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People make mistakes. This is inevitable. When members of your team make mistakes, the fallout can be costly. Even small errors have an effect when they add up over time. But rather than viewing mistakes as damaging, recognize the opportunity to learn and improve on the insight they offer. Specifically, identify how you can use past and present errors to help prevent employees from making the same or similar mistakes in the future. In doing so, you will position your organization to generate wins more frequently.

What are the best techniques leadership can use to achieve these goals?

1. ENCOURAGE OPEN LINES OF COMMUNICATION

Some employees find leadership intimidating, whether that means their own manager, members of the C-suite, or both. They might fear retribution if they make a mistake. Some employees even fear it could put their jobs in jeopardy. As a result, they might postpone talking to their manager – or not admit to wrongdoing at all.

While no leader wants to see errors made, most mistakes will not singlehandedly sink the ship. With this fact in mind, encourage open lines of communication between employees and their managers. Ensure that employees feel comfortable coming to their managers when they make a mistake. Stress that they will not be punished and, instead, can work with their manager to help prevent the error going forward.

When you create a company culture that leans more towards collaboration than hierarchy, the organization will benefit from improved employee engagement and motivation.

2. MAKE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES CRYSTAL CLEAR

It is not only startups that can fall prey to a single person wearing too many hats or being confused about which hats they should wear. Whether it happens because ambitious employees take up the slack for teammates who are prone to doing the minimum, or managers have failed to establish standards across their team, roles and responsibilities can easily become unclear.

One of leadership’s key roles is providing clarification in this area. Take a consensus across those at the very top of the organization and put it in writing. It is critical that managers make each employee aware of what projects, tasks, and duties fall under their role. This should be done both verbally and in writing. As roles evolve, this information should be updated.

3. IMPLEMENT A SYSTEM THAT MINIMIZES HUMAN ERROR

Artificial intelligence (AI) can be a valuable tool when leveraged in a savvy way. Machines will never replace human beings entirely, but they can save time. Think about which simple, redundant tasks could be automated. By assigning these tasks to AI, you will free employees up to focus on bigger ticket items that require more complex, strategic thinking and ingenuity.

Start by conducting an audit to reveal the areas where human error occurs most often. Look for patterns. For example:

  • Are certain processes more prone to human error?
  • Is it likely that a different team/department would have more success with certain tasks/projects than the one currently doing them?
  • Would AI scripting and automation provide more consistency?

Some people feel threatened by technology like AI, fearing that their employer will lay them off and rely solely on the technology instead. Once you pinpoint places where AI could be used, assure employees that this technology will not take their jobs. It is there simply to support them, allowing them to work on tasks that are of higher importance, relevance, and value.

4. PROVIDE ONGOING TRAINING AND CONTINUING EDUCATION

Knowledge is a great tool to help workers succeed. This is one reason why regularly training and educating employees on the topics that pertain to their role is essential. The more knowledge and hands-on training an employee has, the more likely they are to do their job well and avoid making mistakes.

Training and education could mean anything from online certifications to in-person training events and hands-on activities. It depends on what would serve your organization best. Corporate meetings are a great way to encourage team building and empower employees with the latest and greatest in knowledge.

5. ASK FOR EMPLOYEE FEEDBACK

Leadership is often somewhat removed from the daily workings of the average employee. No one is at fault for this; it is simply the way larger companies often operate. This makes it imperative to get feedback from employees on common errors, the reasons why they are made, and possible solutions.

After all, it is the employees who are on the “front lines,” so to speak. They are the people who do the work every day. This perspective makes them well-positioned to fill leadership in on the strengths and weaknesses of their department, team, and role.

PRO TIP: Don’t stop with asking for feedback from employees.  When mistakes are made and there’s a clear, identifiable problem – whether policy, people, process, or system causing it – act on it.  Far too many organizations get stuck in a feedback loop desiring improved performance without taking responsibility for their part in an issue. Listen carefully, seek solutions, and act to solve problems promptly whenever possible.

6. MAKE A CHECKLIST AVAILABLE FOR EACH PROJECT OR PROCESS

The best way to ensure that workers know what steps are involved is to make that information readily available to them. Checklists offer the added benefit of letting employees literally check steps off as they complete them.

Create a checklist template for each project or process. House it online, but make it printable, to give your workers multiple ways to use it. You do not need advanced IT skills or expensive software to generate checklists.

7. SAVE PROJECT INFORMATION IN A CENTRAL PLACE

Checklists are one of the many types of information you should make accessible to employees. When resources are readily available, it sets workers up to succeed.

There are many ways you can share resources with workers. You could house them in a digital format and share the link or download them into folders saved on the company intranet. These are just a couple of examples.  Consider using a searchable knowledgebase for frequently asked questions or documents, step-by-step instructions for complex processes, or cross-sharing of resources whether in or outside of the company, and more.

MORE WINS AND LESS MISTAKES ARE CLOSER THAN YOU THINK

Positioning your employees for success is not as tricky as it might sound, as the techniques above demonstrate. It takes a little preparation, organization, auditing, and communication – investments that have the potential to pay off handsomely.

Do you want your next corporate meeting or event to focus on mitigating mistakes and getting more wins? If so, contact Gavel International to see how working with a meeting planning company can benefit your organization.

 

 

Jeff Richards
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