Woolworths Assessment Tests

Woolworths Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You are a people team graduate at Woolworths. You have been helping two colleagues resolve a disagreement about how weekend hours are shared. This morning one of them told your manager that you had handled it badly and taken the other’s side. You had not, and you have the notes of every conversation. The two of them still have to agree a rota for next month, and you are the only person who has both accounts. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Send your manager the notes of every conversation straight away, so that the accusation is answered in full before it has a chance to settle into anybody's view of you.
   2. Ask him what he felt was one-sided and say what you did and why, so that the three of you can agree how the rota conversation is run from here.
   3. Withdraw from the rota discussion because he complained about your handling of it, and leave the file for whoever picks it up next month.
   4. Carry on running the discussion exactly as before and say nothing about the complaint, since answering it would only give it a weight it does not deserve.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Ask him what he felt was one-sided and say what you did and why, so that the three of you can agree how the rota conversation is run from here.

   Least effective: C. Withdraw from the rota discussion because he complained about your handling of it, and leave the file for whoever picks it up next month.

   A: Defends yourself before finishing the job: the file goes to your manager, the rota is no nearer agreement, and the complaint has become the main event.

   C: Withdraws after a complaint: the one person holding both accounts leaves the problem behind, and the two colleagues are further from a rota than when you started.

   D: Leaves a stated grievance unaddressed: he believes you took a side, and every suggestion you make from here is read through that belief.

   The most effective response is to ask him what he felt was one-sided, say what you did and why, and agree with both of them how the conversation runs from here: the complaint is treated as information rather than as an attack, the person who made it is the one you discuss it with, and the rota still gets agreed. It beats sending your manager the notes at once, because that answers the complaint and abandons the job. It beats carrying on as though nothing was said, because he now reads everything you suggest as taking a side. The least effective response is withdrawing from the rota discussion because he complained: the only person holding both accounts walks away, and next month’s rota is left to somebody starting from nothing, which is a different kind of wrong from over-defending yourself or from ignoring the grievance. The principle: when your impartiality is questioned, address it with the person who questioned it and keep doing the work.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are a purchasing assistant at Woolworths. A piece of work you and three colleagues share, checking supplier documents before renewal, has slipped: one colleague has not done his forty for three weeks running, and the rest of you have quietly absorbed them. The renewal deadline is in a fortnight. Monday’s team stand-up is where the work is reviewed and everybody will be there. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Raise the missed documents in front of the whole team at Monday's stand-up, naming who had the action each week, before speaking to him at all.
   2. Carry on absorbing his forty between the three of you until the renewal is done, and raise how the work is shared once the fortnight is over and everybody has more time.
   3. Ask your manager to redistribute the documents formally, since three weeks of the same gap is a workload question rather than something the four of you should be solving between yourselves.
   4. Speak to him this week on his own and say plainly what the three of you have been absorbing, so that the two of you can agree who does what before the renewal.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Speak to him this week on his own and say plainly what the three of you have been absorbing, so that the two of you can agree who does what before the renewal.

   Least effective: A. Raise the missed documents in front of the whole team at Monday's stand-up, naming who had the action each week, before speaking to him at all.

   A: Puts a colleague's failure in front of an audience: the facts are right, and the first he hears of a complaint about his work is in a room with everybody else in it.

   B: Defers a problem the deadline makes urgent: the fortnight is exactly when the extra hundred and twenty documents cannot be absorbed, and the conversation is postponed past the point of use.

   C: Escalates before asking: nobody has yet asked him what is going on, and the first move is a manager rearranging work over his head.

