Civil Service behaviour: Making Effective Decisions (with STAR example)

Updated · By the Tick the Spec team

Making Effective Decisions is about using evidence and knowledge to make sound decisions and recommendations. The Success Profiles definition talks about analysing and using a range of relevant, credible information, weighing options, implications and risks, and explaining the decision. A good statement tells the story of one decision: what had to be decided, what information you gathered, which options you considered, how you weighed them, what you decided or recommended, and what happened.

A note on changes (November 2026)

In July 2026 the Civil Service announced it will scrap Success Profiles in favour of a model that emphasises skills and expertise. At the time of writing we could not find a published replacement on GOV.UK, and many adverts still ask for behaviours. Follow the advert you are applying for.

What assessors look for, by grade

  • AA/AO: making decisions within your remit, using the right information, asking for advice when unsure.
  • EO: making fair and timely decisions, researching further information when needed, seeking advice, explaining decisions clearly and weighing options, costs, risks and impact on end users.
  • HEO/SEO: empowering others to decide where appropriate, using credible internal and external information, inviting challenge, being confident on unpopular decisions, presenting strong recommendations on time.
  • G7 and above: complex decisions with wider impact, balancing political, financial and delivery considerations.

Step by step

  1. Pick a real decision where there was more than one reasonable option.
  2. Show the evidence you used and why it was credible.
  3. Name the options and what made you prefer one: cost, risk, fairness, impact on the public.
  4. Show who you consulted or who challenged you.
  5. State the decision or recommendation clearly.
  6. Give the outcome and, if useful, what you would do differently.

Worked example (fictional, HEO level)

Invented for illustration. The person, organisation and figures are fictional.

Situation: I lead a small team running a public helpline. Our contract for an overflow call service was ending and the budget allowed only one of two replacement options.

Task: My director asked me for a recommendation within three weeks.

Action: I gathered six months of call data, abandonment rates by hour and customer feedback, and asked finance for full costs of each option. I compared a cheaper supplier offering evening cover with extending our own team's hours. I spoke to the team leaders who would be affected and to our accessibility lead, who pointed out that callers using text relay were more likely to call in the evening. That changed my view of the evening option's value. I set out both options with costs, risks and impact on callers, and asked a colleague in finance to challenge my assumptions before I submitted. I recommended extending our team's hours, as it cost slightly more but kept specialist knowledge in-house and better served callers who needed accessible support.

Result: The director accepted the recommendation. In the following quarter, evening abandonment fell and complaints about wait times dropped. I now include accessibility input at the start of every options paper.

About 240 words. It shows HEO indicators: credible information, inviting challenge, weighing impact on users, a clear recommendation on time.

How behaviour statements are scored

Many departments score each behaviour on a 1 to 7 scale, and a Defra Digital blog post describes needing at least 4 on each assessment to move on; the candidate pack will say if different rules apply. When there are many applications, some campaigns sift first on a "lead" behaviour, usually the first one listed, so make that statement especially strong. Statements are usually read without your name, and text over the word limit may be ignored, so check the limit on the advert.

Other examples that can work

  • choosing between suppliers, systems or approaches
  • deciding a case where the rules allowed discretion
  • recommending how to use a limited budget
  • deciding what to escalate and what to handle yourself
  • changing a decision when new evidence appeared

Pick the one where your own actions are clearest and the result is real.

Common mistakes

  • A decision with only one possible answer. There is nothing to weigh.
  • Too much background, too little about how you decided.
  • No evidence named: "I looked at the data" is weaker than saying which data.
  • No risks considered.
  • Taking credit for a manager's decision. If you recommended, say "recommended".
  • A result you cannot support. Be accurate about what changed.

Tick the Spec asks you about the decision you actually made and helps you shape it into STAR within the word limit; the facts stay yours.

Read next: STAR method examples for supporting statements (250 words) · Civil Service grades explained: AA to Grade 7 (what each expects) · Success Profiles scrapped: what it means for Civil Service jobs

Sources

All guides