Working Together EO Example Statement (250 Words)
At EO, assessors look for working relationships you build and maintain, not just politeness inside your own team. They want evidence you cooperate across boundaries, handle disagreements calmly and keep shared work moving. Show initiative in how you worked with others, and a result that mattered to both sides.
Example statement
SAfter our admin team merged with another last spring, I kept clashing with a colleague over who owned which cases. Emails grew terse, we duplicated work and the atmosphere in the office was uncomfortable for everyone.
TI decided to repair the working relationship rather than wait for my manager to intervene.
AI asked my colleague for a coffee away from our desks and opened by saying I wanted us to work better together, not to re-argue old emails. I listened first and learned she felt I had taken over cases she had built relationships with, which I had not realised. I acknowledged that and explained my own worry about missing deadlines. I suggested we map every live case on a whiteboard and divide them by who knew the customer best, not by grade or habit. She agreed, and we did it together in one afternoon. I then proposed a ten-minute catch-up each Monday to swap updates before they became surprises, and I kept those meetings going even when they felt awkward at first. When a disagreement flared again over a shared spreadsheet, I raised it in our Monday slot instead of by email, and we fixed it in one conversation. I also made a point of crediting her knowledge in team meetings.
RDuplication stopped within a fortnight and our shared queue was cleared 3 days early that quarter. Our manager noted the change in my appraisal, and we have since covered each other's leave twice without a single issue.
Use this as a model, not a script. This is an original example written for this site. Adapt the structure to your own experience — copying it word for word risks plagiarism and will not reflect your evidence.
Why this scores well
- Tackles the hardest Working Together evidence: repairing a damaged relationship, which scores higher than a smooth story.
- Listening first, acknowledging the colleague's concern and building a shared system together shows maturity at EO level.
- The result is verifiable: duplication stopped, the queue cleared three days early, and the change was noted at appraisal.
What EO level requires
| Grade | What assessors expect |
|---|---|
| AO | At AO level, Working Together means being a helpful, reliable member of the team: treating colleagues with respect, sharing information and pitching in to get shared work done. |
| EO ← this page | At EO level, Working Together means building constructive relationships beyond your immediate desk: coordinating with other teams, sharing information proactively and sorting out friction before it escalates. |
| HEO | At HEO level, Working Together means taking the lead in making collaboration happen: organising people across teams, valuing different perspectives and resolving disagreements so shared goals are met. |
Common mistakes at this level
- Claiming credit for joint work without acknowledging what others contributed
- Using one-sided language such as 'I told them' with no sign you listened first
- Giving a result that only benefited your own team rather than both sides
Frequently asked questions
Look for the joints in your work: handovers, shared systems, approvals, customers passed between teams. Almost every EO role depends on these. An example where you improved a handover, aligned with another team or resolved a recurring misunderstanding is exactly the evidence assessors want.
Yes. It makes the story credible. Many strong EO statements begin with friction: a rota clash, a miscommunication, a team that did not trust yours. What matters is your constructive response and the repaired relationship at the end. Never present the other side as villains.
Prepare at least two. You may need one for the written statement and a different one at interview, and reusing the same story can sound thin. Pick examples from different settings — one inside your team, one across teams — so you can adapt to the exact question asked.
Next step
Get the free EO statement template pack — the same STAR structure used in this example.
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