Seven ways to reduce errors at work

However diligent an employee, errors will inevitably creep into their work. This is simply human nature; after all, no one is perfect.

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Depending on the employee’s role, errors can result in ill-health through a physical injury or mental illness; for this reason, employers are advised to manage human failures in the same way they deal with the technical failures that lead to problems in the workplace.

Here are some ways to reduce errors at work:

1. Encourage responsibility

No one wants to feel that they are being monitored for mistakes; therefore, managers should concentrate on suggesting good work practices rather than criticising mistakes. By explaining good practice to the workforce, you will create a better working environment in which employees feel that they can report errors, reducing the chances that they will be repeated.

2. Do not be obsessed with multi-tasking

Employees can find themselves obsessed with the idea of multi-tasking, switching between different items as they chase deadlines and failing to reach perfection in any of the jobs to hand. Leaping between different jobs can be distracting and mean that full attention is not being applied as it should, so encourage staff to do one job at a time.

3. Use available technology

Translating data between different formats can be time-consuming, but technology is available to make this task easier; for example, translating information from one to another – such as from PDF to Excel – can be made easier by using software widely available online from resources such as Pdftables. This will help to reduce errors where entries are otherwise made manually.

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4. Encourage questioning

One of the main causes of mistakes in the workplace is that employees feel they cannot use the management chain to ask questions about how they can best carry out their task. Creating an environment in which queries can be made to improve efficiency will have obvious benefits.

5. Checklists

Having an easily accessible checklist for the job in hand will mean that it is completed in the optimum time and minimise mistakes.

6. Constant analysis

By going back and reviewing the work already completed, employees can stay on target and reduce errors.

7. Learn from mistakes

Both management and the workforce have to learn from mistakes – this must be a two-way street.

The above tips will help to reduce workplace errors.