Savills Assessment Tests

Savills Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You work behind the bar of a pub and cash up at the end of your shift. Tonight the till is £40 over. Your colleague says the float is often out, that putting the extra through as a correction creates paperwork for the landlord, and suggests you simply put the £40 in the staff tips jar since nobody will claim it. The landlord is upstairs and available. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Record the £40 surplus on the cash sheet and tell the landlord tonight, so the discrepancy can be investigated properly.
   2. Leave the £40 in the till without recording it, so the money stays in the business and the discrepancy will show up in the next cash count.
   3. Adjust the cash sheet so the takings balance exactly and set the £40 aside in the safe, so the paperwork is clean and the money is secure.
   4. Put the £40 into the staff tips jar as your colleague suggests, since the float is often out and nobody is going to come back for it.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Record the £40 surplus on the cash sheet and tell the landlord tonight, so the discrepancy can be investigated properly.

   Least effective: D. Put the £40 into the staff tips jar as your colleague suggests, since the float is often out and nobody is going to come back for it.

   B: Hides the problem: leaving an unexplained surplus unrecorded keeps the money in the right place and removes the signal. A £40 discrepancy is exactly what the landlord needs to see to find its cause.

   C: Falsifies the cash record: the money is safe and the sheet now says something untrue, so the discrepancy that would have led the landlord to a mis-rung sale or a short-changed customer disappears.

   D: Misappropriates business takings: an unexplained surplus is the pub's money until it is accounted for, and moving it into the tips jar takes it and destroys the record that would have explained it. That is theft, not tidying.

   The most effective response is to record the £40 surplus on the cash sheet and tell the landlord tonight: a surplus means something went wrong, a mis-rung sale or a customer given the wrong change, and the cash sheet and the landlord are how that gets found. Recording it and telling him is the whole job. It beats adjusting the sheet to balance and setting the money aside in the safe, because that makes the paperwork tidy and erases the very signal that would identify the cause. It beats leaving the money in the till unrecorded so it shows up at the next count, because that is the same erasure with the money in a different place. The least effective response is putting the £40 into the staff tips jar because nobody will come back for it: it takes money belonging to the business, which is appropriation rather than a record-keeping shortcut. That is worse than the other two, which mishandle the record but keep the money in the business. The principle: record a discrepancy exactly as you found it and tell whoever can find out why.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are a kitchen assistant in a school canteen. Lunch service starts at 12.15 and it is 11.30. The head cook has asked you to prepare a tray of allergen-free meals for four pupils, which takes twenty minutes, and to restock the salad bar, which takes fifteen. You cannot do both before service and the head cook is in the delivery bay for the next ten minutes. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Restock the salad bar first because it is the quicker job, then start the allergen-free meals and finish them as soon after 12.15 as you can.
   2. Restock the salad bar and serve the four pupils from the standard menu, choosing dishes that look unlikely to contain the allergens they need to avoid.
   3. Prepare the allergen-free meals first so the four pupils can eat at 12.15, and tell the head cook when she returns that the salad bar still needs restocking.
   4. Start both, alternating between the allergen-free tray and the salad bar so that each is as far along as possible when service begins.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Prepare the allergen-free meals first so the four pupils can eat at 12.15, and tell the head cook when she returns that the salad bar still needs restocking.

   Least effective: B. Restock the salad bar and serve the four pupils from the standard menu, choosing dishes that look unlikely to contain the allergens they need to avoid.

   A: Delays the decision: it does the shorter task first and leaves four pupils who cannot eat anything else waiting after service has already started.

   B: Acts recklessly with a known risk: judging by eye whether a dish contains an allergen puts four pupils at risk of a reaction. That is a safety failure, not a scheduling choice.

   D: Splits effort so nothing finishes: allergen-free meals prepared alongside general restocking risks both being incomplete at 12.15, and moving between tasks in a kitchen is exactly how cross- contamination happens.

