immediate help available (you, free and on the spot two hours before guests arrive).

   The most effective response is to offer Amira your help straight away and ask which tasks are most useful for you to take: you have finished your own work, the event has a fixed start time, and offering help while letting Amira direct it puts your spare capacity behind the plan she already knows. It beats promising to finish the whole room set-up yourself, because that gambles the reception on you completing an unfamiliar set-up alone, when the safer route is working to Amira’s direction. It beats reporting her as behind schedule and returning to your desk, because that hands the problem to someone else while you are free and immediately available to help. The least effective response is spending the shift on low-priority admin and leaving at 5pm in silence: with time in hand and a visible risk to a guest event, that is worse than promising to do the set-up yourself, which at least attempts to fix the problem, and worse than telling the duty manager, which at least makes sure someone responsible knows. It tells no one and lets the event fail. The principle: when a colleague is struggling and you have capacity, offer practical help and let them direct it.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are a process operator at a waste water treatment works. Passing a monitoring screen that is not part of your round, you notice the outflow ammonia reading has been climbing steadily for three days and is close to the permitted limit. Exceeding it is reportable to the environmental regulator. The operator responsible is on leave. Your works manager is on site. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Adjust the aeration settings yourself to bring the ammonia down, since the trend is clear and the limit is close.
   2. Take the three-day trend to your works manager now, show him the readings and how close they are to the limit, and let him decide what to do.
   3. Record the trend in the shift log so the operator responsible picks it up when he returns from leave next week.
   4. Leave it, since the screen is not on your round, the reading is still inside the permitted limit and the plant's alarms would trigger if it went over.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Take the three-day trend to your works manager now, show him the readings and how close they are to the limit, and let him decide what to do.

   Least effective: D. Leave it, since the screen is not on your round, the reading is still inside the permitted limit and the plant's alarms would trigger if it went over.

   A: Acts outside own authority: changing process settings on a plant running near a permitted limit can drive the reading the wrong way, and the works manager has not been told the trend exists.

   C: Delays the decision: the log reaches the right person on the wrong day. The reading is close to a reportable limit now, and next week is after any breach would have happened.

   D: Fails to escalate a genuine risk: a three-day climb towards a reportable limit is exactly the signal that precedes a breach, and relying on the alarm means acting only once the limit has already been exceeded.

   The most effective response is to take the three-day trend to your works manager now, show him the readings and how close they are to the limit, and let him decide: a steady climb towards a reportable limit is a developing breach rather than a stable reading, you are the only person who has noticed with the responsible operator away, and he can act today. It beats adjusting the aeration settings yourself to bring the ammonia down, because that is a process decision beyond your authority on a plant running close to a limit, and could make the reading worse. It beats recording the trend in the shift log for the operator returning next week, because that arrives after the breach it should have prevented. The least effective response is leaving it because the reading is still inside the permitted limit and the alarms would trigger: it waits for an alarm that by definition sounds only once the limit has been exceeded and the breach is already reportable. That is worse than the other two, which act wrongly or slowly but do act. The principle: a trend towards a limit is information somebody needs before the limit is reached, so take it to whoever can act while it is still preventable.

7. Question 7 of 10

   You are a despatcher for an emergency plumbing service. At 4pm three calls are open. A tenant reports water coming through a ceiling light fitting. A restaurant has a blocked drain and cannot serve food. And a regular commercial client wants a quote for planned work by tomorrow. You have one engineer free now and another finishing at 5pm. The quote takes twenty minutes to prepare. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Send the free engineer to the restaurant since it cannot trade and is losing money by the hour, and put the ceiling leak to the engineer finishing at 5pm.
   2. Send the free engineer to the water coming through the light fitting, put the restaurant to the engineer finishing at 5pm, and prepare the quote after both are despatched.
   3. Advise the tenant to switch off the electricity and wait until an engineer is free tomorrow morning, and send the free engineer to the restaurant.
   4. Prepare the quote first since it is quick and the client is waiting on it, then despatch the free engineer to whichever of the two jobs sounds more serious.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Send the free engineer to the water coming through the light fitting, put the restaurant to the engineer finishing at 5pm, and prepare the quote after both are despatched.

   Least effective: C. Advise the tenant to switch off the electricity and wait until an engineer is free tomorrow morning, and send the free engineer to the restaurant.

