Cappfinity Assessment

Cappfinity Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You are a housing officer at a housing association. On Friday afternoon three things land at once: a tenant reports no heating with a cold weekend forecast, your manager needs the quarterly arrears return by 5pm for a board paper, and a colleague asks for help preparing Monday’s tribunal bundle. You cannot do all three. The heating contractor takes emergency calls until 4pm. It is 2pm. The tribunal bundle can be finished on Monday morning. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Log the heating repair with the contractor before 4pm, then do the arrears return, telling your manager now that the tribunal bundle will have to wait until Monday.
   2. Start the arrears return and the tribunal bundle together and leave the heating report until Monday, when the contractor's normal service resumes and the office is quieter.
   3. Finish the arrears return first because your manager needs it for a board paper at 5pm, then log the heating repair and help with the bundle if any time is left.
   4. Ask your manager to decide which of the three should come first, since all three have been asked for by different people and you cannot complete them all this afternoon.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Log the heating repair with the contractor before 4pm, then do the arrears return, telling your manager now that the tribunal bundle will have to wait until Monday.

   Least effective: B. Start the arrears return and the tribunal bundle together and leave the heating report until Monday, when the contractor's normal service resumes and the office is quieter.

   B: Stays silent about a known welfare risk: it leaves a household without heating through a cold weekend, having let the emergency window close with nobody told. That is a different order of failure from mis-sequencing paperwork.

   C: Substitutes own judgement for the stakeholder's: it ranks a reporting deadline above a household with no heating for a cold weekend, and spends the contractor's emergency window on a return that could have been flagged as running late.

   D: Escalates prematurely: the ranking here is not genuinely unclear, and the contractor's window closes at 4pm while you wait for an answer to a question you are able to settle.

   The most effective response is to log the heating repair with the contractor before 4pm, then do the arrears return, telling your manager now that the tribunal bundle waits until Monday: only the heating has a window that closes today and a consequence that cannot be undone, a household cold all weekend, so it goes first even though it takes least time. The arrears return then still fits before 5pm, and the bundle genuinely can wait. It beats finishing the arrears return first for the 5pm board paper, because that treats a board paper deadline as outranking a welfare risk, and spends the contractor’s last emergency hour on a report whose slippage could simply have been flagged. It beats asking your manager to decide which of the three comes first, because the ordering here is not genuinely unclear and the 4pm window closes while you wait to be told what you already know. The least effective response is starting the arrears return and the tribunal bundle together and leaving the heating until Monday: it lets the emergency window close in silence and leaves a household without heating for a cold weekend, while doing the two tasks that could both have waited. The principle: do the thing whose window is closing and whose harm cannot be undone, then tell people early about what will now be late.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You work in a delivery-only kitchen. Checking the walk-in fridge you find the temperature gauge reading well above the safe limit and the log shows it was last checked twelve hours ago. There is a large quantity of prepared food inside. Orders start in an hour. Your head chef is on site and the food safety procedure requires temperature failures to be reported to him. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Stop the food being used, tell the head chef now that the fridge is above the safe limit and was last checked twelve hours ago, and let him decide what happens to it.
   2. Use the food for tonight's orders since it is still cold to the touch and the gauge may well be faulty, and report the fridge for repair tomorrow.
   3. Move the prepared food to another fridge so it starts cooling again, and tell the head chef once the transfer is done.
   4. Check the temperature again with a probe thermometer to confirm the gauge is accurate before raising it, so the head chef is not called over a faulty gauge.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Stop the food being used, tell the head chef now that the fridge is above the safe limit and was last checked twelve hours ago, and let him decide what happens to it.

   Least effective: B. Use the food for tonight's orders since it is still cold to the touch and the gauge may well be faulty, and report the fridge for repair tomorrow.

   B: Serves food of unknown safety: a fridge above the safe limit for an unknown period is exactly the situation the temperature control exists to catch, and judging it by touch puts customers at risk. That is a safety failure, not a judgement about waste.

   C: Acts on assumptions without checking: moving the food cools it and tells nobody how long it was warm, which is the fact that decides whether it can be used at all.