   The most effective response is to prepare the allergen-free meals first so the four pupils can eat at 12.15, then tell the head cook the salad bar still needs restocking: those four cannot eat anything else, so the meals have to exist by service, and a salad bar restocked slightly late affects nobody’s ability to eat. Telling her means she can put someone on it. It beats doing the quicker job first, because that leaves the four pupils with nothing at the start of service. It beats alternating between the allergen-free tray and the general restocking, because that risks both being unfinished and creates a real contamination risk. The least effective response is serving the four from the standard menu, choosing dishes that look unlikely to contain the allergens they need to avoid: it substitutes a guess about ingredients for the allergen-free meals themselves, which risks a reaction in four children. That is worse than the other two, which order the work badly but keep the pupils safe. The principle: do the task that someone depends on absolutely, and never replace a safety control with a judgement by eye.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You are a field support technician for a telecoms company. You are on site installing a new phone system for a small business that closes for the weekend at 5pm today. By 2pm it is clear one part is missing and the system cannot be finished today; it can be completed on Monday. The office manager who booked the work is on site. Your own scheduler, who arranges return visits, is at her desk. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Work on until 5pm, leave once the office has closed, and let your scheduler contact the office manager on Monday morning to arrange the return visit for the missing part.
   2. Ring your scheduler to book Monday's return visit, then carry on until 5pm so the office manager sees the work has progressed as far as it possibly could today.
   3. Tell the office manager that you have hit a snag and are doing everything you can, and give her a full picture on Monday once you know exactly what is needed to finish.
   4. Tell the office manager now that a missing part means the system cannot go live today, confirm what still works over the weekend, and agree a Monday return before you leave site.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Tell the office manager now that a missing part means the system cannot go live today, confirm what still works over the weekend, and agree a Monday return before you leave site.

   Least effective: A. Work on until 5pm, leave once the office has closed, and let your scheduler contact the office manager on Monday morning to arrange the return visit for the missing part.

   A: Hides the problem / silent deadline slip: the business closes believing its phones are live and discovers on Monday that they are not. Leaving site without telling the customer is concealment, and it removes every chance she had to arrange cover.

   B: Tells the wrong audience first: the person standing on site, whose business runs on the phones this weekend, learns last about a problem you have already reported internally.

   C: Delays the message: a snag with no detail leaves her unable to plan her weekend cover, when you already know the specific fact she needs, that the system will not go live before Monday.

   The most effective response is to tell the office manager now that a missing part means the system cannot go live today, confirm what still works, and agree a Monday return before you leave: she is standing there, she runs a business that depends on those phones over the weekend, and she needs those three facts before 5pm. It beats ringing your scheduler to book the return visit first, because that puts internal tidiness ahead of the person whose weekend depends on the answer. It beats telling her you have hit a snag and are doing everything you can, because a vague snag withholds the one hard fact she can plan around, when you already know it. The least effective response is leaving once the office has closed and letting your scheduler arrange it on Monday: it is the only response where she finds out after you have gone, which removes every opportunity she had to arrange cover, and it leaves the news to be broken by someone who was never on site. That is worse than the other two, which communicate imperfectly but in time. The principle: tell the person carrying the consequence first, tell them while they can still act, and tell them what you actually know.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You are a funeral arranger. You have had an emotionally difficult week and today have taken three arrangement meetings back to back. A family arrives for the fourth, an hour early, and the son tells you at the door that the arrangements you sent contain the wrong name for his mother. You are tired and know you are close to your limit. Your funeral director is in the office. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Apologise for the mistake and start the meeting straight away without mentioning the error to anyone else, since raising it would only draw attention to a failing in your own work.
   2. Apologise, correct the paperwork immediately and start the meeting an hour early, since the family are here and have already been let down once.
   3. Apologise for the error, settle the family with a short wait, and tell your funeral director now so the paperwork is corrected and she can take the meeting if that is better.
   4. Apologise, correct the name, and ask the family to wait until the original appointment time so that you have a short break before the meeting begins.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Apologise for the error, settle the family with a short wait, and tell your funeral director now so the paperwork is corrected and she can take the meeting if that is better.

