Working Together EO Example — 250-Word Statement
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
SIn my council's contact centre, my team shared five trained advisers with the housing repairs team. Before the bank holiday, both team leaders published rotas that booked the same five people, leaving a gap on the busiest morning.
TAs the executive officer who coordinated staffing, I had to resolve the clash without upsetting either team.
AI met each team leader separately to understand their pressures rather than argue over whose rota won. The repairs leader faced a flood of storm-damage calls; my leader had three advisers on approved leave. I pulled six weeks of call volumes for both queues and laid them out in a short note we could all work from. I then brought the two leaders together for half an hour, set out the figures and asked each to say what cover they genuinely needed rather than what they wanted. Where they disagreed, I suggested splitting the shared advisers by morning and afternoon instead of by day, which neither had considered. I rebuilt the rota on that basis, checked it against every adviser's contracted hours and sent it to both leaders with a fallback plan for sickness. I also proposed a shared monthly rota meeting so the clash could not happen again, and I chaired the first one.
RBoth queues stayed fully staffed over the bank holiday, with no gaps on 92 per cent of shifts that week. The monthly meeting still runs, and a follow-up survey showed 14 of the 19 advisers found joint planning fairer.
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
- Typical EO-level Working Together: working across a team boundary and using data to make the discussion fair rather than political.
- Both sides were heard separately first, then brought together — the structure assessors look for at this grade.
- The fix stuck: the monthly rota meeting outlives the original problem, showing sustainable collaboration rather than a one-off patch.
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
- Telling a story where everyone agreed, so there is no evidence of relationship-building skill
- Describing a process you followed rather than relationships you built
- Escalating to a manager at the first sign of disagreement instead of handling it yourself
Frequently asked questions
Scope and initiative. At AO, being a good team member is enough. At EO, assessors expect you to build relationships beyond your immediate desk — another team, a supplier, a partner organisation — and to take the initiative in making those relationships work, including sorting out friction yourself.
Yes, and it often scores well. EO assessors want to see you handle disagreement professionally: listening to the other side, finding common ground and agreeing a way forward without running to a manager. Show the steps you took and how the relationship, not just the task, ended up stronger.
No. Keep statements anonymous: 'my council's contact centre' or 'the retailer I worked for' is enough. Real names add nothing and can distract. What assessors need is context — the setting, the people involved and the stakes — plus your specific actions and a measurable result.
Next step
Get the free EO statement template pack — the same STAR structure used in this example.
Download the template pack