Credibility Management and Training
Credibility & Civility
"Since reputation is a company’s most competitive asset, workplace civility cannot be taken for granted. Incivility can negatively impact retention and recruitment not to mention customer service. Ultimately, incivility leads to a reputation cost.”
Leslie Gaines-Ross Chief Reputation Strategist, Weber Shandwick
Why is Civility Crucial?
Recent studies suggest that incivility creates toxic workplaces that directly impact morale, self esteem, our health, customer service, productivity, and the bottom line. Increasingly, consumers as well as employees are demanding courtesy and respect.
Did you know?
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85% of employees are dissatisfied at their jobs according to a Gallup Worldwide Poll
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62% of workers are described as “not engaged,” meaning they are “unhappy but not drastically so. In short, they’re checked out. They sleepwalk through their days, putting little energy into their work,” Forbes says.
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23% are what Gallup calls “actively disengaged,” meaning “they pretty much hate their jobs. They act out and undermine what their coworkers accomplish.”
The need is now to empower your employees with knowledge that makes them effective representatives of your brand.
Positive outcomes of civility training
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Achieving professional goals
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Increasing confidence, credibility and professionalism
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Becoming persuasive and learning impact and influence
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Practicing positive, professional communication skills; in print, on the phone, electronically, non-verbally, and face-to-face
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Increases productivity and performance
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Increasing social IQ building productive workplace relationships
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Produces highly engaged staff and employee retention, employee moral and loyalty
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Ensuring client service satisfaction, better customer service and increasing sales
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Research shows civility at work increases revenue by 30%
Incivility is becoming COMMONPLACE. The Civility in America 2011 poll reported that 38% of working Americans believe that their workplace is becoming more disrespectful, and 67% believe that there is a clear need for civility training.
Incivility is EXPENSIVE. Chris Rosen, professor of management in the Sam M. Walton College of Business estimates that “workplace incivility has doubled over the past two decades and that on average costs companies about $14,000 per employee annually because of loss of production and work time.” Individual organizations pay on average $100,000 yearly due to incivility, according to Civility Partners. Lost client cost due to incivility are between $25, 000 and $50, 000 according to Civility Partners. What is your organization doing right now to mitigate these costs.
Perhaps most alarming, however, is the fact that incivility is CONTAGIOUS. Researchers under Rosen found that experiencing rude behavior increased mental fatigue, which reduced employees’ self-control and led them to act in a similar, disrespectful manner toward fellow employees, as well as customers and clients later in the day.
Incivility costs your reputation and credibility.
“Since reputation is a company’s most competitive asset, workplace civility cannot be taken for granted. Incivility can negatively impact retention and recruitment not to mention customer service. Ultimately, incivility leads to a reputation cost.”
Leslie Gaines-Ross Chief Reputation Strategist, Weber Shandwick
Bottom line costs and consequences of incivility in the workplace
Christine Porath has surveyed more than 20,000 people over a 10-year period. She says the effects of rudeness spread like a virus, and the ability to take feedback or work collaboratively close down. The tangible effects of incivility are startling:
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80% of workers lost work time worrying about an offending incident.
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78% said their commitment to the organization declined.
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66% reported their performance declined.
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48% who had been on the receiving end of incivility intentionally decreased their work effort.
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47% intentionally decreased the time spent at work.
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80% of customers who witness rudeness among employees were unlikely to return to the business.
Civility is very important to health and workplace wellness.
83% of respondents agreed that it was “very important” to their well-being, to their health, to their performance, and job satisfaction to work in a civil environment.
Source Baltimore Workplace Civility Study
The solution to incivility is Civility Training and Civility Initiatives
Seven Steps to Civility at Work Initiative
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Assess the current situation.
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Outline a new standard.
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Equip your team to succeed.
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Lead the new standard
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Embed accountability
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Tools and best practices
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Workplace civility culture
