Schroders Assessment Tests

Schroders Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You are a payments assistant. Two items are queued: a £40,000 payment that must leave today or a property purchase falls through, and forty small refunds promised to customers by end of day. It is 4pm and the payment window closes at 4:30. The refunds take an hour. Your team leader is in a meeting until 5pm. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Do half of the refunds and release the payment at 4:29, so that both jobs have been started and neither customer group is entirely ignored.
   2. Start the refunds now because forty customers were promised them today, and let the property payment go into tomorrow's window without flagging it to anybody.
   3. Release the £40,000 payment inside the window, then work through the refunds and message your team leader with where the refunds stand at 5pm.
   4. Wait until your team leader comes out of the meeting at 5pm and ask them which of the two should go first, since both were promised for today.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Release the £40,000 payment inside the window, then work through the refunds and message your team leader with where the refunds stand at 5pm.

   Least effective: B. Start the refunds now because forty customers were promised them today, and let the property payment go into tomorrow's window without flagging it to anybody.

   A: Splits effort against a hard window: releasing a large payment in the last minute of the window leaves nothing to absorb a problem with it.

   B: Lets a deadline pass without a word: a purchase falls through and the one person who might have found another route is in a meeting, unaware, until after the window has closed.

   D: Delays the decision past the point of choice: the payment window shuts at 4:30, so waiting until 5pm decides it by default.

   The most effective response is to release the £40,000 payment inside the window, then work through the refunds and message your team leader with where they stand at 5pm: 4:30 is immovable and carries the larger consequence, the refunds have the rest of the evening, and your team leader can pick up the remainder. It beats waiting until they come out of the meeting at 5pm to ask which should go first, because the window closes half an hour before that. It beats doing half the refunds and releasing the payment at 4:29, because a large payment released with a minute to spare has no room for anything to go wrong. The least effective response is starting the refunds and letting the property payment slip into tomorrow without flagging it: the purchase fails, and it fails silently, so nobody who could have found another way is given the chance. That is a deadline missed in silence rather than a defensible ordering. The principle: take the deadline that cannot move, and tell somebody about what gives way.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are a relationship support assistant. Two managers have each asked for a client pack by Friday and each is a day’s work. You have two days but one is already committed to a review that cannot move. One manager is notoriously difficult about being deprioritised. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell both managers today that only one pack can be done by Friday, set out what is driving your view, and ask them to agree which one it should be.
   2. Tell the difficult manager privately that you are doing his first because the other manager is more reasonable about waiting for things like this.
   3. Tell both managers you will do your best to complete both by Friday, and see how far you get once the review is out of the way.
   4. Do the difficult manager's pack first without telling the other one anything, and get to hers on Monday if there is time.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Tell both managers today that only one pack can be done by Friday, set out what is driving your view, and ask them to agree which one it should be.

   Least effective: B. Tell the difficult manager privately that you are doing his first because the other manager is more reasonable about waiting for things like this.

   B: Judges a colleague to explain a decision: the reason given is another manager's temperament, and it will reach her sooner or later.

   C: Promises what the days do not allow: two days of work do not fit into one, and both will plan on receiving a pack.

   D: Lets the loudest voice set the order: the other manager finds out on Friday that nothing is coming.