   D: Delays the decision: verifying the gauge is sensible and takes time the head chef could direct in a moment, with service starting in an hour and food that may already be unsafe.

   The most effective response is to stop the food being used and tell the head chef now that the fridge is above the safe limit and was last checked twelve hours ago: prepared food may have been warm for up to twelve hours, that decision is his under the food safety procedure, and he is on site with an hour before service. Stopping its use first is what makes the decision possible. It beats moving the prepared food to another fridge and telling him once the transfer is done, because cooling it destroys the evidence of how long it was warm, which is the fact the judgement rests on. It beats checking again with a probe thermometer before raising it, because confirming the gauge is work he can direct in seconds, and the clock is running. The least effective response is using the food for tonight’s orders because it is still cold to the touch: it serves food of unknown temperature history to customers on the basis of how it feels. That is worse than the other two, which act imperfectly but do not serve it. The principle: when a safety control has failed, stop the product and get the decision to the person the procedure names, without disturbing the evidence.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You are a reporter at a local newspaper. You and a colleague, Suzanne, have both been working on the same council story without realising it, and she has told a contact that the story is hers. The contact has now stopped returning your calls. The story is due to run this week and the editor does not know there has been any overlap. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Speak to Suzanne today, work out what each of you has, agree who takes it forward and how the contact is approached, then tell the editor where the story stands.
   2. Drop your version and let Suzanne run with it, since the contact is talking to her now and arguing about who started first would only damage the newsroom.
   3. Tell the editor that Suzanne has claimed the story with your contact and ask him to decide which of you should take it forward.
   4. Go back to the contact directly, explain that you were working on the story first, and ask him to deal with you rather than with Suzanne.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Speak to Suzanne today, work out what each of you has, agree who takes it forward and how the contact is approached, then tell the editor where the story stands.

   Least effective: B. Drop your version and let Suzanne run with it, since the contact is talking to her now and arguing about who started first would only damage the newsroom.

   B: Avoids the difficult conversation: it abandons work and material the story may need, so the paper runs a weaker piece and the duplication that caused it is never addressed. The editor never learns two reporters duplicated a week.

   C: Escalates prematurely: Suzanne may not know you were working on it at all, and the editor's first knowledge of the overlap being a complaint makes an argument out of a misunderstanding.

   D: Personalises the conflict: it asks a source to choose between two reporters from the same paper, which puts an internal muddle in front of a contact and is likely to lose him altogether.

   The most effective response is to speak to Suzanne today, work out what each of you has, agree who takes it forward and how the contact is approached, then tell the editor where the story stands: two reporters have duplicated work on a story running this week, the fastest way to a good piece is to pool what you both have, and the editor needs an accurate picture rather than a complaint. Agreeing how the contact is approached also protects the source. It beats telling the editor she has claimed the story with your contact, because she may not know you were on it, and taking it upward first frames a misunderstanding as a dispute. It beats going back to the contact to say you were working on it first, because asking a source to choose between two reporters from the same paper exposes the muddle and risks losing him. The least effective response is dropping your version and letting her run with it: it discards material the story may need and leaves the duplication unexamined, so the paper runs a weaker piece and it happens again. That is worse than the other two, which handle it badly but keep both reporters’ work in play. The principle: sort out the overlap with your colleague first, protect the source, then give the editor the true position.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You are an account assistant at a catering supplier. A regular client has booked food for a conference on Thursday. On Tuesday you discover the order was entered for eighty covers rather than the hundred and eighty confirmed in the client’s email. Production can make up the difference only if the kitchen is told today, and the client’s contact is travelling with intermittent phone signal. Your account manager is on leave until Thursday. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Leave the order at eighty covers, since that is what the system says and the client's own contact cannot be reached to authorise a change before the kitchen's deadline.
   2. Email the client's contact setting out the discrepancy and asking her to confirm the correct number before you ask the kitchen to increase the production run.
   3. Tell the kitchen today to produce the hundred and eighty confirmed in writing, and immediately email and text the client explaining the correction and asking her to flag any change.
   4. Ask the kitchen to produce the full hundred and eighty covers now, and tell the client on Thursday morning that there was an ordering error which has already been resolved.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Tell the kitchen today to produce the hundred and eighty confirmed in writing, and immediately email and text the client explaining the correction and asking her to flag any change.