   Least effective: A. Apologise for the mistake and start the meeting straight away without mentioning the error to anyone else, since raising it would only draw attention to a failing in your own work.

   A: Hides an error to protect yourself: a family's mother's name was wrong on their arrangements, and the reason for not telling the funeral director is how it reflects on you. That leaves the error unexamined and the family with a tired arranger.

   B: Abandons own limits at the family's expense: starting an hour early when you know you are close to your limit takes the most demanding meeting of the week at the worst moment, and this family need you at your best.

   D: Hides the strain until failure: it buys a few minutes without telling anyone how the week has gone, so the funeral director cannot judge whether you should be taking this meeting at all.

   The most effective response is to apologise for the error, settle the family with a short wait, and tell your funeral director now so the paperwork is corrected and she can take the meeting if that is better: the family need the error put right and they need an arranger who is not at the end of a very hard week, and she can do both. Settling them first means the apology is not delayed by the internal question. It beats correcting the name and asking them to wait until the original time so you get a short break, because a break nobody knows about leaves her unable to judge whether you should be taking the meeting. It beats correcting the paperwork and starting an hour early, because beginning while you know you are close to your limit gives this family the least of you at the point they need the most. The least effective response is starting the meeting straight away without mentioning the error to anyone: it hides a mistake on a family’s arrangements to stop it reflecting badly on you. That is worse than the other two, which handle the pressure badly but put the error right openly. The principle: fix what the person in front of you needs, and tell whoever can rebalance the work the truth about your own capacity.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You work in the post room of a large office. At 3pm the courier arrives for the daily collection, which leaves at 3.15. A colleague has just brought down a contract that must reach a client tomorrow, and it needs an envelope and a label, taking five minutes. Your supervisor has also asked you to reorganise the shelving before you finish, a job with no deadline. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Put the contract in the collection unlabelled so it makes the 3.15 courier, and sort out the paperwork with the courier company afterwards.
   2. Start the shelving as your supervisor asked, and put the contract in tomorrow's collection since it will still reach the client the following day.
   3. Prepare and label the contract straight away so it goes with the 3.15 collection, and start the shelving afterwards.
   4. Ask the courier to wait while you check with your supervisor whether the contract or the shelving should come first.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Prepare and label the contract straight away so it goes with the 3.15 collection, and start the shelving afterwards.

   Least effective: A. Put the contract in the collection unlabelled so it makes the 3.15 courier, and sort out the paperwork with the courier company afterwards.

   A: Acts recklessly with the client's document: an unlabelled contract in a courier bag is a document with no destination, so the one item that had to arrive tomorrow is the one most likely to be lost entirely.

   B: Substitutes own judgement for the stakeholder's: it decides the client's deadline can slip a day in order to start a job with no deadline at all, when five minutes would have caught the courier.

   D: Escalates prematurely: a five-minute job against a job with no deadline is a call you can make yourself, and holding the courier to ask it risks the whole collection.

   The most effective response is to prepare and label the contract straight away so it goes with the 3.15 collection, then start the shelving: the courier leaves at 3.15, the contract takes five minutes and has a client deadline tomorrow, and the shelving has no deadline at all. Doing the short, time-critical job first costs the shelving nothing. It beats starting the shelving and putting the contract in tomorrow’s collection, because that treats a task with no deadline as outranking a client contract that would have made today’s courier with ten minutes to spare. It beats asking the courier to wait while you check with your supervisor, because choosing between a five-minute job and an open-ended one does not need a supervisor, and asking risks holding the courier. The least effective response is putting the contract in the collection unlabelled: an unlabelled contract in a courier bag has no destination, so the attempt to save it is the thing most likely to lose it. That is worse than sending it tomorrow, which is a day late but safe, and worse than holding the courier, which at least keeps it intact. The principle: when a short task has a closing window and a long one has none, do the short one properly, then the long one.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are a production planner at a manufacturer. You and the works manager, Dan, disagree about a schedule change he has made that puts a large export order behind a smaller domestic one. You believe the export order will miss its shipping slot, which is fixed and costly to rebook. Dan is senior to you and has already told the shop floor. The operations director is available today. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Accept Dan's schedule since he is senior and has already briefed the shop floor, and put your concern about the shipping slot in an email so it is on record.
   2. Show Dan the shipping slot dates and what missing them would cost, and if he will not change the schedule take it to the operations director today.
   3. Quietly move the export order back up the schedule, since the shipping slot is fixed and Dan is unlikely to notice the change before the order ships.
   4. Say nothing further and let the export order miss its slot, since Dan owns the schedule and it will be clear soon enough whose decision caused the problem.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Show Dan the shipping slot dates and what missing them would cost, and if he will not change the schedule take it to the operations director today.