   The most effective response is to tell both managers today that only one pack can be done by Friday, set out what is driving your view, and ask them to agree which: the arithmetic is plain, the choice belongs to the two people who want the work, and saying it to both at once removes any suggestion of a private deal. It beats doing the difficult manager’s pack first without telling the other, because deciding by who complains most guarantees the wrong answer eventually. It beats telling both you will do your best to complete both, because that promises something impossible. The least effective response is telling the difficult manager privately that you are doing his first because the other is more reasonable: the ordering is explained as a judgement about her character, which will get back to her. That is personalising it rather than ordering it badly or over-promising. The principle: put the arithmetic to both of them and let them choose.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You are a management accounts assistant. Your brother runs a small contracting firm. Your department is about to invite quotes for work he does, and you know roughly what the budget is. He has asked you, casually, what he should pitch. Nobody at work knows you are related. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell your brother you cannot discuss it and say nothing at work about the relationship, since he now has no advantage and there is nothing left to declare.
   2. Declare the relationship to your manager but ask to stay involved in the quotes, since you know the work best and can be trusted to be objective about it.
   3. Tell your manager today that your brother's firm may well bid for the work and that the two of you are related, and take yourself out of anything to do with the quotes.
   4. Give your brother the budget figure in exchange for a favour he owes you, and say nothing at work about the fact that the two of you are related.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Tell your manager today that your brother's firm may well bid for the work and that the two of you are related, and take yourself out of anything to do with the quotes.

   Least effective: D. Give your brother the budget figure in exchange for a favour he owes you, and say nothing at work about the fact that the two of you are related.

   A: Refuses the leak and hides the conflict: if he bids and wins, the undeclared relationship is what will be asked about.

   B: Declares and then asks to keep the conflict: the point of the declaration is that somebody else decides, and you have pre-empted the decision.

   D: Trades confidential information for a personal favour: the budget is the firm's, the benefit is yours, and the relationship that makes it possible has been kept off the record.

   The most effective response is to tell your manager today that your brother’s firm may well bid and that the two of you are related, and take yourself out of anything to do with the quotes: it puts the relationship on the record before any bid exists, and stepping back is the only thing that makes the process defensible afterwards. It beats telling your brother you cannot discuss it and saying nothing at work, because declining to leak does not cure an undeclared conflict. It beats declaring the relationship but asking to stay involved in the quotes, because staying involved is the very thing a declaration exists to let somebody else refuse. The least effective response is giving him the budget figure in exchange for a favour he owes you: confidential information is traded for a personal benefit while the relationship behind it is concealed. That is self-dealing rather than an incomplete disclosure. The principle: declare the relationship early, and step out of the decision.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You are a payments assistant. A customer telephones because a £600 payment she sent yesterday has not arrived. You can see it was returned by the receiving bank and is back in her account, which she has not noticed. She has already been transferred twice this morning. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell her the payment was returned and is back in her account, check the details with her, and offer to send it again now with the correction.
   2. Take her details and promise to look into why the payment was returned, then call her back this afternoon once you have found out what went wrong with the original instruction.
   3. Transfer her over to the payments investigation team, since returned payments are their area and they will be able to see more of the detail behind the return than you can from where you are sitting.
   4. Tell her the payment was returned and suggest she checks the account details with the person she was paying before trying to send it again herself later on today.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Tell her the payment was returned and is back in her account, check the details with her, and offer to send it again now with the correction.

   Least effective: C. Transfer her over to the payments investigation team, since returned payments are their area and they will be able to see more of the detail behind the return than you can from where you are sitting.

   B: Investigates what is already known: the return is on the screen, so an afternoon callback delays a payment that could go today.

   C: Makes it a third transfer: she has already been passed twice, the answer is on the screen in front of you, and she is handed to a queue instead of being told her money is safe.

   D: Gives her the answer and then the work: she is on the telephone now, and re-sending it together is quicker than a second attempt on her own.

   The most effective response is to tell her the payment was returned and is back in her account, check the details with her, and offer to send it again now: she does not know her money is back, the cause is visible, and re-sending it on the call is the whole resolution. It beats telling her it was returned and suggesting she checks the details with the payee before trying again herself, because doing it together now is faster than sending her away to try again. It beats promising to look into why it was returned and calling back this afternoon, because there is nothing left to investigate. The least effective response is transferring her to the payments investigation team: a customer transferred twice already is transferred a third time, away from the person who can actually see the answer. That is passing her on rather than helping her slowly. The principle: when the answer is on your screen, the call ends with you.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You are an audit junior. Your manager asked you on Monday to finish the revenue testing by Wednesday. On Tuesday she mentions in passing that it would be “really useful” to have a summary of the client’s new contracts. The summary would take a day. The revenue testing is half done. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Finish the revenue testing by Wednesday as agreed, and say nothing at all about the contracts summary unless and until she raises it with you again.
   2. Ask her which she wants first, saying plainly that the contracts summary would take a day and would put Wednesday's revenue testing at risk.
   3. Start the contracts summary straight away without saying anything about Wednesday, since it was the most recent thing she asked for and it is plainly what is on her mind.
   4. Work on the contracts summary in the evenings so that both the testing and the summary are delivered by Wednesday without anything having to change.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Ask her which she wants first, saying plainly that the contracts summary would take a day and would put Wednesday's revenue testing at risk.

