SSE Assessment Tests

SSE Online 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 work at a self-storage facility. At 4pm a customer arrives to collect belongings before the site closes at 5pm and needs her unit unlocked, which takes ten minutes. Your manager has asked you to complete the monthly unit occupancy report before you leave; it takes half an hour and is due tonight. A delivery of packing boxes also needs signing for at some point today. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Unlock the customer's unit first so she can start collecting before the site closes, then sign for the delivery and complete the occupancy report.
   2. Tell the customer that the site is closing shortly and ask her to come back tomorrow, so that the report and the delivery can both be dealt with properly.
   3. Start the occupancy report since it takes half an hour and is due tonight, and unlock the unit once you have made a start on the figures.
   4. Sign for the packing box delivery first while the driver is waiting, then unlock the unit and do the report before you leave.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Unlock the customer's unit first so she can start collecting before the site closes, then sign for the delivery and complete the occupancy report.

   Least effective: B. Tell the customer that the site is closing shortly and ask her to come back tomorrow, so that the report and the delivery can both be dealt with properly.

   B: Ignores the customer's actual need: she has arrived within opening hours for a ten-minute job, and she is turned away so that tasks with the whole evening available can be done first. Refusing access during opening hours is a service failure, not a priority call.

   C: Delays the decision: the site closes at 5pm, so the customer's ten minutes has a hard limit and the report has all evening. Starting the long job first risks her losing her access entirely.

   D: Acts on assumptions without checking: the delivery has no stated deadline beyond today, while the customer's access ends when the site closes. Treating whoever is physically present as most urgent is not the same as judging it.

   The most effective response is to unlock the customer’s unit first so she can start collecting before the site closes, then sign for the delivery and complete the occupancy report: the site closes at 5pm, which fixes her window absolutely, and ten minutes of it is all she needs. The report has the rest of the evening and the delivery has the rest of the day. It beats starting the occupancy report because it takes half an hour and is due tonight, since that risks her losing access when a ten-minute job would have preserved it. It beats signing for the packing box delivery first while the driver waits, because the delivery’s only deadline is today, while hers ends when the doors do. The least effective response is asking her to come back tomorrow because the site is closing shortly: it turns away a customer who arrived inside opening hours for a ten-minute task, so that jobs with hours of slack can be done first. That is worse than the other two, which sequence badly but still serve her. The principle: serve the person whose window is about to close, then do the work that can be done at any point before the deadline.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You are a warehouse administrator at a medical devices distributor. Reconciling stock you notice that a batch of single-use surgical instruments recorded as quarantined has been picked and despatched to two hospitals. The quarantine was applied last month and you do not know why. The person who applied it has left. Your quality manager is on site. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Take the records to your quality manager immediately, showing that quarantined stock has gone to two hospitals, and let her decide what happens next.
   2. Find out first why the quarantine was applied, since the reason may be administrative, and take it to the quality manager once you know what you are reporting.
   3. Contact the two hospitals to ask them to hold the batch until its status has been confirmed, then report it to the quality manager.
   4. Correct the stock record to show the batch as despatched and let the quarantine flag lapse, since the goods have already gone and the person who applied it is no longer here.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Take the records to your quality manager immediately, showing that quarantined stock has gone to two hospitals, and let her decide what happens next.

   Least effective: D. Correct the stock record to show the batch as despatched and let the quarantine flag lapse, since the goods have already gone and the person who applied it is no longer here.

   B: Delays the decision: quarantined stock is already in two hospitals, and establishing the reason yourself postpones a decision the quality manager is qualified to make today.

   C: Acts outside own authority: contacting customers about potentially unsafe medical devices is a regulated communication, and a warehouse administrator making it first commits the company before anyone qualified has assessed the batch.

   D: Conceals a potential safety failure: it tidies away the only evidence that quarantined medical devices reached two hospitals, so nobody can assess whether patients are at risk. That is a different order of wrong from acting too slowly.