   Least effective: D. Say nothing further and let the export order miss its slot, since Dan owns the schedule and it will be clear soon enough whose decision caused the problem.

   A: Prioritises the record over the outcome: an email protects you while a fixed shipping slot is missed, which is a cost to the business rather than a question about who was right.

   C: Personalises the conflict: it reverses a senior colleague's decision behind his back on a schedule he has already briefed, which leaves the shop floor working to two different plans.

   D: Fails to escalate a genuine risk: it allows a known and costly failure to happen in order to demonstrate who was right, which puts being proved correct ahead of the order. Choosing the loss is a different order of wrong from acting badly.

   The most effective response is to show Dan the shipping slot dates and what missing them would cost, and if he will not change the schedule take it to the operations director today: whether the export order misses a fixed slot is a factual question with a cost attached, he owns the schedule so he gets the information first, and the director is available if he will not move. That is proportionate and fast enough to matter. It beats quietly moving the export order back up the schedule, because reversing a briefed plan behind his back leaves the shop floor working to two versions and destroys the working relationship. It beats accepting his schedule and putting your concern in an email, because a record protects you and does nothing for the slot. The least effective response is saying nothing further and letting the export order miss its slot: it allows a costly failure so that responsibility for it will be visible afterwards, which puts being proved right ahead of the business. That is worse than the other two, which are flawed but aimed at preventing the loss. The principle: put the facts to the person who owns the decision, and escalate the same day if the risk is real and they will not move.

7. Question 7 of 10

   You are front of house staff at a theatre. Tonight’s performance starts in twenty minutes and the audience is arriving. Your colleague Sam, who is on the bar alone, is struggling with a long queue while you have finished checking tickets at your door and the foyer has cleared. The duty manager is dealing with a seating problem in the auditorium. Sam has not asked for help. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Radio the duty manager to say the bar is struggling and ask whether someone can be moved across before the performance starts.
   2. Ask Sam whether he wants a hand, and return to your door if he says he is managing, since he knows the bar stock and may find a second person in the way.
   3. Go over to the bar, tell Sam you are free now your door has cleared, and serve alongside him until the interval bell.
   4. Stay at your door in case any latecomers arrive, since ticket checking is what you were assigned to and the bar is Sam's responsibility tonight.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Go over to the bar, tell Sam you are free now your door has cleared, and serve alongside him until the interval bell.

   Least effective: D. Stay at your door in case any latecomers arrive, since ticket checking is what you were assigned to and the bar is Sam's responsibility tonight.

   A: Escalates prematurely: the duty manager is dealing with seating and you are standing free twenty feet from the bar. Asking her to solve something you can solve yourself adds a step and costs minutes.

   B: Substitutes own judgement for the stakeholder's: a colleague halfway through a queue with twenty minutes to curtain will usually say he is managing, so the question is polite and predictably leaves him alone.

   D: Avoids the difficult conversation with yourself: it treats an assignment as a boundary while a colleague visibly sinks and paying customers give up on the bar. Standing idle beside a known problem is the failure here.