   Least effective: C. Start the contracts summary straight away without saying anything about Wednesday, since it was the most recent thing she asked for and it is plainly what is on her mind.

   A: Ignores the second request: an offhand remark from your manager is still a request, and leaving it unanswered means she does not know it is not happening.

   C: Drops a committed deadline in silence: she is expecting revenue testing on Wednesday and has no idea it has stopped, so she cannot re-plan anything.

   D: Solves a scheduling problem with your own time: it works once, and it hides from your manager that she asked for two days of work in one.

   The most effective response is to ask her which she wants first, saying plainly that the contracts summary would take a day and would put Wednesday’s revenue testing at risk: only she can rank her own two requests, and she cannot do it without the fact that one costs a day. It beats finishing the revenue testing as agreed and saying nothing about the summary unless she raises it, because a manager’s passing request still needs an answer. It beats working on the summary in the evenings so both are delivered, because absorbing it privately conceals that the ask was not possible. The least effective response is starting the contracts summary straight away without saying anything about Wednesday: the committed deadline is abandoned for the newer request and she discovers on Wednesday that the testing is where it was on Tuesday. That is a silent switch rather than a debatable ordering. The principle: when two asks collide, hand the choice back with the cost attached.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are a settlements assistant. At the end of your shift one trade is unmatched because the counterparty’s reference does not match yours. You have worked out what is wrong but not fixed it. The night team will pick up the queue and does not usually see this counterparty. Your shift ends in five minutes. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Write two lines on the handover saying what the mismatch is and what you think the fix is, and flag it to the night team lead before you leave.
   2. Email the counterparty explaining the reference problem, and leave the trade in the queue for the night team to pick up when the reply comes.
   3. Stay late and fix the mismatch yourself, since you understand it and the night team would take much longer to get to the same point.
   4. Put the unmatched trade over to the night team in the queue with the others, since it is their shift now and they will work through it the same way they work through everything else.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Write two lines on the handover saying what the mismatch is and what you think the fix is, and flag it to the night team lead before you leave.

   Least effective: D. Put the unmatched trade over to the night team in the queue with the others, since it is their shift now and they will work through it the same way they work through everything else.

   B: Starts something the next shift cannot finish: a reply arrives to an inbox nobody on tonight is watching.

   C: Absorbs a handover problem: it works tonight, and the night team is no better placed the next time this counterparty appears.

   D: Hands over the problem without the part only you know: the night team has never seen this counterparty, and the diagnosis you already have leaves the building with you.

   The most effective response is to write two lines on the handover saying what the mismatch is and what you think the fix is, and flag it to the night team lead: two lines transfer the diagnosis, the flag makes sure it is read, and they can act immediately. It beats staying late and fixing the mismatch yourself, because that fixes tonight and teaches nobody. It beats emailing the counterparty about the reference problem and leaving the trade in the queue, because a reply landing in your inbox overnight helps nobody on shift. The least effective response is putting the unmatched trade into the queue with the others: it is passed on stripped of the only thing that would let the next person solve it. That is offloading rather than handing over imperfectly. The principle: what you hand on is the problem plus what you learned about it.