   The most effective response is to take the records to your quality manager immediately, showing that quarantined stock has gone to two hospitals, and let her decide what happens next: the reason for the quarantine is unknown and may be a safety matter, and she is on site and decides about recall and about telling the customers. Speed matters because the devices may be used. It beats finding out first why the quarantine was applied, because researching it yourself delays a decision she can take now, on stock already in clinical settings. It beats contacting the two hospitals to ask them to hold the batch, because a communication about potentially unsafe devices is regulated and must come from the company’s quality function. The least effective response is correcting the stock record to show the batch as despatched and letting the flag lapse: it removes the quarantine and the evidence, so nobody can establish whether patients are at risk. That is worse than the other two, which act slowly or beyond their authority but keep the problem visible. The principle: when a control has failed on something already with customers, go straight to the person who owns the control, and change nothing yourself.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You are a stock administrator at a supermarket distribution depot. While reconciling deliveries you notice that chilled goods from one supplier have been booked in as ambient for the past three weeks, which means they have not been counted against the chilled storage limit. Nobody has asked you to look at this and it is not your area. The depot manager is on site today. The next chilled delivery arrives tomorrow morning. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Correct the coding on the three weeks of records yourself so the chilled figures are accurate again, and carry on with your reconciliation now that the numbers add up.
   2. Take the figures to the depot manager today, show him the three weeks of miscoded deliveries and that another is due tomorrow, and ask who should correct the records and the booking-in process.
   3. Leave it alone, since booking in is not your area and the chilled team have presumably been managing their storage by eye without relying on the coding being right.
   4. Note the discrepancy in your reconciliation report at the end of the month, where the depot manager and the supplier team will both see it set out with the supporting figures.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Take the figures to the depot manager today, show him the three weeks of miscoded deliveries and that another is due tomorrow, and ask who should correct the records and the booking-in process.

   Least effective: C. Leave it alone, since booking in is not your area and the chilled team have presumably been managing their storage by eye without relying on the coding being right.

   A: Acts on assumptions without checking: it makes the spreadsheet right and the depot no safer. Nobody learns why the miscoding happened, so tomorrow's delivery is booked in the same way and the storage limit is still being exceeded unseen.

   C: Fails to escalate a genuine risk: you are the only person who knows the chilled limit has been unmonitored for three weeks, with another delivery due. Assuming somebody else has it covered, and saying nothing, is the one response that leaves the risk live.

   D: Delays the decision: a month-end note is the right record and the wrong clock. A chilled delivery arrives tomorrow against a storage limit the depot believes it is inside.

   The most effective response is to take the figures to the depot manager today and ask who should correct the records and the booking-in process: you hold information nobody else has, there is a delivery tomorrow, and he is on site today and can decide both. Taking it to him with the figures makes it actionable rather than a rumour. It beats correcting the three weeks of coding yourself, because that fixes the numbers and leaves the cause untouched, so tomorrow’s delivery is miscoded exactly the same way. It beats noting the discrepancy in your month-end reconciliation report, because a month-end report arrives after the delivery it should have prevented. The least effective response is leaving it alone because booking in is not your area: it is the only response that leaves a live storage risk unreported on an assumption that someone else is watching, which is precisely what three weeks of miscoding shows is not happening. That is worse than correcting the records, which at least fixes the data, and worse than the month-end note, which at least records it. The principle: when you find a problem nobody has assigned you, take it to the person who can act on it, on the clock the problem is running to.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You are a lettings negotiator at an estate agency. At 1pm three things need you. A viewing is booked at 1.30 across town and the applicant is meeting you there. A landlord has emailed asking for an update by the end of the day. And your manager wants the week’s viewing figures, which take half an hour, before she leaves at 5pm. Travel to the viewing takes twenty minutes. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Reply to the landlord first since he has asked for an update today, then travel to the viewing and do the figures afterwards.
   2. Do the viewing figures first while you are at your desk, then travel to the viewing and email the landlord in the evening.
   3. Leave now for the 1.30 viewing, then reply to the landlord and do the viewing figures before your manager leaves at 5pm.
   4. Let the applicant wait outside the property while you finish the work at your desk, and apologise for the late arrival once you eventually get there.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Leave now for the 1.30 viewing, then reply to the landlord and do the viewing figures before your manager leaves at 5pm.

   Least effective: D. Let the applicant wait outside the property while you finish the work at your desk, and apologise for the late arrival once you eventually get there.

   A: Delays the decision: the journey takes twenty minutes and it is already 1pm, so any time spent on email first risks arriving after an applicant who is meeting you there.

   B: Substitutes own judgement for the stakeholder's: half an hour of internal reporting due at 5pm is put ahead of a viewing at 1.30 with an applicant already committed to being there.

   D: Leaves someone waiting with no word: she is standing outside a property you arranged to meet her at, and she is left there while desk work that fits comfortably later is finished. Letting a person wait unheard is a different order of wrong from mis-ordering the tasks.