   The most effective response is to speak to him on his own this week, say plainly what has been absorbed and what the renewal needs, and agree who does what: he may have a reason nobody has asked for, the deadline needs a plan rather than a verdict, and the conversation happens where it can still change the outcome. It beats carrying on absorbing the work, because the fortnight is precisely when that stops being possible. It beats asking the manager to redistribute the documents, because nobody has yet asked him anything. The least effective response is naming him at Monday’s stand-up: the facts are accurate and the setting turns a workload problem into a public accounting, which is a different kind of wrong from postponing the conversation or from taking it over his head. The principle: raise a colleague’s shortfall with the colleague first, and keep the audience out of it.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You are a commercial finance assistant at Woolworths. Two colleagues you work with, one in trading and one in supply, have fallen out over a promotion whose cost came in well above plan. Each has told you separately that the other changed a number without saying so. Both have asked you what the other said. The figure has to be explained in Monday’s review, and you are the person who holds both versions of the file. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Ask each of them separately to walk you through their version of the change, then decide yourself which account the file supports and take that to Monday's review.
   2. Write up what the file shows and send it straight to the reviewer before Monday, leaving the two of them to sort out between themselves how the change happened and who made it.
   3. Tell each of them what the other has been saying about the change, so that both know where they stand before the review on Monday.
   4. Put both versions of the file in front of the two of them together and say what changed and when, so that they agree between them what Monday's review is told about the cost.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Put both versions of the file in front of the two of them together and say what changed and when, so that they agree between them what Monday's review is told about the cost.

   Least effective: C. Tell each of them what the other has been saying about the change, so that both know where they stand before the review on Monday.

   A: Substitutes your own judgement for theirs: you arbitrate between two colleagues in private, and whichever way it lands, the loser hears the verdict at the review.

   B: Avoids the difficult conversation: the number is explained and the working relationship the next promotion depends on is left exactly as it is.

   C: Personalises the disagreement: it turns a question about a figure into a question about two people's accounts of each other, and does it in the way least likely to survive either of them repeating it.

   The most effective response is to put both versions of the file in front of the two of them together and ask them to agree what the review is told: the disagreement is about what the file shows, the file is in front of everybody, and the people who have to work together next month settle it themselves. It beats writing it up and sending it to the reviewer, because Monday is covered and nothing between the two colleagues is. It beats hearing each version separately and deciding which the file supports, because a private arbitration by the most junior person present leaves one of them told they were wrong by you. The least effective response is telling each of them what the other has been saying: the argument stops being about the promotion cost and becomes about what each said behind the other’s back, which is a different kind of wrong from ducking the conversation or over-reaching in it. The principle: put the evidence in front of both parties at once, and let the disagreement be about the thing rather than about each other.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You are a marketing graduate at Woolworths. A page that went live this morning carries a claim about delivery times that changed last month, so it is now wrong. Changes to live pages go through a release that runs each afternoon, requested by eleven o’clock. It is ten past eleven. You have the access to edit the page directly, and customers are reading it now. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Edit the live page yourself now, since you have the access, the claim is plainly wrong, and customers are reading it while a release process takes its course.
   2. Put the correction into tomorrow's release and note the page as a known issue, since the deadline for today's release has already gone by ten minutes.
   3. Ask the release team to take the page down until the correction can go through properly, so that customers see nothing rather than something untrue.
   4. Ask the release team to take the correction into this afternoon's release despite the cut-off, explain what the claim says now, and tell your manager it is live.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Ask the release team to take the correction into this afternoon's release despite the cut-off, explain what the claim says now, and tell your manager it is live.

   Least effective: A. Edit the live page yourself now, since you have the access, the claim is plainly wrong, and customers are reading it while a release process takes its course.

   A: Breaches the release process because the cause is good: an unreviewed change goes live outside the route that exists to stop unreviewed changes going live.

   B: Accepts a day of a wrong claim on a technicality: nobody has asked whether a correction ten minutes late can still make this afternoon.

   C: Removes more than the error: the whole page disappears for a day because one sentence about delivery times is out of date.

