Gaining Credibility with Management
What does it mean to be credible? A quick look in the dictionary tells us that to be credible means "capable of being believed: deserving confidence."
What is the implied message here? Credibility must be earned!
The real question is, "What can the safety committee do to increase its credibility and earn confidence in its recommendations?"
To get things done, you must have credibility. To achieve this, safety committees must demonstrate both expert power and position power.
Expert Power
To be believable, members of the safety committee must clearly understand their role, purpose, duties, and responsibilities. They need to understand where their responsibility ends and where management's responsibility takes over.
When the safety committee realizes they play an internal consultant's role to the employer, they know that their credibility depends on the expertise they bring to the role. How do you gain expertise? By increasing your knowledge and gaining experience.
Writing and submitting effective recommendations to management is crucial to gain credibility. The most effective recommendations will discuss costs and benefits and offer reasonable options for correcting workplace hazards, unsafe work practices, and ineffective administrative controls.
Position Power
Another strategy for gaining credibility is to increase the committee's position power. A characteristic of position power is access to the decision-makers. Does the safety committee chairperson have access to the CEO?
Does the committee "have the ear" of the person in charge? A safety committee's position power is strengthened when it communicates with the head of the organization. Which safety committee has more position power: the committee reporting to the deputy director for human resources, or the committee reporting to the CEO? The principle here is that for the safety committee to increase its own position power, it must communicate directly with the powerful positions found within the organization.
Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.
3-2. Which two forms of power are necessary for the safety committee to gain credibility?
You forgot to answer the question!