   The most effective response is to go over to the bar, tell Sam you are free now your door has cleared, and serve alongside him until the interval bell: your door has cleared, the bar has not, and there are twenty minutes before curtain in which a second server makes the difference. Saying you are free removes any need for him to ask. It beats asking him whether he wants a hand and returning to your door if he says he is managing, because putting that question to a colleague mid-queue invites the polite refusal, and the queue is still there afterwards. It beats radioing the duty manager to ask whether someone can be moved across, because she is occupied with seating and you are the resource she would send anyway. The least effective response is staying at your door in case latecomers arrive: it leaves a colleague struggling and customers unserved in order to stand at a door that has nobody at it, the one response where the problem is seen and nothing is done. That is worse than radioing the manager, which acts through someone else, and worse than offering, which at least asks. The principle: when your own task is finished and a colleague is visibly swamped, go and help rather than asking whether help is wanted.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You work in the billing team of an energy supplier. A customer rings about a bill for £520 covering nine months, caused by the supplier failing to bill her since she moved in. She says that even the standard twelve-month plan would be more than she can manage each month. Company policy allows a repayment plan over twelve months for billing errors of this kind, and a longer plan needs a team leader’s approval. Your team leader is at her desk. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Apologise for the nine months of missed billing, set out the twelve- month plan, and ask your team leader now whether a longer plan can be approved given the supplier's error.
   2. Explain that the energy was used and the bill is correct, and set up the standard twelve-month repayment plan the policy allows.
   3. Tell her the bill stands and must be paid within the usual payment terms, since the energy was genuinely used and the debt is hers regardless of when it was billed.
   4. Reduce the bill by the amount covering the first three months, since the supplier's failure to bill caused the problem and the customer should not pay for the company's error.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Apologise for the nine months of missed billing, set out the twelve- month plan, and ask your team leader now whether a longer plan can be approved given the supplier's error.

   Least effective: C. Tell her the bill stands and must be paid within the usual payment terms, since the energy was genuinely used and the debt is hers regardless of when it was billed.

   B: Treats the policy floor as the ceiling: the twelve-month plan is offered as the only option when a longer one exists and a team leader who can approve it is at her desk, and she has not been asked.

   C: Ignores the customer's actual need: it demands full payment on normal terms for the supplier's own nine-month failure, and withholds a repayment plan the policy explicitly provides. That is a refusal of a remedy she is entitled to.

   D: Breaches confidentiality or process: writing off part of a bill is not a decision the billing team takes, and doing it unilaterally replaces an approval route with a personal judgement about fairness.

   The most effective response is to apologise for the nine months of missed billing, set out the twelve-month plan, and ask your team leader now whether a longer plan can be approved: the supplier caused this by not billing, the policy provides a repayment plan, and a longer one is available through a team leader sitting at her desk. That gives the customer the best the company actually allows. It beats explaining that the energy was used and setting up the standard twelve-month plan, because that treats it as the only option when a longer one exists and can be approved in minutes. It beats reducing the bill by the first three months, because that is not the billing team’s decision, however sympathetic the case. The least effective response is telling her the bill must be paid within the usual payment terms: it insists on normal terms for a debt created by the supplier’s own failure, and withholds a repayment plan the policy provides. That is worse than the standard plan, which at least offers one, and worse than the reduction, which at least tries to help. The principle: when your organisation caused the problem, find the most the policy allows and use the approval route for anything beyond it.

9. Question 9 of 10

   You are an account coordinator at a translation company. A client needs a contract translated for a signing on Thursday. On Tuesday your specialist legal translator falls ill. A generalist could produce a draft by Thursday but it would not carry the legal certification the client asked for. A certified version is possible by Monday. The client’s counsel is contactable. Your operations director is available. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Have the generalist produce the draft for Thursday, and tell the client's counsel it is uncertified when you deliver it.
   2. Tell the client's counsel that the translation will now be ready on Monday, since a certified document is what was ordered and an uncertified one would not meet the requirement.
   3. Ring the client's counsel today, explain the certified version cannot be ready before Monday and an uncertified draft could meet Thursday, and let them decide.
   4. Deliver the generalist's draft on Thursday presented as the completed translation, since it will read correctly and the certification is a formality that can follow afterwards.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Ring the client's counsel today, explain the certified version cannot be ready before Monday and an uncertified draft could meet Thursday, and let them decide.

