Question: When you are away from work, who is in charge of your role and duties? How do you inform this person of the responsibilities and limits of your role?

Alternative Question Phrasing:

Who is in charge while you are gone? How do you inform this person of the limits and responsibilities you expect him/her to observe?

Follow-up questions:

What factors do you consider when passing on the responsibilities?

Question Details:

Question Type:

Behavioral

Skills:

Social – Coordination (Adjusting one’s own actions in relation to others)

Other Factors:

Management Level,Personality-Job Fit

Work Activity (Task):

Interacting with Others – Assigning Tasks to Others (Delegation and Direction),Mental Processes – Judging the Value of Things, Services, or People,Mental Processes – Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work,Work Output – Process Management

Work Style (Person-Job Fit):

Analytical Thinking,Leadership/Command,Patience

Question Frequency

Question Difficulty

What to look for in an answer:

The candidate’s delegation skills.
The candidate’s dependability to get the work done.
The candidate’s ability to coordinate tasks.

Red Flags to Watch For:

The candidate’s poor delegation skills.
The candidate’s unprofessionalism when coordinating tasks and deliverables.

Sample Answer:

When passing on responsibilities, transparency is very critical. The other person needs to know the consequences of his/her actions. I also make sure that everything is written and properly accepted when I turn over tasks. In addition, I give an opportunity for the other person to ask questions and clarify things.

Question Source: Unknown