   The most effective response is to leave now for the 1.30 viewing, then reply to the landlord and do the viewing figures before your manager leaves at 5pm: the journey takes twenty minutes and an applicant is meeting you there, so leaving now is the only sequence that keeps the appointment. The landlord’s update has until the end of the day and the figures until 5pm. It beats replying to the landlord first because he has asked for an update today, since answering email risks arriving after the applicant, and the update has hours of room. It beats doing the viewing figures first while you are at your desk, because half an hour of reporting due at 5pm should not precede an appointment with someone waiting across town. The least effective response is letting the applicant wait outside the property while you finish the desk work: it leaves her standing there hearing nothing until you arrive. That is worse than the other two, which sequence the work badly but still turn up. The principle: keep the appointment someone else has committed to, then use the remaining hours for the work with slack in it.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are a technician at a food-testing laboratory. Today you are preparing a batch of samples from a food manufacturer whose production run is on hold until your results are reported. The analysis needs a calibration you have performed only once, under supervision, since joining the instrument team two weeks ago. If the calibration is wrong the results are invalid and the manufacturer would have to courier fresh samples, extending the hold by days. A senior technician who runs this calibration every week is working at the next bench. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Work through the calibration alone with the instrument manual, taking care over each step, and run the samples once it matches what you remember from your training.
   2. Ask the senior technician to check your calibration before you run the batch, so the manufacturer's samples are analysed right first time.
   3. Email the laboratory manager that you are not yet confident with this calibration, and ask for the batch to be reassigned to a more experienced technician.
   4. Skip the unfamiliar calibration step, reasoning that the instrument was set up recently enough for the readings to be close, and report the results in the usual way.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Ask the senior technician to check your calibration before you run the batch, so the manufacturer's samples are analysed right first time.

   Least effective: D. Skip the unfamiliar calibration step, reasoning that the instrument was set up recently enough for the readings to be close, and report the results in the usual way.

   A: Over-commits solo: working from the manual and one supervised attempt gambles days of the manufacturer's production hold on your memory, when the person who runs this calibration every week is at the next bench and a brief check would remove the risk.

   C: Passes responsibility to others: reassignment would get the batch done safely, but it hands away work you could complete with a brief check from the next bench, adds a manager round-trip while the client's production waits, and leaves your calibration skills where they were.

   D: Gambles recklessly with the client's batch: skipping a required calibration and reporting the results anyway stakes the validity of the analysis, and days of the manufacturer's held production, on a guess, a reckless disregard of the required method rather than a defensible way of working.

   The most effective response is to ask the senior technician to check your calibration before you run the batch: the expertise you need is at the next bench, a check takes minutes, and it protects the one thing the manufacturer’s held production depends on, valid results first time, while you keep ownership of your own batch. It beats working through the calibration alone with the manual, because that gambles days of the client’s hold on one unsupervised attempt; taking care is not the same as knowing the procedure, and the risk could be removed by simply asking. It beats emailing the laboratory manager to have the batch reassigned, because that hands away work you could complete with a brief check, adds a manager round-trip while the production hold runs on, and builds none of the competence the role needs. The least effective response is skipping the unfamiliar calibration step and reporting the results anyway: unlike attempting it alone, which at least performs the required step carefully, and unlike reassigning the batch, which puts it in experienced hands, it omits the calibration entirely and gambles the client’s held production on guesswork. The principle: when a colleague’s expertise is at hand and the cost of error is high, ask early; do not gamble alone or hand the work away.

7. Question 7 of 10

   You are a project coordinator at a web design agency. A client’s new site is due to go live on Friday for a product launch. On Wednesday your developer tells you the payment integration will not be ready and the site can only go live taking enquiries rather than orders. The client’s marketing manager has booked advertising for Friday. She is contactable. Your account director is available today. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Go live on Friday with the enquiry form in place of the payment pages, and explain the change to the client after the launch when the position is clearer.
   2. Email the client's marketing manager to say there is a technical issue with Friday's launch and that the agency will confirm the position as soon as it can.
   3. Ring the client's marketing manager today with your account director, explain that payments will not be ready and what going live without them means, and agree what happens to Friday.
   4. Postpone the launch to the following week so the site goes live complete, and tell the client the new date.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Ring the client's marketing manager today with your account director, explain that payments will not be ready and what going live without them means, and agree what happens to Friday.