   Least effective: A. Leave the order at eighty covers, since that is what the system says and the client's own contact cannot be reached to authorise a change before the kitchen's deadline.

   A: Hides the problem / silent deadline slip: you know the written confirmation says a hundred and eighty and let a conference go a hundred covers short without telling anyone. Hiding behind the system record is concealment, not caution.

   B: Delays the decision: she is travelling with poor signal and the kitchen needs today's instruction. Waiting for a confirmation that may not arrive spends the only window in which the shortfall can be fixed.

   D: Hides the problem: the covers get made and the client is told after the event she could no longer influence. She loses any say in a change to her own order, and learns of the error only once it cannot matter.

   The most effective response is to tell the kitchen today to produce the hundred and eighty confirmed in writing, and immediately email and text the client explaining the correction: her written confirmation is the best evidence of what she ordered, the kitchen’s window closes today, and reaching her on two channels at once means she is informed and can still correct you. Acting and informing together is what the situation allows; only one of them is not enough. It beats emailing her contact and asking her to confirm the number before you tell the kitchen, because waiting for a reply from someone with intermittent signal spends the kitchen’s window on a confirmation you already hold in writing. It beats producing the full number now and telling her on Thursday morning, because that takes a decision about her order out of her hands when she could still have had a say. The least effective response is leaving the order at eighty covers because that is what the system says: it lets a conference go a hundred covers short, against a written confirmation you have read, and tells nobody, using the system record as cover for doing nothing. That is worse than emailing for confirmation, which at least asks, and worse than telling her afterwards, which at least gets the food right. The principle: when the evidence is clear and the window is closing, act on the evidence and tell the client at the same time, not instead.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You work in a payroll bureau. You discover that forty employees of a client company were underpaid in yesterday’s run because a shift allowance was not applied. The client’s HR manager is your contact. The bank file has already gone, so a correction cannot reach staff before next Tuesday. Your team leader is on leave. The client’s staff will notice the shortfall when they check their accounts today. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Prepare the correction run for Tuesday and email the client's HR manager once it is ready, so that she receives the problem and the fix in a single message.
   2. Ring the client's HR manager now, explain what happened, tell her the correction lands Tuesday, and offer the list of affected staff so she can tell them today.
   3. Email the client's HR manager explaining the error, and ask her how she would like the bureau to communicate it to the forty affected employees.
   4. Process the correction quietly for Tuesday and say nothing, since the money will reach everyone within a week and raising it would damage the bureau's standing with the client.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Ring the client's HR manager now, explain what happened, tell her the correction lands Tuesday, and offer the list of affected staff so she can tell them today.

   Least effective: D. Process the correction quietly for Tuesday and say nothing, since the money will reach everyone within a week and raising it would damage the bureau's standing with the client.

   A: Delays the message: the staff see the shortfall in their accounts today. An HR manager who hears about it first from forty employees cannot do anything but apologise.

   C: Passes responsibility to others: it tells her in time, which is right, then hands her an open question when what she needs is the facts and a recommendation she can act on this morning.

   D: Hides the problem: forty people are short of pay today and the client is deliberately left unaware to protect the bureau's reputation. That is concealment for self-interest, not a communication choice.

