Amazon is dominating the e-commerce and customer service businesses for a few years now. We will discuss Amazon Interview Questions on Insist On The Highest Standards here. There is no single person on this planet that hasn’t heard of Amazon even once. Being the idol for all the e-commerce companies and businesses globally, Amazon has set standards regarding work culture and customer satisfaction so high that it literally has no competition. Working with such an organization is surely not a piece of cake.
Jeff Bezos believed in these principles, making them the backbone of the unconquerable Amazon we see today. Amazon has undoubtedly proven to this corporate world how important it is to take principles and vision seriously, to stand triumphantly tall amidst this pestilent competition. Amazon has achieved this insuperable success and position today, all in virtue of its highest standards it has set for its organization and employees. “Insists on the highest standards” is what Amazon believes in.
Leaders have relentlessly high standards – many people may think these standards are unreasonably high. Leaders continually raise the bar and drive their teams to deliver high-quality products, services, and processes. Leaders ensure that defects do not get sent down the line and that problems are fixed, so they stay fixed. It focuses on delivering high-quality products and services to satisfy customers. Many may find these standards fallaciously high.
How to answer Insist Highest Standards Interview Questions & Answers | Amazon Leadership Principles
How Amazon explains the “Highest Standards” leadership principle
The seventh Amazon leadership principle is “Insist on the Highest Standards” – this is how Amazon explains the principle:
Leaders have relentlessly high standards – many people may think these standards are unreasonably high. Leaders are continually raising the bar and driving their teams to deliver high-quality products, services and processes. Leaders ensure that defects do not get sent down the line and that problems are fixed so they stay fixed.
How does Amazon explain the “Insist on the highest standards” leadership principle? What does it mean?
According to the 7th Amazon leadership principle, you should always try to deliver high-quality services and products. Always set a higher standard of your service. Never stop if you encounter a problem. Find a solution to the problem by yourself. Never compromise on the quality.
Because leaders have relentlessly high standards and they are continually raising the bar and driving their teams to deliver high-quality products, services, and processes.
With high standards, you demand the best of yourself and those around you. Amazon has set its expectations through – service level agreements (SLAs).
An SLA is a set of agreed-upon standards by which any service or product will perform. In an Amazon SLA, even the worst outcome will outpace industry standards.
You should show your interviewer that you insist on the highest standards. Below I’ll list how:
- Set SLAs for everything and don’t take shortcuts on instrumentation.
- Be self-critique about your work – that way you’ll be sure the quality is the best it can be.
- Accept coaching from your manager and improve the quality of your work.
- Demand high-quality products, services, and solutions from your team
- Coach employees about setting their high standards and exceeding customer expectations.
What does the “Highest Standards” leadership principle mean?
Having high standards means you make exceptionally high demands of yourself and the products and services you work on. At Amazon, standards are set through service level agreements (SLAs). An SLA is a set of agreed upon standards at which any service or product will perform. In an Amazon SLA, even the worst outcome will outpace industry standards.
Nearly everything at Amazon has an SLA, and as such, nearly everything is measured to ensure the SLA standards are met. In your current job, have you taken the time to instrument your processes and services? Have you set clear expectations of success that you can measure via that instrumentation? If so, in your interview, be ready to tell your story.
If you want to show your interviewer that you insist on the highest standards, you should demonstrate that you:
- Set SLAs for everything, and don’t take shortcuts on instrumentation.
- Continually self-critique your work to make sure the quality is the best it can be.
- Accept and seek coaching and feedback from your manager and others about improving the quality of your work.
- Demand that your team delivers high-quality products, services, and solutions.
- Coach employees about setting their own high standards and exceeding customer expectations.
Interview questions related to “Highest Standards”
If your interviewer asks about this leadership principle, she or he might ask one of the following questions:
- Tell me about a time when you’ve been unsatisfied with the status quo. What did you do to change it? Were you successful?
- Tell me about a time you wouldn’t compromise on achieving a great outcome when others felt something was already good enough. What was the situation?
- What measures have you personally put in place to ensure performance improvement targets and standards are achieved?