   Least effective: A. Go live on Friday with the enquiry form in place of the payment pages, and explain the change to the client after the launch when the position is clearer.

   A: Hides the problem: she has bought advertising to drive people to a shop that will not take orders, and is told after the money has been spent. Launching a different site than the one agreed and explaining afterwards is concealment.

   B: Delays the message: it reaches her on Wednesday and withholds the specific fact she needs, that the site cannot take orders, so she cannot decide about advertising she has already booked.

   D: Substitutes own judgement for the stakeholder's: her advertising is booked for Friday, so whether to launch without payments or move the whole campaign is a commercial decision that belongs to her.

   The most effective response is to ring the client’s marketing manager today with your account director, explain that payments will not be ready and what going live without them means, and agree what happens to Friday: she has paid for advertising pointing at a shop that cannot take orders, only she can decide whether to launch for enquiries or move the campaign, and Wednesday still leaves time to change either. Involving the account director means the options offered are ones the agency can stand behind. It beats postponing the launch to the following week and telling her the new date, because that decides the fate of her booked advertising without asking. It beats emailing that there is a technical issue and the agency will confirm the position, because a vague notice withholds the one fact she needs. The least effective response is going live on Friday with the enquiry form in place of the payment pages and explaining afterwards: it launches a site that cannot do what was agreed, against advertising she has already paid for. That is worse than the other two, which communicate or decide imperfectly but do not spend her money on a silent substitution. The principle: when a failure will cost the client money they have already committed, tell them at once and let them decide what happens.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You are a supervisor at a coffee shop. Your two colleagues have both called in sick, you are running the shop alone through the morning rush, and the queue is out of the door. Your area manager rings to say she is coming in at midday to review the shop’s cleaning records with you, which will take an hour. You have not had a break. The records are up to date. It is 10am. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Say nothing about being short-staffed, serve through the rush, and get through the review at midday as arranged so that your area manager is not given the impression you cannot cope.
   2. Tell your area manager now that you are alone with both colleagues off, ask whether the review can move or whether she can send cover, and carry on serving while she decides.
   3. Close the shop for fifteen minutes to take your break and reset before the review, since you have been alone since opening and cannot keep serving without one.
   4. Ask your area manager to postpone the review, explaining that you are on your own, and leave it to her to find a new date when the shop is properly staffed.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Tell your area manager now that you are alone with both colleagues off, ask whether the review can move or whether she can send cover, and carry on serving while she decides.

   Least effective: C. Close the shop for fifteen minutes to take your break and reset before the review, since you have been alone since opening and cannot keep serving without one.

   A: Hides the strain until failure: it conceals the one fact that would change her plan, so she arrives to a shop with a queue and no cover, and the next rota is built as though today worked.

   C: Abandons own committed work: shutting a trading shop mid-rush with a queue outside is a unilateral decision affecting customers and takings, taken without telling the area manager who is on the phone at that moment.

   D: Passes responsibility to others: it raises the problem, which is right, then narrows it to one solution. Cover for the shop would suit her visit and you better than a cancelled review, and it is never offered.

   The most effective response is to tell your area manager now that you are alone with both colleagues off, and ask whether the review can move or whether she can send cover: she set the midday review without knowing, that is the fact that would change her plan, and she is on the phone now. Offering her the choice keeps both options open while you keep serving. It beats asking her to postpone the review and leaving her to find a new date, because that raises the same problem but presents only one solution, when cover would suit the shop and her visit better than a cancellation. It beats serving through the rush in silence so she is not given the impression you cannot cope, because that leaves her arriving to a queue and no cover, and confirms to the business that a single-staffed rush is workable. The least effective response is closing the shop for fifteen minutes to take your break: it shuts a trading shop mid-rush on your own authority, with a queue outside and your area manager on the phone, without telling her. That is worse than the other two, which mishandle the conversation but keep the shop open. The principle: when circumstances have changed under someone else’s plan, give them the fact and the options while they can still act, and keep working meanwhile.

9. Question 9 of 10

   You are a software tester. Two days before a release you find a defect that loses a customer’s unsaved form data in an uncommon but reproducible sequence. The developer who owns the area says it is an edge case and can wait for the next release in a month. The release manager decides what ships and is at her desk. The release notes are being finalised this afternoon. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Log the defect with reproduction steps and take it to the release manager today, explaining what a customer loses and that the developer considers it an edge case.
   2. Raise the defect on the tracker with full reproduction steps and let the normal triage process pick it up in time for the release decision.
   3. Accept the developer's judgement that it is an edge case, since he owns the area, and add it to the backlog for the release in a month.
   4. Leave it out of the release discussion, since it is uncommon and raising it two days before a release would look like an attempt to hold up the developer's work.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Log the defect with reproduction steps and take it to the release manager today, explaining what a customer loses and that the developer considers it an edge case.