   The most effective response is to ring the client’s HR manager now, tell her the correction lands Tuesday, and offer the list of affected staff: forty people will see short pay in their accounts today, so she needs the facts before they reach her, plus the two things she can act on. A phone call is the only channel fast enough. It beats preparing the correction run first and emailing her once it is ready, because waiting means she hears about it from her own staff first. It beats emailing to ask how she would like the bureau to communicate it, because that leaves her holding an open question when what she needs is a recommendation and a list. The least effective response is processing the correction quietly for Tuesday and saying nothing: it leaves forty people short of pay with nobody told, in order to protect the bureau’s standing with the client. That is worse than the other two, which communicate imperfectly but do communicate. The principle: when your error is about to be discovered by the people it affects, reach the person who has to answer for it first, with the facts and what you propose to do.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are a patient transport driver taking an elderly patient home from hospital. On arrival she tells you she lives alone, has no food in the house and is not sure she can manage the stairs to her flat. Your job is transport only and you have three more collections booked this afternoon. Your control room is contactable by radio, and the hospital discharge team can still be reached. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Leave her at the door as the job requires, since transport is what you are booked for and the hospital will have assessed her before discharging her.
   2. Help her up the stairs and into the flat, then continue with your remaining collections since she is at least safely inside her home.
   3. Stay with her, radio control to report that she cannot manage at home, and ask them to contact the hospital discharge team before you leave.
   4. Ring her family or a neighbour if she has a number, so that someone local can check on her, then carry on with your remaining collections.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Stay with her, radio control to report that she cannot manage at home, and ask them to contact the hospital discharge team before you leave.

   Least effective: A. Leave her at the door as the job requires, since transport is what you are booked for and the hospital will have assessed her before discharging her.

   A: Fails to escalate a genuine risk: she has told you directly that she cannot manage, and the assumption that the discharge assessment covered it is the assumption her own account contradicts. Leaving is the one response that resolves nothing.

   B: Treats the symptom and leaves the risk: getting her through the door solves this afternoon and leaves an elderly woman alone with no food and stairs she is unsure of, with nobody informed.

   D: Acts on assumptions without checking: an informal arrangement with whoever answers the phone is not a discharge decision, and it leaves the hospital unaware that the discharge has not worked.

   The most effective response is to stay with her, radio control to report that she cannot manage at home, and ask them to contact the hospital discharge team before you leave: she has told you she cannot manage, the discharge appears to have missed it, and the people who can reopen that are reachable now. Staying with her while it is raised is what makes the report count. It beats helping her up the stairs and into the flat before continuing your collections, because that solves the stairs for one afternoon and leaves the food, the isolation and the unsafe discharge untouched. It beats ringing her family or a neighbour to check on her, because that is a private arrangement, not a reassessment, and the hospital never learns its discharge did not hold. The least effective response is leaving her at the door because transport is what you are booked for: it assumes the assessment must have covered it, when she has just said it did not. That is worse than the other two, which at least do something for her. The principle: when someone tells you a plan has failed, keep them safe and get the fact to the people who own the plan, before you leave.

7. Question 7 of 10

   You work in the admissions office of a private college. Applicants must provide original qualification certificates. An agent who recruits students for the college submits a photocopy for one applicant, saying the original is with the embassy, and asks you to record it as verified so the offer can go out this week. The agent brings the college a lot of business. Your admissions manager is available. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Record the certificate as verified so the offer can go out this week, since the photocopy looks genuine and the agent brings the college a great deal of business.
   2. Tell the agent you cannot record a photocopy as verified, and ask your admissions manager what alternative evidence the college accepts when an original is with an embassy.
   3. Reject the application until the original certificate is produced, and tell the agent that the offer cannot proceed this week whatever the reason for the delay.
   4. Send the offer out marked as conditional on the original certificate being produced later, and record the photocopy as received rather than verified.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Tell the agent you cannot record a photocopy as verified, and ask your admissions manager what alternative evidence the college accepts when an original is with an embassy.

   Least effective: A. Record the certificate as verified so the offer can go out this week, since the photocopy looks genuine and the agent brings the college a great deal of business.

   A: Falsifies a verification record: recording a document as verified when you have not seen the original is a false statement in the college's own admissions record, and the reason given is the agent's commercial value. That is dishonesty, not pragmatism.

   C: Applies the rule without using it: the college may well have a route for certificates held by an embassy, and refusing outright forecloses a legitimate application without asking anyone who would know.

   D: Acts outside own authority: making an offer conditional is a decision about admissions terms, not a records entry, and issuing one to work around a verification rule commits the college on your own judgement.

