"Have you managed people in any of the positions you've held?"

If your resume states that you are a manager or states that you manage people, then they won't ask you this question. It is for those that are not in a defined management position. Basically, they want to know if you have any experience managing people. I do not recommend lying. They can keep asking questions until they find you in a lie. I would recommend telling the truth. I'll give two examples. One is my experience of managing two temporary workers. And another is an example that would show some managing experience without actually saying you managed people.

Short Answers

"Yes. I have one year experience in managing three people. I distributed work to each member of my team, provided assistance and guidance, and mentored each employee to be a better employee."

"I have three years of experience managing people. I managed a team from 3 people to a group of 10. Most of my duties as a manger was to make sure our projects were on track and that each employee was completing their work."

"I've never managed people yet, but I have 2 years of experience mentoring new employees. I took several courses on management and I feel I'm ready to take the next step of managing people."

"I didn't hold a management position, but I was in charge of several projects where I had to manage a group of 4 workers to complete projects for a three month duration each. These projects gave me great experience in managing people."

Long Answers

"I've never been in a management position yet, but I did manage two temporary employees for a one year duration. During that time, I was given a large area of work to cover. I planned and organized the work to distribute to the two extra workers. I managed their work and kept track of how many hours they worked each week. I met with them on a regular basis and provided feedback on where they are doing well, and where they needed improvement. Their time in our team ended after we completed the project. It wasn't a management position, but I gained experience in managing people."

"I never held a position where I was managing people, but I had a lot of experience where I was in charge of large projects. Although it was my co-workers, I had the experience of taking the lead on projects where I had to manage people for a specific time period. Although I didn't experience the full aspect of managing people, I learned how to bring people together, how to use individual strengths of each worker, and how to organize and break down a large task to distribute to several people."

If you have management experience, then you can tell them about your experience. But if you haven't, then it might be good to show them that you have some experience in managing people as I illustrate in my example.