7. Question 7 of 10

   You are a customer service adviser. A colleague tells you she gave a customer the wrong information last week and the customer has since complained. She asks you to say, if anybody asks, that you both remember the call differently. You were not on the call. Complaints are reviewed by a separate team. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Report the conversation to your team leader today without telling her that you are going to, since what she asked for is serious enough to raise.
   2. Agree to keep it between the two of you and say you remember it differently if the review team asks, since she is a good colleague and one mistake should not follow her around.
   3. Tell her you cannot say anything about a call you were not on, and that it will go far better for her if she tells the review team what happened first.
   4. Tell her you will stay out of it and say nothing to anybody, leaving her to decide for herself what she wants to tell the review team.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Tell her you cannot say anything about a call you were not on, and that it will go far better for her if she tells the review team what happened first.

   Least effective: B. Agree to keep it between the two of you and say you remember it differently if the review team asks, since she is a good colleague and one mistake should not follow her around.

   A: Escalates before saying no: she has not yet been told plainly that you will not do it, and the first she hears is from her team leader.

   B: Joins a cover-up: a review that exists to find out what happened is given a false account by two people, and a single mistake becomes a deliberate one shared between them.

   D: Avoids the difficult conversation: neutrality reads as permission, and she is left thinking the plan is still open.

   The most effective response is to tell her you cannot say anything about a call you were not on, and that it will go far better for her if she tells the review team what happened first: it refuses clearly, and gives her the one route that actually improves her position. It beats telling her you will stay out of it and say nothing to anybody, because silence leaves the suggestion alive. It beats reporting the conversation to your team leader without telling her, because she deserves to hear the refusal from you before it becomes somebody else’s conversation. The least effective response is agreeing to keep it between you and to say you remember it differently: two people give a review a false account, which turns a wrong answer on a call into something much harder to explain, for both of you. That is agreeing to hide it rather than handling the refusal badly. The principle: refuse plainly, then point at the route that helps them.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You are a relationship support assistant. The weekly client report takes your team four hours because it is assembled by hand. A colleague in another team built a version that does it in twenty minutes but never rolled it out. Your team leader has asked for ideas to save time. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Suggest to your team leader that the weekly report ought to be automated somehow, without mentioning that a working version already exists in the other team or who it was that actually put it together.
   2. Say in front of the team that the four hours are entirely down to whoever designed this report in the first place, and that somebody should have sorted it out years ago.
   3. Rebuild the colleague's version yourself for your team's report, and present it to your team leader once it is working properly end to end.
   4. Tell your team leader about the colleague's version, name him as the person who built it, and offer to help get it working for your team's report.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Tell your team leader about the colleague's version, name him as the person who built it, and offer to help get it working for your team's report.

   Least effective: B. Say in front of the team that the four hours are entirely down to whoever designed this report in the first place, and that somebody should have sorted it out years ago.

   A: Offers the idea and withholds the asset: a suggestion to automate is worth far less than a tool somebody has already finished.

   B: Blames an absent designer in front of the team: the twenty-minute version already exists, and none of the people in the room hear about the thing that would actually fix it.

   C: Duplicates work that exists: the colleague has already built it, and rebuilding it quietly takes the credit with it.

   The most effective response is to tell your team leader about the colleague’s version, name him as the person who built it, and offer to help get it working for your team: the fix already exists, she can act on it immediately, and naming the builder is both accurate and the thing that gets his help. It beats rebuilding his version yourself and presenting it once it works, because rebuilding a finished tool wastes time and credit. It beats suggesting the report ought to be automated without mentioning that a working version exists, because an idea is worth much less than a working version. The least effective response is saying in front of the team that the four hours are down to whoever designed the report: a real complaint becomes a public criticism, and the solution one team away never gets mentioned. That is personalising it rather than proposing it weakly. The principle: point at the fix that exists, and name whose it is.