   The most effective response is to tell the agent you cannot record a photocopy as verified, and ask your admissions manager what alternative evidence the college accepts when an original is with an embassy: you cannot record something as verified that you have not verified, but the applicant’s problem is a common one the college may well have a route for. Refusing the false entry and asking the right question does both jobs. It beats rejecting the application until the original is produced, because outright rejection forecloses a legitimate application without asking whether alternative evidence is accepted. It beats sending a conditional offer and recording the photocopy as received, because inventing that condition to work around the rule is an admissions decision you have no authority to take. The least effective response is recording the certificate as verified so the offer can go out this week: it records an unverified document as checked, and the reason offered is how much business the agent brings, which is precisely the pressure the verification rule exists to resist. That is worse than the other two, which act beyond or below their authority but keep the record true. The principle: never record a check you did not perform, and take the underlying problem to whoever can authorise an alternative.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You work on reception at a hairdressing salon. A client arrives for a colour appointment she booked six weeks ago. You can see the booking was entered for next Tuesday, not today, and the stylist she wanted is fully booked. The client has taken the afternoon off work. Another stylist has a gap in an hour and is qualified to do the colour. The salon manager is on the floor. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Apologise, explain that the booking was entered for next Tuesday, and offer to move her to the first available appointment with her usual stylist later this week.
   2. Apologise and book her straight into the gap in an hour with the other stylist, since she has taken the afternoon off and this is the only way she gets her colour done today.
   3. Explain that the appointment is in the system for next Tuesday and that the salon is fully booked today, and ask her to come back as originally booked.
   4. Apologise for the booking error, explain that another qualified stylist has a gap in an hour, and offer her that appointment or a rebooking with her usual stylist, whichever she prefers.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Apologise for the booking error, explain that another qualified stylist has a gap in an hour, and offer her that appointment or a rebooking with her usual stylist, whichever she prefers.

   Least effective: C. Explain that the appointment is in the system for next Tuesday and that the salon is fully booked today, and ask her to come back as originally booked.

   A: Solves the diary and not the customer: she has taken this afternoon off and there is a qualified stylist free in an hour. Rebooking her solves the diary and wastes her afternoon.

   B: Substitutes own judgement for the customer's: she chose her stylist when she booked, and deciding for her that any qualified colourist will do takes that choice away without asking.

   C: Ignores the customer's actual need: it treats the diary entry as the whole answer when the salon made the error, and sends her home having lost an afternoon's leave with nothing offered. Nothing is done about a problem the salon caused.

   The most effective response is to apologise for the booking error, explain that another qualified stylist has a gap in an hour, and offer her that or a rebooking with her usual stylist: the salon made the error, she has lost an afternoon to it, and there is a real option available. Setting out both routes lets her weigh her time against her preferred stylist. It beats booking her straight into the gap with the other stylist, because she chose her stylist deliberately, and taking that gap for her makes the decision on her behalf. It beats offering only the first available appointment with her usual stylist later this week, because that ignores the afternoon she has already given up and the qualified stylist sitting free. The least effective response is quoting the diary for next Tuesday and asking her to come back as booked: the salon entered the wrong date, and this answers by sending her away with nothing when an appointment was available. That is worse than the rebooking, which at least rebooks, and worse than taking the gap for her, which at least gets her colour done. The principle: when your organisation caused the problem, put the real options in front of the customer and let them choose.

9. Question 9 of 10

   You are an assistant at a children’s after-school activity club. A parent has paid for her son to attend a climbing session on Thursday. This morning the instructor tells you he is unwell and Thursday’s climbing will be replaced by indoor games. The parent chose the club specifically for the climbing. She can be reached by phone or email. The club manager is on leave until Friday. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Email all parents on Wednesday evening with the amended timetable, so that everyone is told at the same time and the message is consistent.
   2. Ring the parent to say Thursday's session is changing, and tell her you will confirm what it is being replaced with once the timetable has been sorted out.
   3. Say nothing and let Thursday go ahead as indoor games, since the children enjoy those too and the parent may not mind once her son has had a good afternoon.
   4. Contact the parent today, explain the instructor is unwell and Thursday will be indoor games instead, and tell her what the alternatives are including a refund or a later climbing session.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Contact the parent today, explain the instructor is unwell and Thursday will be indoor games instead, and tell her what the alternatives are including a refund or a later climbing session.