- Describe the most significant, continuous improvement project that you’ve led. What was the catalyst for this change and how did you go about it?
- Give me an example of a goal you’ve had where you wish you had done better. What was the goal and how could you have improved on it?
- Tell me about a time when you worked to improve the quality of a product / service / solution that was already getting good customer feedback? Why did you think it needed more improvement?
Give an example where you refused to compromise your standards around quality/customer service, etc. Why did you feel so strongly about the situation? What were the consequences? The result?
Interview questions related to the principle “insist on the highest standards”
As a people manager, do you:
- Raise the quality bar by demanding that your team deliver high-quality products, services, and solutions?
- Teach and coach employees about setting their high standards and exceeding customer expectations?
- Provide feedback to employees when work is of high quality, and coach to continually improve work? Ensure the quality bar remains high by delivering high-quality work and demanding it of others work?
- Continually self-critique your work to make sure the quality is the best it can be?
- Accept and seek out coaching and feedback from your manager and others about improving the quality of your work?
As an individual contributor:
- Tell me about a time when you have been unsatisfied with the status quo. What did you do to change it? Were you successful?
- Tell me about a time you wouldn’t compromise on achieving a great outcome when others felt something was good enough. What was the situation?
- What measures have you personally put in place to ensure performance improvement targets and standards are achieved?
- Describe the most significant, continuous improvement project that you have led. What was the catalyst to this change and how did you go about it?
- Give me an example of a goal you’ve had where you wish you had done better. What was the goal and how could you have improved on it?
- Tell me about a time when you have worked to improve the quality of a product/service/solution that was already getting good customer feedback? Why did you think it needed continued improvement?
- Give an example where you refused to compromise your standards on quality/customer service, etc. Why did you feel so strongly about the situation? What were the consequences? The result?
What does insist on the highest standards mean?
Amazon is known for having high standards. This means that they will only look for the most qualified people to be part of their team; however, Amazon also goes beyond just qualifications and looks at qualities like initiative.
Some companies will hire you simply because you showed up on time, but Amazon wants more than that. They want someone who can take the initiative to get their work and someone who will bring the team up.
The Seattle-based company has been around since 1994 and initially sold just books. Today, Amazon is a multinational business that sells everything from electronics to clothing. With such a large selection of goods for sale, Amazon could hardly stay afloat if they hired just anyone. It takes people with excellent skills and unique perspectives to build the type of organization that Amazon has become.
How does this principle benefit Amazon?
Amazon employees consistently outperform those of other companies because they are given more opportunities with every task that is assigned to them. This means that it is suitable for the company but also benefits the employee because they can grow and gain more skills. While other companies may work at a slower pace, Amazon is constantly striving for excellence and works hard to achieve it.
Amazon’s success is attributed to its leadership principle of insisting on the highest standards combined with putting employees first.
FAQ
How do you answer insist on the highest standards?
- Set SLAs for everything, and don’t take shortcuts on instrumentation.
- Continually self-critique your work to make sure the quality is the best it can be.
How do you respond to Amazon big interview questions?
What should I say in an Amazon interview?
How do you answer the Tell me about yourself question for Amazon?
What do you think makes customers come back to Amazon again and again, even when there are competitor companies out there?
Highest standards. Amazon keeps customers first and goes above and beyond to satisfy customers in every possible way. Amazon puts its customers first, leaving no stone unturned to help and make customers happy. Amazon stands as a role model for other companies that are trying to grow in this e-commerce business. Being customers centric is Amazon’s motive.
What would you choose? Leaning towards delivering results instantly just for the sake of it. Or studied weighed process to create the highest quality product and service?
I am fully aware of what Amazon aims for. Considering this fact, I am more than happy that Amazon and I will achieve a common goal. That is customer satisfaction. Hence, I would at any cost never go for instant results just for the sake of delivering a service or product. I would always choose quality over quantity. Delivering the highest quality services and products is what Amazon is known for. And I would never compromise Amazon’s reputation of having quality products. Also, I will give my 100 % and never compromise on our customers’ quality of products and services.
