Mistakes are inevitable, no matter how well employees are trained or how stringent a company’s recruitment process is, they are going to make mistakes. It could be a minor mistake or a major business disaster, but either way, you should be prepared to deal with it and find ways to motivate employees to move forward.
So what does it mean to “deal with it?” Correcting said mistake is important, but there’s something just as important- giving the employee another chance. You see, when employees make mistakes, it’s easy for the boss to just push them aside and do things themselves or assign someone better to do it. This is the “If you want things done right, you have to do it yourself” attitude. It might work well in correcting the problem at hand, but it’s not an effective long term solution.
The Key to Handling Employee Mistakes and Preventing Future Blunders at the Same Time
“I forgive you” or “I don’t blame you”, that’s what you should say first to an employee who made a mistake. Say it before telling them off and assigning the task to someone else. Don’t just say, “It’s okay”, because that’s not the same as “I don’t blame you” or “I forgive you.” If you say “it’s okay”, then proceed to fix the mess, employees might think that it’s alright to be careless about their job- you’re there to save the day anyway!
Saying “I don’t blame you” doesn’t excuse people from their inappropriate behavior or mistake, it just means you’re not going to continuously remind them of their mistakes for the length of their employment. Forgiving is one of the best ways to motivate employees, it shows that you are confident in their ability to learn.
What if they made a major mistake? What if I can’t forgive them just yet?
That sentiment is understandable but as a leader, you should know by know that holding unnecessary emotional (or professional) baggage won’t help you and the people who work with you in anyway. Lack of forgiveness and understanding affects team dynamics: your employees might look at you as some over the top perfectionist. It also fosters resentment, antagonism and distrust among the team, which affects the communication skills in the workplace.
Blaming employees won’t get you anywhere, too. In fact, it just makes you look bad, as if you don’t know how to train or manage your people.
After forgiveness…
The process of finding ways to motivate employees and training them to become better at their job doesn’t stop after you clear them for their mistakes. Everyday office life is a cycle of setting directions and helping your people to get there with as few bumps as possible, so your job is to find ways to motivate employees to continue the journey and create an environment where failures are tolerated (for the sake of learning) but not really encouraged. After forgiveness, the next thing to do is move forward through learning.