   Least effective: C. Say nothing and let Thursday go ahead as indoor games, since the children enjoy those too and the parent may not mind once her son has had a good afternoon.

   A: Delays the message: a Wednesday evening notice reaches her the night before, when she has already arranged her Thursday around a session that is not happening.

   B: Delays the decision: it reaches her today, which is right, and withholds the two facts she needs, what is happening instead and what her options are, so she still cannot decide anything.

   C: Hides the problem: she paid for climbing specifically and is left to discover the change at collection, with no chance to decide whether she still wanted the session. Assuming she will not mind is not her decision to make.

   The most effective response is to contact the parent today, explain the instructor is unwell and Thursday will be indoor games, and set out the alternatives including a refund or a later climbing session: she chose and paid for climbing specifically, the substitution changes what she bought, and telling her today lets her decide whether her son still attends. It beats ringing to say only that Thursday is changing and you will confirm the replacement later, because that leaves her unable to act when you already know what it changes to. It beats emailing all parents on Wednesday evening with the amended timetable, because a general notice the night before arrives after she has organised her Thursday. The least effective response is saying nothing and letting Thursday go ahead as indoor games: it lets her pay for climbing, send her son to something else, and find out afterwards, on the assumption that she will not mind. That is worse than the other two, which tell her late or partially but do tell her. The principle: when what someone paid for changes, tell them promptly, tell them what it changes to, and give them the choice.

10. Question 10 of 10

    You work on the forecourt of a petrol station. Part of your role is recording the daily fuel dip readings, which are used to detect leaks from the underground tanks. Today’s reading is a hundred litres below what the sales figures predict. Your colleague says the dipstick is unreliable, that this happens most weeks, and that you should write down the expected figure so the paperwork is not queried. The manager is in tomorrow. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

    1. Record the actual reading, and ring the manager today to tell her the dip is a hundred litres below the expected figure so she can decide whether the tanks need checking.
    2. Write down the expected figure as your colleague suggests, since the dipstick is known to be unreliable and a queried reading would only create work for the manager tomorrow.
    3. Record the actual reading and take a second dip yourself at the end of your shift to see whether the discrepancy is repeated before mentioning it to anyone.
    4. Record the actual reading and leave a note for the manager to find when she comes in tomorrow, so that the discrepancy is documented and she can look into it then.
    Show the answer

    Most effective: A. Record the actual reading, and ring the manager today to tell her the dip is a hundred litres below the expected figure so she can decide whether the tanks need checking.

    Least effective: B. Write down the expected figure as your colleague suggests, since the dipstick is known to be unreliable and a queried reading would only create work for the manager tomorrow.

    B: Falsifies a safety record: the dip readings exist to detect leaks from underground fuel tanks, so entering the number you expected rather than the one you measured removes the only signal the system has. That is dishonesty with a safety consequence.

    C: Delays the decision: the record is right, which matters, but a hundred-litre gap on a fuel tank is exactly the reading somebody qualified should see today rather than after your own retest.

    D: Fails to escalate a genuine risk: the reading is honest and the urgency is missed. A possible fuel leak waits overnight on a note when a phone call today would have reached the person who can act.

    The most effective response is to record the actual reading and ring the manager today about the hundred-litre shortfall: the reading goes in as measured, and a discrepancy that size on an underground fuel tank is a possible leak, so she hears about it today rather than tomorrow. It beats taking a second dip yourself at the end of your shift, because retesting before telling anyone delays a safety signal in order to satisfy your own curiosity, when the manager is a phone call away. It beats leaving a note for her to find when she comes in tomorrow, because that leaves a possible leak unattended overnight for no gain. The least effective response is writing down the expected figure because the dipstick is known to be unreliable: it puts a number that was never measured into the record that exists specifically to detect leaks, so a real leak would be invisible, and it does so to avoid creating work. That is worse than the other two, which are too slow but keep the record true. The principle: record what you measured, and get a safety discrepancy to somebody who can act on it on the day you find it.