Make Delivering at Pace visible through specific AO-level actions
Delivering at Pace is about completing the right work on time while maintaining the required standard. This guide translates the official AA/AO points into practical evidence and shows how to build a complete statement without inflating the level of responsibility.
Delivering at Pace is about completing the right work on time while maintaining the required standard. For an AO role, this usually means prioritising your own workload, using procedures, staying consistent and giving realistic progress information when pressure changes.
At AO level, the behaviour is often demonstrated through practical situations such as replanning a queue, meeting a fixed deadline, responding to an absence, processing urgent work or recovering a task that is falling behind. A strong answer proves pace through organised action and quality control, not through claims about being busy or working long hours.
What are the criteria at AO level?
The official AA and AO behaviour guide lists 6 points for Delivering at Pace. Quote them exactly in your planning notes and make each point visible through evidence.
1
“always work with focus and pace to get the job done on time and to a high standard”
2
“follow the relevant policies, procedures and rules that apply to the job”
3
“use own knowledge and expertise to organise work”
4
“keep focused on delivery and take responsibility for the quality of work produced”
5
“keep a consistent level of personal performance”
6
“keep managers and stakeholders updated on how work is progressing”
What each criterion means in practice
1
Work with focus and pace
Identify the required outcome and use the available time purposefully rather than reacting to every new task in arrival order.
2
Follow rules and procedures
Maintain required checks even when the deadline is tight. Do not present shortcuts as efficient delivery.
3
Use your own knowledge
Apply what you know to group, sequence or prepare work efficiently, and seek help where your knowledge ends.
4
Own quality
Check your output and correct problems instead of treating speed as the only measure of success.
5
Maintain consistent performance
Use a sustainable method, manage distractions and continue to meet the standard throughout the period.
6
Give progress updates
Tell managers or stakeholders what is complete, what is at risk and what action is being taken.
How to structure your statement
Use Situation, Task, Action and Result as a private writing structure. Do not add the labels to the final application unless the vacancy specifically asks for them. Keep the opening short and reserve most of the word count for your personal actions.
A practical 250-word balance
Part
Suggested space
What to include for Delivering at Pace
Situation
25 to 40 words
The setting, people involved and the issue that made the behaviour relevant.
Task
25 to 35 words
Your own responsibility and the outcome you needed to achieve.
Action
130 to 160 words
The criterion-linked steps, decisions, checks, communication and reasons for your approach.
Result
30 to 45 words
The practical outcome and any useful improvement that followed.
Weak evidence
I worked very hard under pressure and completed everything as quickly as possible.
Stronger evidence
I sorted the queue by deadline and risk, retained the mandatory checks, used focused work blocks, raised two dependencies early and gave my manager a revised completion forecast.
Subscribers can unlock the full AO Delivering at Pace scoring method below, followed by three complete example statements close to 250 words, detailed explanations of why each example works and a final checklist for adapting your own evidence.
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