We take pride in our great relationships with clients, vendors, coworkers, and patients. What are strategies you use to develop great relationships with the people you work with?
In serving more than 27 million Americans and an additional 8 million people worldwide, building and fostering great relationships is what keeps the business growing at UnitedHealth Group. As one of its values, UHG believes that relationships are the key to deepening connections and ensuring member satisfaction and retention. Knowing that you have a great method for building trust and rapport in your relationships will be important to your interviewer. Lay out your plan for how you build trusting relationships and don't hesitate to use a great example of a time you did this in the past that led to a long-lasting and solid work venture.
"Your success here at UnitedHealth Group in becoming one of the top Fortune 500 companies in the country has been built on the satisfaction you provide to the members you ensure, the patients you care for, and the healthcare providers you work with daily and I'm happy to bring a strong ability to continue growing these relationships moving forward. My ability to solidify relationships with those I work with starts with a sense of trust. To me, trust means doing what I say, saying what I do, and always ensuring that my attitude is positive with anyone I'm collaborating with. The members I would be working with will know that I care for their needs and take all actions possible to resolve issues."
Community answers are written by other candidates practicing this set. Reading how others frame the same question is one of the fastest ways to sharpen your own.
Anonymous Answer
People just love to talk about themselves. I believe I am a people-person and a great listener. I would be genuinely interested in knowing more about the team and let them talk about their interests and achievements. I would make right eye contact, treat them respectfully and talk to them with a smile. Also, I would make use of humor and share experiences to foster a strong relationship.
Rachelle's Feedback
It sounds like you understand what makes people 'tick!' These should certainly be effective approaches for developing meaningful relationships.
Anonymous Answer
I have often been complimented on my positive attitude and my ability to get along with others and build relationships. I enjoy learning about people, and I assure you I will be a positive influence in UnitedHealth Group when it comes to cultivating positive relationships.
Cindy's Feedback
This is a very important attribute. Can you give an example so the interviewer can picture this quality in action?
Anonymous Answer
Be genuine, offer help when and where it is needed. Be my best where I can set an example for others. Stay steadfast in demonstrating value and integrity, as well as, encouraging a team spirit.
Marcie's Feedback
You offer several great relationship-building strategies in your reply. Consider building out your answer a bit more. See below for an example:
I think that it's highly important to maintain great working relationships with my colleagues, clients, and others. This helps me to perform my job more effectively. To develop great relationships I always try to be as genuine as I can so people know who I am and what they can expect from me. I also pride myself on helping others whenever needed. Having a reputation of being dependable and helpful is beneficial to my relationships with others. In addition, I always aim to be a great role model for the people coming up behind me by demonstrating integrity and a willingness to be a team player. All of these strategies have helped me to build amazing relationships with the people around me, and I look forward to doing the same at UnitedHealth Group.
Anonymous Answer
I assure you that I will treat everyone at UHG with respect having a positive attitude. I am a people person and have been complimented many times on my relationship-building skills with previous employers. I am a great listener, and strategies I would use to build great relationships with coworkers would always be to listen while they talk so I can learn their interests and achievements, always make eye contact with a smile on my face. Even working remotely, I will speak with a smile because you can hear the happiness in a person's voice when they smile.
Kevin's Feedback
Respect and positivity are certainly key components to building strong workplace relationships. Listening to someone while they speak, treating someone with respect and smiling and maintaining positivity are traits you want to exhibit when interacting with anyone. But in the scope of the interview, this doesn’t necessarily exhibit an above-and-beyond ethic. In fact, it is the bare minimum. Anything less would be a fail. You can deepen your answer by sharing how you would support a collaborative atmosphere through things like clear communication, supporting team members as needed, accepting/providing constructive feedback, helping to resolve conflict appropriately, and showing you’re trustworthy and reliable by delivering high-quality work that ensures company and team objectives are met.
Whenever I’m getting to know someone, I’ll ask a lot of questions. I’ll ask them about themselves, ask them for advice in the workplace, ask for their opinions and insights, and do everything I can to show an interest in them. If they are forthright and open, I will actively listen and remember what they’ve told me. If they mentioned they're going to a concert that night, I’ll show an active interest in them by following up by asking how they enjoyed the concert the next day. If they are more introverted and not chatty, I’ll adapt my communication style to theirs, and relate to them any way I can, according to their nature. I always carry my positive attitude with me wherever I go. I am happy-go-lucky to the core, and everybody wants to be around me because I am a bright person by nature, and I use this gift to brighten everyone’s day wherever I can. I am a people person, through and through.
Anonymous Answer
To build great relationships with clients, vendors, coworkers, and patients you have to show them respect. Get to know them on a deeper level. What are their likes and their hobbies? Do they have children, and or pets? Jot down their birthday and send them birthday wishes. Sometimes the small things can make the biggest impact.
Marcie's Feedback
Nice! Taking notes about the personal likes and dislikes of clients, etc., is definitely a great strategy to implement when building strong relationships. You might also mention being knowledgeable about your company's products so you can address customer pain points and so they know they can depend on you as a valuable resource. Also, if you can talk about a time when you built a strong relationship at work, this will further strengthen your response. Great job!
Anonymous Answer
I always prioritize building solid and trusting relationships with all that you would be working with both internally and externally. I always treat everyone both at work and in my personal life with great respect and a positive attitude. I would focus on building strong and healthy relationships on the job if I am fortunate enough to be hired for this role. To develop great relationships I always try to be as genuine as I can so people know who I am and what they can expect from me. I also pride myself on helping others whenever needed. Having a reputation for being dependable and helpful is beneficial to my relationships with others. In addition, I always aim to be a great role model for the people coming up behind me by demonstrating integrity and a willingness to be a team player. All of these strategies have helped me to build amazing relationships with the people around me, and I look forward to doing the same at UnitedHealth Group."
Marcie's Feedback
Nice! Being respectful, positive, genuine, helpful, dependable, and a great role model are all exceptional ways to build strong working relationships. Is there a relationship that you can talk about that you developed during a previous job? This would support all of the assertions you've made and make your answer even more powerful. Great job!
Anonymous Answer
Communication is key to a great working relationship. Being a good listener, understanding the goal, delivering on time, and producing quality work all go a long way in building trust and a strong partnership.
Marcie's Feedback
You're right - communication is key. Can you talk about a time when you built trust and a meaningful relationship with a customer, coworker, or vendor? You mentioned some of the ways you would do this in a general sense; talk the interviewer through this with specifics to make your answer impactful and memorable. Great job!
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