Changing and Improving: Civil Service behaviour examples and how to write yours
Updated · 3 min read
Changing and Improving is about looking for better ways of working, being open to change, and helping others through it. A strong example shows you noticed something that wasn't working as well as it could, did something practical about it, and checked that the change actually helped.
Changing and Improving is one of the nine behaviours in the Civil Service Success Profiles. If a job advert lists it, you'll usually write a behaviour statement for it at application, often up to 250 words, and may be asked about it again at interview. Our guide to behaviour statements covers how they're scored; this page goes deep on Changing and Improving alone.
What assessors look for
- You spotted an opportunity to improve something, not just a problem to complain about.
- You tried a new approach, and thought about the risks before you did.
- You involved the people affected and helped them adapt.
- You checked whether the change worked, and learned from what didn't.
How it changes with grade
Every behaviour is described at several levels, roughly: AA and AO, then EO, then HEO and SEO, then Grade 7 and Grade 6, then the Senior Civil Service. At AO and EO, small improvements to your own work or your team's processes are ideal. At HEO and SEO, expect to show you led a change across a team or service, managed its risks and brought people with you. At Grade 7 and above, it's about creating a culture where others suggest and test improvements. Always read the indicators for the level on your advert, on the Civil Service Careers website, and use them as a checklist.
How the question is usually worded
- Please provide a behaviour statement for Changing and Improving.
- Tell us about a time you identified a better way of doing something.
- Describe how you helped others adapt to a change at work.
An example statement
As a caseworker team leader, I noticed our team was taking an average of nine days to answer written enquiries, against a target of five. Much of the delay came from letters being passed between three people before anyone replied. I asked the team where they felt time was lost. Together we found that most enquiries fell into six common types. I proposed that one person a day would triage new post, answer the common types using approved template paragraphs, and pass only complex cases on. Before starting, I checked the templates with our policy team to make sure they were accurate, and ran a two-week trial so we could compare results. Two colleagues were worried templates would make replies feel impersonal, so I asked them to write the templates themselves and to add a personal opening line to each reply. During the trial our average response time fell to four days, and complaints about delays dropped from 15 a month to three. The team voted to keep the new approach, and I shared the templates with two other teams, who have since adopted it. I learned that involving the people doing the work early is what makes a change stick.
- Uses evidence to find the real cause of the problem
- Involves the team and addresses their concerns
- Manages risk with a trial and a policy check
- Measures the result and spreads what worked
Use an example from your own work, volunteering or study. Assessors read a lot of statements and can spot borrowed ones. The structure above is what to copy, not the story.
Common mistakes
- Describing a change someone else led, with you just going along with it.
- Skipping the result, so assessors can't tell if the change helped.
- Ignoring how people felt about the change; handling resistance is part of this behaviour.
Once your Changing and Improving statement is strong, save it. The same behaviour comes up again and again across departments, so next time you'll adapt it for the grade and role instead of starting from a blank page. See the STAR method for the structure behind every good statement.
Frequently asked questions
- Does the change need to be big?
- No. A small, well-handled improvement with a clear result often scores better than a big change you only played a small part in.
- What if the change didn't work?
- That can still be a good example if you tested it sensibly, noticed it wasn't working, and learned from it. Say what you'd do differently.