   Least effective: D. Deliver the generalist's draft on Thursday presented as the completed translation, since it will read correctly and the certification is a formality that can follow afterwards.

   A: Substitutes own judgement for the stakeholder's: whether an uncertified translation is usable at a signing is counsel's judgement, and telling them on delivery leaves no time to decide otherwise.

   B: Delays the decision: it offers only the option that misses the signing, and withholds the existence of a Thursday draft that counsel might well find useful.

   D: Misrepresents the work: presenting an uncertified translation as the completed certified document is a false statement about a legal deliverable, and a signing may proceed on a document that does not carry what it appears to.

   The most effective response is to ring the client’s counsel today, explain the certified version cannot be ready before Monday and an uncertified draft could meet Thursday, and let them decide: certification is exactly what was ordered, only counsel can judge whether an uncertified draft is usable at a signing or whether the signing should move, and Tuesday leaves time for either. Giving both facts is what makes the choice real. It beats telling them the translation will now be ready on Monday, because offering only that hides a Thursday option counsel might prefer. It beats having the generalist produce the draft and disclosing that it is uncertified on delivery, because that presents the decision as already made. The least effective response is delivering the generalist’s draft as the completed translation: it passes off an uncertified document as the certified one, so a contract may be signed on a paper that does not carry what it appears to. That is worse than the other two, which choose badly but describe the work honestly. The principle: when you cannot deliver what was specified, put the real alternatives to the client at once and never let a substitute be mistaken for the original.

10. Question 10 of 10

    You are an estimator at a car body repair shop. You and the workshop foreman, Gary, disagree about how long a repair should take. He has twice overridden your estimates and told customers a shorter time, and two cars have now been late, with the customers complaining to you. Gary has been at the shop twenty years. Four more estimates are due this week. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

    1. Start telling customers a longer time than your estimate, so that even if Gary shortens it the promise still holds and nobody is disappointed.
    2. Leave the estimating to Gary, since he has twenty years in the workshop and the customers complain to you either way, and concentrate on the paperwork side.
    3. Talk to Gary this week, show him the two jobs that ran late against your estimates, and agree how the two of you will set a time before it is quoted to a customer.
    4. Take it to the shop owner, explaining that Gary has overridden your estimates twice and that customers have complained about late cars.
    Show the answer

    Most effective: C. Talk to Gary this week, show him the two jobs that ran late against your estimates, and agree how the two of you will set a time before it is quoted to a customer.

    Least effective: B. Leave the estimating to Gary, since he has twenty years in the workshop and the customers complain to you either way, and concentrate on the paperwork side.

    A: Avoids the difficult conversation: padding every estimate hides the disagreement inside the quoted price and makes the shop look slower than it is, while Gary carries on overriding you.

    B: Abandons own committed work: it gives up the job you are employed to do because the disagreement is uncomfortable, so estimates keep being wrong, cars keep running late and nobody is accountable for the times.

    D: Escalates prematurely: Gary has not been shown that his shortened times are what made the cars late, and the first he would hear of it is from the owner, over something evidence and a conversation could settle.

    The most effective response is to talk to Gary this week, show him the two jobs that ran late against your estimates, and agree how the two of you will set a time before it is quoted: there is now evidence that the shortened times do not hold, and four more estimates this week will repeat it unless you agree a process. Showing him the jobs makes it about the work rather than about who is right. It beats taking it to the shop owner and explaining he has overridden your estimates twice, because Gary has never been shown the consequence, and going to the owner first turns a solvable working practice into a complaint about a twenty-year employee. It beats telling customers a longer time than your estimate so the promise holds either way, because padding conceals the problem inside customer quotes and leaves the shop quoting times it does not believe. The least effective response is leaving the estimating to Gary and concentrating on the paperwork: it abandons the role altogether, so the times stay wrong, customers keep being let down, and nobody owns the problem. That is worse than the other two, which handle it poorly but keep trying. The principle: take the evidence to the colleague, agree how the decision gets made, and only escalate if that fails.