9. Question 9 of 10

   You are a payments assistant. On Monday you told a colleague in another office that a report would reach her by Thursday. It will now be Tuesday next week. She has arranged a meeting on Thursday afternoon to go through it. It is Wednesday morning. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell her this morning that Tuesday is the realistic date, so she can move or repurpose tomorrow's meeting rather than cancelling it at short notice.
   2. Send her what you have so far this morning, without saying that the finished report will not be ready until Tuesday.
   3. Leave it until Thursday morning and hope she will not have to be told at all, since it is possible the report comes together faster than you expect.
   4. Work through tonight to try to make Thursday after all, and tell her first thing tomorrow morning only if you have not managed to get the report finished off.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Tell her this morning that Tuesday is the realistic date, so she can move or repurpose tomorrow's meeting rather than cancelling it at short notice.

   Least effective: C. Leave it until Thursday morning and hope she will not have to be told at all, since it is possible the report comes together faster than you expect.

   B: Gives her a partial and leaves out the date: she may take the draft as the thing and run the meeting on it.

   C: Hides a slip you already know about: she runs a meeting tomorrow for a report that will not exist, and the person who knew had a day in which to say so.

   D: Bets her meeting on your evening: if the night is not enough, she finds out hours before eight people sit down.

   The most effective response is to tell her this morning that Tuesday is the realistic date: a day’s notice lets her move the meeting, the new date is honest, and nothing depends on how your evening goes. It beats sending her what you have so far without saying the finished report will not be ready until Tuesday, because a draft with no date attached is likely to be treated as the report. It beats working through tonight to try to make Thursday and telling her tomorrow if you fail, because a warning on Thursday morning is too late for a Thursday afternoon meeting. The least effective response is leaving it until Thursday and hoping the report comes together faster: she convenes a meeting about a report that will not arrive, and the person who knew on Wednesday said nothing. That is concealing a known slip rather than communicating it partially or late. The principle: the moment you know the date has moved, the person who planned on it should know too.

10. Question 10 of 10

    You are an assurance trainee finishing three weeks at a client. The client team you tested offers you a leaving gift: a hamper worth about £120. They are warm about it and the whole team is watching. Your firm’s rule on gifts is that anything over £50 must be declared and may be refused. You have raised two findings against this team. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

    1. Thank them warmly, explain that anything over £50 has to be declared, and say you will do that today and let them know what the firm decides about keeping it.
    2. Accept the hamper and leave it in the office kitchen for everybody to share, so that nothing is refused and no individual benefits from it.
    3. Take the gift and say nothing about it, since refusing it in front of the whole team would be graceless and it was plainly meant as an ordinary goodbye.
    4. Refuse the hamper outright in front of the team, explaining that you cannot accept gifts from a client whose work you have been testing.
    Show the answer

    Most effective: A. Thank them warmly, explain that anything over £50 has to be declared, and say you will do that today and let them know what the firm decides about keeping it.

    Least effective: C. Take the gift and say nothing about it, since refusing it in front of the whole team would be graceless and it was plainly meant as an ordinary goodbye.

    B: Solves the wrong problem: sharing it out disposes of the hamper but the declaration, which is what the firm's rule actually asks for, still has not happened.

    C: Takes a gift the role forbids: you have just raised findings against the people giving it, and the one process that would let anybody see that has been skipped.

    D: Answers a social moment with a rule: the point can be made without embarrassing people publicly, and the firm may well allow it once declared.

    The most effective response is to thank them warmly, explain that anything over £50 has to be declared, and say you will do that today and let them know what the firm decides: it is warm, it is honest about the rule, and it puts the decision where the firm has said it belongs. It beats refusing the hamper outright in front of the team, because a public refusal spends goodwill for nothing when the firm may permit it anyway. It beats accepting it and leaving it in the office kitchen for everybody, because the kitchen table is not a declaration and the rule is untouched. The least effective response is taking the gift and saying nothing about it: something worth more than twice the threshold is accepted from people whose work you have just criticised, and the only control that could have made that visible is bypassed. That is taking an advantage the role forbids rather than handling a delicate moment badly. The principle: declare it and let the firm decide, and be gracious while you do.