EO capability guide · 2024 Framework
Building Future Readiness at EO
What the board is really testing when they ask an EO about digital focus, change and new ways of working, with one full high-scored answer set beside one that leaves marks on the table.
What the board is testing at EO
The capability
Building Future Readiness is one of the six capabilities profiled for Executive Officer under the 2024 Capability Framework. At EO it is marked through these sub-elements:
- Digital Focus
- Openness to Change
- Innovation & Creative Solutions
- Upskilling for the Future
At EO, Building Future Readiness is not about setting a digital strategy. The board is scoring whether you use the tools in front of you well, take a change on board without being dragged, and look for a better way of doing your own work rather than waiting to be told.
They want evidence you noticed something that could be done more efficiently and did something about it inside your own remit. A small, real improvement you drove counts for far more than a big idea you only talked about.
They are also listening for how you keep your own skills current. At EO that means naming a specific thing you learned and then used, not a vague claim that you like learning.
The question shapes boards use
Boards rarely name the capability outright. They ask for an example and score what you say against it. For Building Future Readiness at EO, the question usually lands in one of these shapes:
- Tell us about a time you improved the way a task or process was done.
- Describe a time you had to adapt to a significant change at work.
- Give an example of when you used technology or a new system to work more effectively.
- Tell us about a time you took the initiative to learn something new for your role.
A high-scored answer, beside a low-scored one
Same candidate, same true example, two ways of telling it. The difference is not the story. It is whether the board can tick a behaviour and write down a result. Read both, then read the margin notes.
The scenario. A licensing unit that renews permits for the public. The renewals were tracked in a paper diary and a shared inbox, and applications were being missed. The question asks for a time you improved how work was done.
Our renewals were tracked in a paper desk diary and a shared inbox, and every few weeks an application slipped through and someone rang in annoyed that their permit had lapsed. I decided to fix the tracking rather than just work harder at the old way.
I built a simple shared spreadsheet with a column for the received date, the due date and the current status, and I set a conditional format so anything within five days of its deadline turned amber. I checked it with my supervisor first, then moved the live renewals across myself over two quiet afternoons so nothing was lost in the switch. I wrote a half-page note on how to use it and ran a ten-minute walkthrough for the three of us on the desk, because a tool only helps if the team actually uses it.
Over the following two months we did not miss a single renewal, where before it had been roughly one a fortnight, and the amber flag meant we were chasing people before their permit lapsed instead of apologising after. My supervisor asked me to show the next unit over how we had set it up.
Why it scores
- Names the personal action: "I built", "I moved the live renewals across myself" gives the marker a behaviour to tick, not a team effort.
- Digital Focus is shown, not claimed: a specific, sensible use of a tool they already had, sized right for an EO.
- Checked before acting: clearing it with the supervisor and migrating carefully shows judgement, not a reckless change.
- The result carries a number: from about one missed renewal a fortnight to none over two months. A marker can write that down.
- Upskilling for the Future lands lightly: teaching the team and being asked to show the next unit shows the improvement stuck.
We were still very paper-based in our unit and it was not really working, so we decided to move things onto the computer and start using spreadsheets more. Everyone got on board with it eventually and it made things a lot easier for the whole team.
I have always been someone who is good with technology and open to change, so I was happy to help out where I could. It modernised how we worked and things ran a lot more smoothly after that. My manager was pleased with how it went.
Why it loses marks
- No personal action a marker can tick: "we decided", "I helped out where I could" credits nobody in particular.
- No number anywhere: "a lot easier", "ran more smoothly" are opinions, not evidence of an outcome.
- Tells instead of shows: "I am good with technology and open to change" claims the capability rather than demonstrating it.
- No judgement on display: nothing about what was decided, checked or weighed up, so the board hears activity, not thinking.
Quick take
Common questions
Do I need a technical or IT example for this capability?
My improvement was small. Will the board mark it down?
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