How Mistakes You Make on the Job Should Be Handled

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This article was inspired by you; one of my fabulous readers. Last week I received an email asking whether I had any any thoughts on what to do if a good employee made a customer service blunder–and I had many. I also thought it would make a great topic for an article because mistakes are something we can all identify with. Here are my thoughts…

First and foremost we are all human and being human means making mistakes. If we embrace that and give others the latitude to be human (make mistakes), our interactions with them would go more smoothly. That being said, being human is being human and running a business is running a business. The two are interdependent. Humans can be good or bad for business.

Let’s say that you are a manager of a local coffee house and you have an employee who is nice but continues to forget to put the condiments (cream, sugar, milk) out on the tables. As a result of his oversight, customers frequently complain about the service and threaten to go to the coffee house at the end of the street. What are you to do? You can’t let this behavior go on, so you let your employee know that condiments must be put out EVERY morning before the cafe opens;  but time and time again, he continues to forget and you begin to notice your sales drop.

So now you are in a tricky situation. Although you like this employee, it is clear that he is bad for business. As a manager your first priority is to protect the business. Unfortunately, it may be time to let this employee go. Businesses are in business to make money and NOTHING else.

However, if your employee rarely make mistakes on the job, then you should be understanding and a second, third or fourth chance given.

If you are the employee:

1. Don’t act like the mistake is no big deal. It may not be a big deal to you, but for your manager, it may be huge. Remember, your manager has the responsibility of looking out for the overall health of the company.

2. Admit your mistake immediately. If you hide it, your boss may become suspicious about what other things you may be hiding– and trust is essential for a harmonious working environment.

3. Avoid making excuses or being defensive. This almost guarantees a bad response from your boss.

4. Apologize to those affected by your mistake.

5. Figure out why/how you made the mistake so you can prevent it from happening again.

6. Take responsibility for your mistake. Use words like: “I really messed this up and I’m so sorry.” The more concerned you seem, the less severely you will be reprimanded. After all, if you show that you get that it was a big deal, you will eliminate your manager’s need to underscore it.

7. Tell those who would be affected by your mistake that you made a mistake. If their work depends on yours, you could be causing them to unknowingly also make a mistake.

8. Do what you need to do to correct your mistake; even if that means working through lunch, staying late or working on the weekend.

You’re going to make mistakes from time to time, and any boss knows that. As long as your mistakes remain occasional and not constant, what should matter most is how you handle them. If  your manager is condescending, rude, aggressive or inappropriate in some way, it may be time for you to report him or her to human resources, look for another job or both.

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