   The most effective response is to ask the release team to take the correction this afternoon despite the cut-off, explain what the claim currently says, and tell your manager: the fastest legitimate route is tried, the people who own the release decide, and the person accountable knows a wrong claim is live. It beats putting it in tomorrow’s release, because nobody has asked whether ten minutes late can still be accommodated. It beats taking the whole page down, because one sentence does not justify losing all of it. The least effective response is editing the live page yourself: an unreviewed change goes live outside the process whose entire purpose is to stop that, which is a different kind of wrong from being too accepting or from over-correcting. The principle: a good reason is exactly when a control gets tested, and the answer is to ask for an exception rather than take one.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You are a supply chain graduate at Woolworths. Two people you work with, a planner and a site coordinator, have been arguing for a week about who caused a double order. The planner has now started sending you her messages to the coordinator to read. Both need to agree next week’s volumes with you by Thursday, and the argument is stopping that conversation happening at all. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Say to the planner that you are not the right audience for the messages, and ask both of them to a short meeting on next week's volumes so that the double order is aired there.
   2. Agree next week's volumes with each of them separately before Thursday, so that the deadline is met without either of them having to sit in a room with the other while the argument is live.
   3. Ask the coordinator's team leader behind his back what really happened with the double order, so that you know which of them you are dealing with before Thursday.
   4. Reply to the planner that the messages are between the two of them, and wait for the argument to burn out before raising Thursday's volumes with either of them.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Say to the planner that you are not the right audience for the messages, and ask both of them to a short meeting on next week's volumes so that the double order is aired there.

   Least effective: C. Ask the coordinator's team leader behind his back what really happened with the double order, so that you know which of them you are dealing with before Thursday.

   B: Works around the conflict rather than through it: Thursday is met, and the two people who have to plan together every week are further apart than they were.

   C: Investigates a colleague behind his back: it turns a disagreement about an order into a private judgement about a person, formed from one side and without his knowledge.

   D: Waits for a deadline to solve itself: the boundary is right and Thursday arrives with next week's volumes unagreed.

   The most effective response is to tell the planner you are not the right audience for the messages and to put both of them in a short meeting on next week’s volumes with the double order on the agenda: it declines the role of a private audience, and it makes the one conversation that has to happen the place where the argument gets aired. It beats agreeing volumes with each separately, because Thursday is met while the working relationship the next order depends on is left worse. It beats setting the boundary and then waiting, because nothing then moves the deadline forward. The least effective response is asking the coordinator’s team leader behind his back what really happened: it turns a dispute about an order into a private inquiry into a colleague, conducted from one side and without his knowledge, which is a different kind of wrong from avoiding the conflict or from working around it. The principle: refuse the private audience, and put the disagreement in front of the people who have to agree.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are a marketing graduate at Woolworths. A line of copy for a new range says customers rate it the best they have tried. The survey it comes from asked people who had already bought the range how it compared with what they bought before, and most said it was better. The claim goes out on Monday. Your manager likes the line and says the survey supports it. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Ask the insight team to run a fresh survey that would support the line as written, and hold the copy until the new results are back and can be quoted properly.
   2. Change the line yourself to say that most customers who bought it preferred it to what they bought before, and send the copy out on Monday without discussing it further.
   3. Show your manager exactly what the survey asked and who it asked, propose wording that says what it actually found, and agree the line before Monday.
   4. Leave the line as it stands: it presents the survey result as fact and your manager is perfectly happy that it does.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Show your manager exactly what the survey asked and who it asked, propose wording that says what it actually found, and agree the line before Monday.

   Least effective: D. Leave the line as it stands: it presents the survey result as fact and your manager is perfectly happy that it does.

   A: Starts from the answer and looks for evidence: the claim is treated as fixed and the research is asked to catch up with it.

   B: Fixes the wording and skips the conversation: the copy is now accurate and your manager still believes the survey supports a claim it does not.

   D: Puts a claim to customers that the evidence does not carry: the survey asked existing buyers to compare with their own last purchase, which is not what the sentence tells the public.

   The most effective response is to show your manager exactly what the survey asked and who it asked, propose wording that matches what it found, and agree the line before Monday: the claim ends up supportable, the decision stays with the person who owns the copy, and it happens before the deadline rather than after it. It beats commissioning a survey to fit the line, because that starts from the answer and shops for evidence. It beats quietly rewriting the line, because your manager carries on believing the survey says something it does not. The least effective response is leaving the line as it stands because your manager is happy with it: a claim goes to customers that the evidence does not support, which is a different kind of wrong from working backwards from a conclusion or from correcting it silently. The principle: the evidence decides what the claim may say, and seniority is not evidence.

