It goes without saying that skills and expertise are important to your employer. Every company wants to ensure employees have the knowledge and skills to effectively do their jobs. But following through on your commitments, meeting deadlines, and being consistent is just as important. Both reliable and unreliable employees create ripple effects within their companies. One leads to effective customer management, growth, and success, with the other leads to lost opportunities, high turnover, and a damaged reputation. Here are some of the behaviors of reliable employees and tips on how to be more dependable at work.
Traits of Reliable Employees:
Punctuality/Time Management – This is absolutely essential in trucking. If you can’t (or won’t) trip plan or make your appointment times, this is an indication that you aren’t managing your time well. We understand that some trips are tightly planned and things happen on the road, but regular patterns of tardiness or bad time management are a concern.
Accountability/Ownership – Own your mistakes, back up your decisions, and accept the results. When problems arise, ask yourself “Was there something I could have done to prevent this?” Taking accountability builds trust.
Performance Consistency – Predictability HELPS US PLAN. We can better keep drivers moving when we can rely on the drivers to be where they are supposed to be when they are supposed to be there. Those who are consistently on time, provide good ETAs, and run without overbreaking or constantly stopping are the ones who get more miles and make more money. In short, if you prove yourself to be unreliable, we can’t count on you and we can’t plan ahead.
Effective Communication – Let us know what’s going on, especially if you know ahead of time that there will be issues. The sooner we know about a potential problem, the sooner we can fix it before it becomes a major issue.
Following Company Policy – if you are unsure of company policy, consult your company handbook or ask your manager; ignorance is not a good excuse.
How to Show Dependability:
Meet deadlines WITHOUT reminders – Aside from appointments, this can include expirations: medical card, license, endorsements, etc.
Take initiative/problem solve on your own first – Show that you don’t need constant supervision. Dependable employees don’t need micromanagement. Don’t just point out problems, introduce solutions! This shows you care about the company’s success beyond just everyday transactions.
Support your team – Putting team success ahead of personal successes shows reliability and helps build trust. It shows you are committed to the success of the company, which benefits everyone.
Stay organized and focused – Staying organized will help you maintain reliability; keeping track of all your tasks and ensuring they are completed timely is a major indication of your reliability.
Adapt to changes and maintain a positive attitude while doing so.
Dependable employees become irreplaceable employees – Building reliability and trust is how you become indispensable, an employee your company can’t afford to lose. Being an employee that doesn’t need to be micromanaged frees up time for companies to focus on growth and expansion, leading to greater overall success.