   A: Substitutes own judgement for the stakeholder's: lost trade is expensive and water through a light fitting is an electrical risk to the people in the property, which is a different order of urgency from money.

   C: Fails to escalate a genuine risk: it leaves water entering an electrical fitting overnight with a tenant told to manage it alone, when an engineer is free now. Deferring a live electrical hazard is the worst of the four.

   D: Delays the decision: twenty minutes of quoting for work due tomorrow is placed ahead of two live emergencies, one of them an electrical hazard.

   The most effective response is to send the free engineer to the water coming through the light fitting, put the restaurant to the engineer finishing at 5pm, and prepare the quote once both are despatched: water entering a light fitting is an electrical hazard to the people in the property, so it takes the engineer who is free now; the restaurant is losing trade but is not dangerous; and a quote for tomorrow can wait. It beats sending the free engineer to the restaurant because it cannot trade, since that ranks lost revenue above an electrical risk to occupants. It beats preparing the quote first because it is quick and the client is waiting, because twenty minutes of paperwork for tomorrow should not precede two live emergencies. The least effective response is telling the tenant to switch off the electricity and wait until tomorrow morning: it leaves water running into an electrical fitting overnight while a free engineer goes to a blocked drain. That is worse than the other two, which misrank the jobs but still send someone to the leak today. The principle: rank by harm to people first, then by cost, and do the paperwork once the emergencies are moving.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You are a teaching assistant. You and another assistant, Bev, support the same class. She regularly changes the seating plan the teacher agreed with you, without telling either of you, and two pupils who work badly together keep ending up side by side. The teacher has noticed the disruption but not the cause. Bev has been at the school much longer than you. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Leave the seating as Bev arranges it, since she has been at the school far longer than you and the teacher will raise it herself if she thinks it is a problem.
   2. Speak to Bev privately, explain why those two pupils were separated in the agreed plan, and agree that changes to the seating go through the teacher first.
   3. Tell the teacher that the seating plan is being changed and that this is why the two pupils keep ending up together and disrupting the class.
   4. Move the two pupils back apart each time you notice they have been seated together, so the agreed plan is restored without any need for a confrontation.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Speak to Bev privately, explain why those two pupils were separated in the agreed plan, and agree that changes to the seating go through the teacher first.

   Least effective: A. Leave the seating as Bev arranges it, since she has been at the school far longer than you and the teacher will raise it herself if she thinks it is a problem.

   A: Fails to escalate a genuine problem: two pupils who work badly together are repeatedly seated side by side and the class is being disrupted, and the reason for silence is Bev's length of service. Choosing to let the disruption continue is worse than raising it clumsily.

   C: Escalates prematurely: Bev has not been told the changes are causing the disruption, and the first she would hear of it is from the teacher, over something a private conversation could settle.

   D: Avoids the difficult conversation: it corrects the seating and leaves Bev changing it again, so pupils are moved back and forth in class and the cause is never addressed.

   The most effective response is to speak to Bev privately, explain why those two pupils were separated in the agreed plan, and agree that seating changes go through the teacher first: she almost certainly does not know why they were separated, the fix is one conversation plus an agreement about who changes the plan, and it keeps the teacher’s arrangement intact. It beats telling the teacher the seating plan is being changed and that this is why the two keep disrupting the class, because going to her first makes a complaint out of something Bev has never been told about. It beats moving the two pupils back apart each time you notice, because that leaves them shuttled around the room and Bev still rearranging, so the disruption continues. The least effective response is leaving the seating as she arranges it because she has been at the school far longer: it accepts continuing disruption to pupils’ learning on grounds of seniority and waits for the teacher to work it out. That is worse than the other two, which raise or address it imperfectly. The principle: tell the colleague what the change causes, agree who owns the decision, and only then involve the person above you.

9. Question 9 of 10

   You work at a farm shop. At 9am a delivery of fresh fish arrives that must go into the chiller within twenty minutes. A customer is waiting at the counter to collect a pre-ordered meat box, which takes five minutes to fetch and check. Your manager has asked you to price up the new season’s preserves before lunchtime, a job of about an hour. You are alone on the shop floor. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Get the fish into the chiller first, then fetch and check the waiting customer's pre-ordered meat box, and price up the preserves before lunchtime.
   2. Leave the fish on the delivery bay while you serve the customer and price the preserves, and put it into the chiller once the shop floor is quieter.
   3. Serve the waiting customer's meat box first since she is standing at the counter, then put the fish away and price the preserves.
   4. Start pricing the preserves since your manager asked for them this morning, and deal with the fish and the customer as you work through the shelves.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Get the fish into the chiller first, then fetch and check the waiting customer's pre-ordered meat box, and price up the preserves before lunchtime.

