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If you have credibility, it means that you are trusted and believable. This is a very important quality in every aspect of life.
At work, it might mean that people want to work with you, your supervisor trusts you with important assignments, you will be eligible for promotions and you will feel valued.
Credibility is not something that you want to lose. I have seen the things discussed below over and over again and they absolutely change my perception of my employees. It is very difficult, if not impossible, to regain credibility once you lose it.
Being honest and taking responsibility are the keys to maintaining credibility in the workplace (and in life).
Use a calendar
When you’re given a date for a meeting, phone call, conversation with your supervisor or anything else, put it on your calendar and follow it.
I recently went to the site where I was supposed to meet with one of my staff. We scheduled it previously, based on his availability, and I went there specifically to meet with him. He wasn’t there. He had forgotten.
Once I got to speak with him, this gentleman said he had put the appointment on the calendar on his wall, but not in his phone and so he did not look at it.
That is not acceptable. Use one calendar. It can be your phone, paper, whatever you like best. But you can’t use multiple calendars as an excuse.
Some people have two calendars: one for work and one for personal. I don’t understand how this works (how do I know when I can schedule something personal when I don’t know what is on my work schedule?) but, whatever system you choose, you are responsible for maintaining a calendar and following it at work.
If I have to keep reminding people about appointments that they should already know about, my perception of them cannot help but suffer. They have lost credibility and, whether I want to or not, I treat them differently.
Keep contact information
Once you have been given someone’s contact information, whether a colleague, supervisor, client, resource or anyone else, keep it.
The information was maybe emailed to you, or texted, or written on a piece of paper or read to you. You now have it and it is your responsibility to be able to find it again. Whether you use your phone or a card file or any other system, you don’t want to put yourself in a position where you need to ask for it again. No one has time to look it up again for you.
If this happens more than once, it changes the employer’s opinion of you.
Understand that the paper you just signed applies to you
You’ve just been through a training or been given a company policy that you signed for. You need to put that into practice. Now.
I had a staff member who attended a training on Universal Precautions. You can read more here if you’re not familiar, but Universal Precautions asserts that we treat all bodily fluids as if they are infected, thus keeping everyone safe without discriminating.
The training had just ended. Really, ended just that minute. It was a program that involved caring for babies and this staff person walked directly from the training into the nursery and proceeded to do exactly as she had just been trained not to do. Truly, the exact opposite.
I asked her about it immediately and she didn’t seem to register that she had just been through a training and should have learned something, possibly changed her behavior. Nothing.
I never thought about this woman the same way again. She had lost all credibility, meaning she would never be eligible for a promotion, shift change, or any consideration that I would give someone that I respected and could count on.
I’ve seen the same thing with company policies.
We had a staff meeting during which I introduced an on-call system with instructions as to when and how to use it. People signed that they had received the it, would ask questions if needed, and would follow the policy beginning immediately. It was, by the way, a pretty simple policy.
Most people began following that policy immediately, as would be expected. But there were more than a few who didn’t. They just kept doing exactly as they had done in the past. When asked (and I always ask what the problem is), not a single one was able to give a reasonable explanation for failing to follow the instructions given. No one said it was unclear or difficult to follow. They just hadn’t done so. Most don’t work for me anymore.
I go over certain policies with new staff members shortly after they are hired. One of these is the policy on how to call out if you cannot come to work. It is a short policy and one of the main points is that you have to speak to a person. You cannot text out from work.
One woman sent a text message the very next day saying that she could not come to work. The very next day. When she returned I asked to speak with her and asked her about it. I reminded her that she had just reviewed and signed the policy. She said, “I know, but…” She was fired soon thereafter, for multiple reasons, but this was a very clear sign that she was not someone who I could continue to employ.
All policies at your workplace apply to you. Don’t ever say “I know, but…” at work. Learn the policies and follow them. Ask questions if there is something you don’t understand.
You completely lose credibility when you don’t.
Click here for more about calling out from work.
Don’t Keep Talking about Family Members Being Rushed to the Hospital
If someone tells me they have to leave work because a loved one is being rushed to the hospital, obviously I am going to tell them to go and ask questions later. And if that’s truly what is happening, then I want you to be with your loved one at that critical time.
But this is what I am finding to be the case more and more often:
People are misusing the healthcare system and going to the hospital emergency department when they should be speaking with a primary care physician or maybe going to an acute care center. I understand that there are reasons for this, particularly not having to pay up front at the ER.
It does not, however, translate into having to leave your shift in a hurry if your loved one has cold symptoms. That, you can do after work.
At least be honest about it.
A person having a stroke or a heart attack or who just fell from the roof of a building is “rushed to the hospital.” Others should be making a medical appointment.
You can use sick time to take a family member to a planned medical appointment. Asking for time to do that is perfectly fine.
Being dishonest about the situation and leaving work without good reason cause you to lose credibility with your employer and colleagues.
