Working Together Examples, Scored
Working Together is about building effective relationships inside and outside your organisation, sharing information and support, and looking after colleagues. Panels look for a partnership or relationship you actively built, what you did to make it work, and the difference it made.
Official definition: Form effective partnerships and relationships with people both internally and externally, from a range of diverse backgrounds, sharing information, resources and support.
What panels look for
- A relationship you deliberately built or repaired, with people outside your immediate team.
- Understanding the other side's needs and pressures.
- Sharing information or resources, appropriately.
- Supporting colleagues, and a result of the joint work.
EO example, likely score 4-5 out of 7
As an Executive Officer in a jobcentre, I was asked to improve how our team worked with a local refugee charity, because customers were being referred back and forth between us without getting help.
I arranged to spend a morning at the charity to understand how they worked and what information they needed from us. I learned that our referral form asked for details their advisers could not collect, so referrals were stalling. I agreed a simpler shared form with their volunteer coordinator and set up a fortnightly call to review difficult cases together.
Some colleagues were unsure about sharing information, so I checked the data-sharing agreement with our data protection lead and wrote a one-page summary of what we could and could not share. I also asked an Arabic-speaking colleague from another team to join two joint sessions with customers, and made sure the charity had a direct contact when I was on leave.
When one colleague was struggling with a high caseload of complex claims, I offered to take two of her cases and showed her how the new referral route worked.
Within three months, the number of customers referred back to us fell from about 20 a month to 4, and 15 customers started work or training through the partnership. The charity asked to extend the model to a second jobcentre. I learned that time spent understanding a partner's pressures pays back quickly.
- Spends time understanding the partner's process before changing anything.
- Handles data sharing properly and brings in a colleague with the right language.
- Supports a colleague under pressure.
- Measured result: referrals back down from 20 to 4 a month, 15 people into work.
HEO example, likely score 3-4 out of 7
As an HEO project officer, I needed to deliver a new online booking page with colleagues from the digital, finance and customer service teams, none of whom reported to me.
I started by meeting each team lead to understand their priorities and any concerns. The finance team was worried about refunds, so I made sure their requirements were included in the project plan from the start. I set up a shared project page where everyone could see progress and updated it weekly.
When the digital team fell behind because two developers were off sick, I spoke to their lead, offered to take on the testing myself, and agreed a revised timetable that everyone could support. I kept everyone informed of the change so nobody was surprised.
The booking page went live three weeks later than first planned but within budget, and customer service reported fewer phone bookings in the first month. Afterwards, I asked each team for feedback, and they said the regular updates helped them plan. I learned to agree how we will share information at the very start of a project.
- Builds working relationships with teams that don't report to them.
- Keeps everyone informed and offers help when a team falls behind.
- A realistic result (late but within budget).
AA example, likely score 2-3 out of 7
I am a real team player and I get on well with everyone. In my last job in a supermarket, we had a great team and we all worked together to make sure the store ran smoothly. We helped each other out when it was busy and we always had a laugh together, which made the job more enjoyable.
Teamwork is very important to me because I believe that you can achieve more together than on your own. I always listen to other people and respect their opinions, even if they are different from mine. I am friendly and approachable, and new people often come to me for help.
We sometimes had disagreements in the team, but we always sorted them out by talking about them. Our manager said we were one of the best teams in the area.
I would bring this positive attitude to working together to the Administrative Assistant role and I am sure I would fit in well with the team.
- Personal qualities, not actions.
- "We" throughout and no specific situation.
- No result.
These examples are written by us to illustrate the scoring. The scores are what our checker gives them (it tends to be a little strict), not a panel's. Use them to understand what earns points, not as text to adapt: panels look for your own experience.
Common mistakes
- "I am a team player" and descriptions of a friendly team.
- "We" throughout, so your part is invisible.
- An example that mainly shows another behaviour (a decision, a project delivered).
Situations that often make good examples
- Setting up a joint process with another team or organisation
- Resolving a disagreement between two teams
- Supporting a colleague who was struggling
- Sharing knowledge or data to solve a shared problem
Working Together at each grade
What the published descriptors say. Panels read your example against the list for the grade you apply for; you don't need every point, but several, with depth.
Administrative Assistant (AA) and Administrative Officer (AO)
- proactively contribute to the work of the whole team and remain open to taking on new and different roles
- get to know your colleagues and build supportive relationships
- listen to alternative perspectives and needs, responding sensitively and checking understanding where necessary
- ask for help when needed and support others when the opportunity arises
- are aware of the need to consider your own wellbeing and that of your colleagues
- understand that bullying, harassment and discrimination are unacceptable
Executive Officer (EO)
- develop a range of contacts outside own team and identify opportunities to share knowledge, information and learning
- show genuine interest when listening to others
- contribute to an inclusive working environment where all opinions and challenges are listened to and all individual needs are taken into account
- ensure it is clear that bullying, harassment and discrimination are unacceptable
- offer support and help to colleagues when in need, including consideration of your own and their wellbeing
- change ways of working to aid cooperation within and between teams in order to achieve results
Higher Executive Officer (HEO) and Senior Executive Officer (SEO)
- encourage joined up team work within your own team and across other groups
- establish professional relationships with a range of stakeholders
- collaborate with these to share information, resources and support
- invest time to develop a common focus and genuine positive team spirit where colleagues feel valued and respect one another
- put in place support for the wellbeing of individuals within the team, including consideration of your own needs
- make it clear to all team members that bullying, harassment and discrimination are unacceptable
- actively seek and consider input of people from diverse backgrounds and perspectives
Grade 7 and Grade 6
- drive an inclusive and collaborative working culture which values diversity and encourages, openness, approachability and sensitivity
- ensure the wellbeing of all individuals is valued across the organisation
- confront issues and challenge assumptions at the highest levels, no matter how uncomfortable, in an assertive yet constructive way
- create a culture where bullying, harassment and discrimination are unacceptable
- build a strong diverse network of professional relationships across the highest levels of government and with Non-Executive Directors
- act for the wider good of the Civil Service by improving governance at board level to meet Civil Service objectives
Descriptors from Success Profiles: Civil Service behaviours (GOV.UK). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Their use here does not imply endorsement.