HEO Working Together Interview Questions

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HEO behaviour interview questions

Prepare for HEO Working Together questions with criteria-led evidence

HEO Working Together answers should explain your thinking, personal actions and result in enough depth for challenge. The question may use different wording, but the panel will still look for evidence aligned to the HEO and SEO criteria.

Working Together interview questions can ask about a specific event, a difficult judgement, a change you led or the way you normally approach a problem. Listen to the exact wording and select the example that answers it most directly.

The strongest answers at HEO level show ownership of a defined outcome and make the reasoning visible. Show active collaboration across boundaries. Weak answers say the team worked well or that you helped colleagues, with no shared problem, relationship challenge or personal contribution.

On this page

HEO Working Together criteria

The current HEO and SEO Working Together guide expects evidence that you can:

“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”

What the panel is testing

Choose a situation involving several teams, stakeholders or perspectives. Explain how you built trust, shared resources, created a common focus and protected respectful, inclusive working.

The result should show a joint outcome that no single group could have delivered alone, alongside stronger working relationships or wellbeing.

A clear HEO-level responsibility rather than passive participation.
Personal actions and decisions supported by evidence or guidance.
Appropriate involvement of colleagues, stakeholders, specialists or users.
Control of risk, quality, inclusion, resources or competing priorities where relevant.
A credible result and enough underlying detail for follow-up questions.

12 HEO Working Together interview questions

Question 1

Tell me about a time you created joined-up working across teams.

Question 2

Describe how you built a professional relationship with a difficult stakeholder.

Question 3

Give an example of sharing resources or information to improve delivery.

Question 4

Tell me about a disagreement you resolved while protecting the relationship.

Question 5

Describe how you created a common focus in a diverse group.

Question 6

Give an example of supporting a colleague’s wellbeing during demanding work.

Question 7

Tell me about a time you challenged bullying, harassment or discrimination.

Question 8

Describe how you sought views from people with different backgrounds.

Question 9

Give an example of helping another team succeed.

Question 10

Tell me about a time collaboration prevented duplication.

Question 11

Describe how you balanced your own needs with supporting the team.

Question 12

Give an example of rebuilding trust between teams.

How to structure the answer

Belief or approach

Give one or two sentences explaining how you think about the issue. Keep this relevant to the question.

Situation

Set the context and difficulty briefly. Name the service, workstream, decision or outcome.

Task

State what you were responsible for and the authority you held.

Action

Explain what you decided and did, why you chose that approach, who you involved and how you managed the important risks.

Result

Give the outcome, measure and a practical improvement or learning point.

Members can unlock four full HEO Working Together model answers below, plus question-specific scoring notes, likely follow-up questions and a final preparation checklist.

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