   Least effective: B. Leave the fish on the delivery bay while you serve the customer and price the preserves, and put it into the chiller once the shop floor is quieter.

   B: Acts recklessly with a food safety risk: fresh fish left out beyond its chiller window is unsafe to sell, so the whole delivery is put at risk to make the morning run more smoothly.

   C: Delays the decision: five minutes at the counter takes a quarter of the chiller window on a fresh fish delivery that cannot be recovered if it warms.

   D: Substitutes own judgement for the stakeholder's: an hour of pricing with a whole morning available is put ahead of a twenty-minute chiller window and a customer already waiting.

   The most effective response is to get the fish into the chiller first, then fetch and check the waiting customer’s pre-ordered meat box, and price the preserves before lunchtime: the fish has a twenty-minute window after which it cannot be sold at all, the meat box takes five minutes, and the preserves have hours. Only one of the three is irreversible. It beats serving the waiting customer’s meat box first because she is at the counter, since five minutes there spends a quarter of a window that cannot be extended. It beats starting on the preserves because your manager asked for them this morning, because an hour of pricing with a whole morning available should not precede either a chiller window or a waiting customer. The least effective response is leaving the fish on the delivery bay until the shop floor is quieter: it leaves fresh fish out well beyond its window, risking the entire delivery becoming unsafe to sell. That is worse than the other two, which sequence badly but get the fish away in time. The principle: protect what spoils first, then serve the person waiting, then do the job with hours of room.

10. Question 10 of 10

    You are a finance assistant at a charity. Reconciling the restricted funds you notice that a grant given specifically for a youth project appears to have been spent on general running costs over several months. You are new and may be misreading the fund codes. The trustees meet in a fortnight and the grant’s annual report to the funder is due next month. Your finance manager is in the office. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

    1. Take your workings to the finance manager this week, explain what the codes appear to show and that you may have misread them, and ask her to check before the trustees meet.
    2. Spend the next fortnight tracing every transaction yourself so that you can present a complete and certain picture rather than a half- formed concern.
    3. Leave it, since you are new, the fund codes are complicated and the finance manager and the auditors will have reviewed the restricted funds already.
    4. Raise it directly with the trustees at their meeting in a fortnight, since restricted funds are their responsibility and the finance manager may have been involved in the spending.
    Show the answer

    Most effective: A. Take your workings to the finance manager this week, explain what the codes appear to show and that you may have misread them, and ask her to check before the trustees meet.

    Least effective: C. Leave it, since you are new, the fund codes are complicated and the finance manager and the auditors will have reviewed the restricted funds already.

    B: Delays the decision: certainty is worth having and a fortnight of solo work takes you past the trustees' meeting, when the finance manager could confirm or dismiss it in an hour.

    C: Fails to escalate a genuine risk: a restricted grant may have been misapplied with a report to the funder due next month, and the reason for silence is an assumption that others have checked, which is what your own reconciliation calls into question.

    D: Escalates prematurely: you are new, you may have misread the fund codes, and going to the trustees first implies wrongdoing by the finance manager on the strength of a reading nobody has checked.

    The most effective response is to take your workings to the finance manager this week, explain what the codes appear to show and that you may have misread them, and ask her to check before the trustees meet: you may be right or you may have misread, and she can establish which in an hour, well before the meeting and the funder’s report. Saying plainly that you may be wrong is honest and costs nothing. It beats spending the next fortnight tracing every transaction yourself, because reaching certainty that way takes you past the meeting where it would have mattered. It beats raising it directly with the trustees at their meeting, because going there first, as a new member of staff working from an unchecked reading, implies misconduct by your manager before anyone has confirmed there is even an error. The least effective response is leaving it because the fund codes are complicated and others will have reviewed them: it leaves a possible misuse of restricted funds unexamined with a report to the funder due next month. That is worse than the other two, which act too slowly or in the wrong order but do act. The principle: take an unconfirmed but serious finding to the person who can confirm it, promptly, and be honest that you may have it wrong.