7. Question 7 of 10

   You are a stock control assistant at Woolworths. A recount you asked for turned up a mistake in your own figures, and the colleague who did it said, in front of two others, that he had wasted an afternoon on your arithmetic. It stung and he was largely right. The next count is due on Thursday and it needs two people, one of whom is normally him. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Ask your supervisor to put somebody else on Thursday's count, since working alongside him this week would be uncomfortable for both of you after what was said.
   2. Refuse to work with him on Thursday's count after the way he spoke to you, and say you would rather do it on your own or not at all.
   3. Acknowledge to him that the figures were wrong and say what you have changed, and do Thursday's count with him as planned since the count needs two people.
   4. Say nothing about it, do Thursday's count as planned, and let the remark fade rather than reopening something that was fair comment anyway.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Acknowledge to him that the figures were wrong and say what you have changed, and do Thursday's count with him as planned since the count needs two people.

   Least effective: B. Refuse to work with him on Thursday's count after the way he spoke to you, and say you would rather do it on your own or not at all.

   A: Redesigns the rota around one awkward afternoon: the count is harder to staff, and the two of you have to work together again the week after in any case.

   B: Withdraws from a job that needs two people after a disagreement: Thursday's count is put at risk to answer a remark made about an afternoon.

   D: Lets an unrepaired working relationship stand: the count happens and he has no reason to think the mistake will not simply repeat.

   The most effective response is to acknowledge that the figures were wrong, say what you have changed, and do Thursday’s count with him: the criticism was largely fair, saying so is what restores the working relationship, and the count that needs two people gets them. It beats asking for somebody else on Thursday, because the rota is rearranged around one bad afternoon and you will work together next week anyway. It beats letting the remark fade, because he has no reason to expect anything different next time. The least effective response is refusing to work with him on Thursday: a count that needs two people is put at risk to answer a remark, which is a different kind of wrong from avoiding him or from staying silent. The principle: when the criticism is fair, own it and stay in the work with the person who made it.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You are a commercial graduate at Woolworths. You are one of three people scoring proposals from four suppliers, and the scores go in on Friday. A contact at one of them, whom you have dealt with for months, drops by with a hamper and a voucher for a restaurant, saying they are just a thank you for the work so far and nothing to do with the tender. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Take the hamper for the team to share and leave the voucher, since something shared around the office cannot reasonably be said to have influenced anybody's scoring on Friday.
   2. Decline both, tell him plainly that you cannot accept anything while the tender is live, and tell the person running the tender that the offer was made.
   3. Accept the hamper and the voucher as offered, and thank him for thinking of the team after a long few months of work together.
   4. Decline both politely on the doorstep and say nothing to anybody afterwards, since he took the refusal well and no harm has actually come of it.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Decline both, tell him plainly that you cannot accept anything while the tender is live, and tell the person running the tender that the offer was made.

   Least effective: C. Accept the hamper and the voucher as offered, and thank him for thinking of the team after a long few months of work together.

   A: Splits a gift into an acceptable half: the supplier still leaves having given something to a scorer during a live tender, and the line has moved rather than held.

   C: Takes a benefit the role forbids while holding the pen: whatever was meant by it, one of the four suppliers has given a scorer a present during the scoring.

   D: Keeps a fact the tender's owner needs: the refusal is right and the person responsible for a fair process never learns that an approach was made at all.

   The most effective response is to decline both, say plainly that you cannot accept anything while the tender is live, and tell the person running it that the offer was made: it protects the scoring, it is straightforward with a contact you will keep dealing with, and it puts the approach on the record where the process can account for it. It beats keeping the hamper for the team, because a shared gift is still a gift to a scorer. It beats declining quietly and telling nobody, because the person responsible for a fair tender is the one who has to know. The least effective response is accepting the hamper and the voucher as offered: a supplier being scored this week has given a present to one of the people scoring them, which is a different kind of wrong from mishandling the refusal or from failing to report it. The principle: while you hold the pen, take nothing, and tell the person who owns the process what was offered.