   Least effective: D. Leave it out of the release discussion, since it is uncommon and raising it two days before a release would look like an attempt to hold up the developer's work.

   B: Delays the decision: the tracker is the right record and the release notes are finalised this afternoon. A ticket awaiting triage may not reach the release manager before the decision is made.

   C: Substitutes own judgement for the stakeholder's: whether a data- losing defect is acceptable to ship is the release manager's call, not the developer's and not yours. Deferring to ownership of the code settles the wrong question.

   D: Hides the problem: it withholds a known data-losing defect from the people deciding what ships, out of concern about how raising it would look. That is concealment, not a judgement about severity.

   The most effective response is to log the defect with reproduction steps and take it to the release manager today, explaining what a customer loses and that the developer considers it an edge case: losing a customer’s data is the kind of defect a release decision should be taken with knowledge of, she owns that decision, and the notes are finalised this afternoon. Presenting his view alongside yours is honest and lets her weigh both. It beats accepting the developer’s judgement that it is an edge case, because whether to ship a known data-losing defect is not his call; he owns the code, she owns the release. It beats raising it on the tracker and letting normal triage pick it up, because a ticket in the queue may not surface before this afternoon’s decision. The least effective response is leaving it out of the release discussion because raising it would look like holding up his work: it keeps a known defect away from the people deciding what ships, and the reason is how it would be perceived rather than anything about the defect. That is worse than the other two, which route it wrongly or slowly but keep it visible. The principle: get a known defect in front of whoever owns the decision, in time for the decision, and let them weigh it.

10. Question 10 of 10

    You are a ward administrator at a veterinary hospital. At 4pm three things need you. A dog is due to be collected at 4.30 and its discharge notes are not written, which takes fifteen minutes. A referring vet has rung twice for an update on a case and is waiting for a call back. And the practice manager wants the month-end invoicing reconciled tonight, which takes two hours. You finish at 7pm. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

    1. Ring the referring vet first since he has already rung twice, then write the discharge notes and start the invoicing.
    2. Start the month-end invoicing since it is the longest job and is wanted tonight, and fit the discharge notes and the call around it as the evening goes on.
    3. Send the dog home at 4.30 without written discharge notes and telephone the owner with the aftercare instructions later in the evening once the invoicing is done.
    4. Write the discharge notes for the 4.30 collection, ring the referring vet back, then spend the rest of the evening on the invoicing.
    Show the answer

    Most effective: D. Write the discharge notes for the 4.30 collection, ring the referring vet back, then spend the rest of the evening on the invoicing.

    Least effective: C. Send the dog home at 4.30 without written discharge notes and telephone the owner with the aftercare instructions later in the evening once the invoicing is done.

    A: Delays the decision: the call has no fixed time and the collection is at 4.30. Answering by who has waited longest rather than by when something is needed risks the owner arriving to notes that are not written.

    B: Splits effort so nothing finishes: two hours of invoicing has three hours of room, and starting it first leaves a fifteen-minute task with a 4.30 deadline to be squeezed.

    C: Acts recklessly with a clinical handover: discharge notes are how an owner knows about medication and aftercare, and sending an animal home without them, on a promise to ring later, risks the dog's recovery.

    The most effective response is to write the discharge notes for the 4.30 collection, ring the referring vet back, then spend the rest of the evening on the invoicing: the collection is fixed and only fifteen minutes away, the vet’s call has no fixed time but has already waited twice, and two hours of invoicing fits comfortably in the three hours left. Sequencing by deadline gets all three done. It beats ringing the referring vet first because he has already rung twice, since that risks an owner arriving to notes that do not exist. It beats starting the month-end invoicing as the longest job wanted tonight, because that squeezes the one task with a hard time on it. The least effective response is sending the dog home without written discharge notes and telephoning the aftercare later: it discharges an animal without written instructions to protect a paperwork deadline. That is worse than the other two, which order the work badly but complete it properly. The principle: do the short task with the fixed clinical deadline first, then the waiting person, then the long job that fits the remaining time.