Practice 40 Whole Foods interview questions covering core values, customer service, and team culture.
Question 13 of 40
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Kevin Downey has an extensive background in business management, recruiting, branding and marketing. He's volunteered his career coaching services at job fairs, lecturing on interview techniques and crafting winning resumes and cover letters.
On one hand, your interviewer is looking to recruit those who support the rules that the company has put into place. However, according to their leadership principles, they expect their employees to "Have Courage: Disagree and Commit." In this principle, they expect their employees to "respectfully challenge decisions when we disagree, even when doing so is uncomfortable or exhausting. We have conviction and are tenacious. We do not compromise for the sake of social cohesion. However, once a decision is determined, we commit wholly in support of the decision."

Kevin Downey has an extensive background in business management, recruiting, branding and marketing. He's volunteered his career coaching services at job fairs, lecturing on interview techniques and crafting winning resumes and cover letters.
"If I feel a policy creates more work or lowers morale, or if I see a clearer path to our goals, I'll express that. But I'll always respect the chain of command. As I see it, we all want the same thing, and that is to take pride in doing a good job, to be equipped with the right tools to get the job done the right way, and to have a good time at work and enjoy the work you are doing. The last time I voiced my opinion was a rule implemented by one of our supervisors, which felt more like a personal decision, where they stated employees could no longer put their lunch tote or lunch box in the fridge for spatial reasons. I explained it frustrated me because I felt it made it harder to find my food in the fridge at lunch time resulting in a line at the refrigerator and less time to spend outside enjoying the sunshine. This rule only benefited them, and when confronted with this, they chose to change course and not enforce this rule."

Kevin Downey has an extensive background in business management, recruiting, branding and marketing. He's volunteered his career coaching services at job fairs, lecturing on interview techniques and crafting winning resumes and cover letters.
Start off by telling the interviewer that you follow all company rules and are supportive of the leadership decisions the company makes regarding rules. After all, there had to be some logic to their professional decision! Next, think of an outside-the-box rule your company had that you simply would have made a different decision about. A sound example might be that company rule that says no insulated lunch boxes/totes can be put into the fridge because it takes up too much space. You might tell the interviewer, "If I could change one decision the leadership team made regarding a rule, I would not have implemented the rule that says employees cannot put a lunch tote/lunch box in the fridge for space reasons because it makes it so much harder to find your own food in the fridge at lunchtime resulting in a line at the refrigerator and less time to spend outside enjoying the sunshine." This shows the interviewer that you respect decisions even when you recognize you would make different decisions sometimes.

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Anonymous Answer
I never believe in breaking company rules; those rules are there for a reason, in large part, to protect the employee, the company, or both. That said, that doesn't mean that every rule has to be liked. Last year, our maintenance window for any changes after business hours narrowed from 6 pm - 6 am to 10 pm - 4 am, effectively cutting our time to complete major changes by half, across the board. Even though I did express how unsafe this rule was, I still followed it until we could get it changed back.

Rachelle's Feedback
Your answer shows a great deal of maturity and professional courtesy that is often difficult for employers to come across. Exceptional response to this question!
Anonymous Answer
There are always new processes and procedures in a company and I don't believe in breaking company rules. I have expressed certain company rules that I disliked in my previous company, however, I also understand some rules that are implemented might not see results immediately. Some rules are implemented for the bigger picture or take longer to see results.
Marcie's Feedback
Can you provide a specific example of a company rule that you didn't like? Your current answer is a bit on the vague side and would be more memorable if you gave more specifics. See below for an example of another way you could answer this:
I don't believe in breaking company rules, and, generally speaking, I have no issue at all with most rules! However, once in a while there might be a rule that I find somewhat frivolous. For example, in my last job, there was a requirement that you had to bring in a doctor's note to take a sick day off. While I understood the company's desire to prevent employees from taking random days off work for no reason, I felt like the company didn't trust us, which left a bad taste in my mouth. What if someone wasn't able to make it to a doctor? There were definitely times coworkers came to work sick because they didn't have a doctor's note to give HR. Also, I believe that sometimes people need mental health days, and it isn't possible to get a doctor's note for that. In the end, I abided by the rule because it was only one minor thing I disliked about my job, but it is a good example of a rule that I felt was unnecessary.
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Written by Kevin Downey
40 Questions & Answers • Whole Foods

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By Kevin