9. Question 9 of 10

   You are a procurement graduate at Woolworths. A supplier you deal with weekly, whose contract comes up for renewal in about six months, has offered you two tickets to a match this Saturday. He says he cannot use them, that they would otherwise go to waste, and that it is nothing to do with the renewal. You would have to declare anything you accepted. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Accept the gift of the two tickets, since the renewal is six months away, the tickets would otherwise be wasted, and refusing would be awkward with somebody you deal with every week.
   2. Accept the tickets and declare them straight away, since declaring is exactly the mechanism that exists for offers like this and nothing is then hidden.
   3. Decline, explain that you cannot take anything from a supplier whose renewal you handle, and mention the offer to your manager so that it is on the record.
   4. Decline for now and suggest he offers them again once the renewal has been decided, since the difficulty is entirely about the timing rather than about the tickets.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Decline, explain that you cannot take anything from a supplier whose renewal you handle, and mention the offer to your manager so that it is on the record.

   Least effective: A. Accept the gift of the two tickets, since the renewal is six months away, the tickets would otherwise be wasted, and refusing would be awkward with somebody you deal with every week.

   A: Takes a personal benefit from a supplier whose contract you handle: the renewal is in the diary, and every conversation between now and then is affected whatever either of you intends.

   B: Treats a declaration as permission: the register records what happened, and it does not make it appropriate for you to hold them.

   D: Postpones the benefit rather than refusing it: a gift promised for after the decision is still attached to the decision.

   The most effective response is to decline, explain that you cannot take anything from a supplier whose renewal you handle, and tell your manager the offer was made: it keeps the renewal clean, it is straightforward with somebody you deal with weekly, and it puts the approach where the process can see it. It beats accepting and declaring, because a declaration records a thing rather than making it appropriate. It beats deferring the tickets until after the renewal, because a benefit promised for afterwards is still attached to the decision. The least effective response is accepting the gift of the two tickets: a supplier whose contract you handle has given you something personal, which colours every conversation until the renewal, and that is a different kind of wrong from over-relying on the register or from postponing. The principle: when you hold a decision about somebody, their generosity is not a separate matter.

10. Question 10 of 10

    You are a scheduling coordinator at Woolworths. A team member has asked for a weekend off in three weeks’ time and needs to know soon because she wants to book something. The manager who approves these is away until Thursday and has not seen the request. Requests like hers are usually agreed, but two other people have already been given that weekend. She has asked you today whether she can go ahead and book. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

    1. Tell her the request is as good as approved and that the weekend will be fine, since requests like hers are nearly always agreed once the manager sees them.
    2. Tell her the request is with the manager, that two others already have that weekend, and that you will have an answer for her by Thursday evening.
    3. Tell her you cannot say anything until the manager is back, and leave it there so that nothing you say can be taken as an answer either way.
    4. Tell her to book something refundable and say you will try to sort the rota out afterwards if the manager turns the request down.
    Show the answer

    Most effective: B. Tell her the request is with the manager, that two others already have that weekend, and that you will have an answer for her by Thursday evening.

    Least effective: A. Tell her the request is as good as approved and that the weekend will be fine, since requests like hers are nearly always agreed once the manager sees them.

    A: Gives a certainty you have not got: two people already have that weekend, so the one thing that might make this request different is the thing she is told not to worry about.

    C: Withholds what you do know to stay safe: she is planning something, and the fact that two people already have that weekend is exactly what would help her plan.

    D: Commits somebody else's decision on her behalf: the booking is safer, and a manager who has not been asked is expected to make the rota fit.

    The most effective response is to tell her the request is with the manager, that two others already have that weekend, and that she will have an answer by Thursday evening: she gets the true state of it, the one complication that might change the answer, and a date, which together are what let her decide about booking. It beats saying you cannot comment until the manager is back, because the two existing bookings are useful to her now. It beats telling her to book something refundable, because it still expects a manager who has not been asked to make the rota fit afterwards. The least effective response is telling her it is as good as approved and the weekend will be fine: the complication that makes her case different is waved away, which is a different kind of wrong from telling her nothing or from over-promising a fix. The principle: tell somebody what is actually known, complications included, and give them a date rather than a comfort.