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Mistakes in the workplace
- Thread starter jtinker
- Start date
Gino
Premium Subscriber
You deal with it, but that doesn't mean you just take it on the chin..... it means you literally deal with it. We all make mistakes and some of them cost money or even clients, but none should be costing lives as with doctors and soldiers.
If you see someone in the shop who had done the same thing wrong, let's say twice, you investigate it, see if it was explained to them correctly or if they have reading problems. Talk with them and find out what they aren't understanding. If someone is always inputting data wrong into a computer, find them another job, evidently you hired them incorrectly.
Ultimately, we are responsible for having the right people in the right spot of the assembly line, as much of it is these days. If you can't do that right, then re-think if you are doing your job correctly. While you can only try to prevent as many little mistakes as possible, to eliminate them entirely, you'd hafta ago completely robotic and then you'd be outta job, too.
If you see someone in the shop who had done the same thing wrong, let's say twice, you investigate it, see if it was explained to them correctly or if they have reading problems. Talk with them and find out what they aren't understanding. If someone is always inputting data wrong into a computer, find them another job, evidently you hired them incorrectly.
Ultimately, we are responsible for having the right people in the right spot of the assembly line, as much of it is these days. If you can't do that right, then re-think if you are doing your job correctly. While you can only try to prevent as many little mistakes as possible, to eliminate them entirely, you'd hafta ago completely robotic and then you'd be outta job, too.
Ever see these really big production houses for signs or other advertising stuff ?? It's practically all run by machines.... which have taken the place of millions of people 
jtinker
Owner
then you take the finger XD
Solventinkjet
DIY Printer Fixing Guide
Training your employees, following up with performance reviews, and giving a monetary incentive to be mistake free for a certain amount of time will move your business forward much better than making them pay for the mistakes. If someone is not motivated to make more money by being more attentive, you can fire them and find someone who is. If your best guy makes a mistake and you take money away, he might just leave out of spite.
jtinker
Owner
That is a wonderful idea, that last part is spot on. A big reason that was my old job and not my current was because for all the work I did without mistakes I was charged hundreds of dollars for the one that got away.
Start an overage fund. Apply a small fixed fee or percentage to each job/project and mistakes are billed to that fund at cost. At the end of the year (or quarterly) if the fund is in the black, distribute it among the stakeholders as a bonus.
bob
It's better to have two hands than one glove.
That would seem to be in violation of an entire body of law. At least it would be here in the USofA.
By law employees cannot be held financially responsible for any materials or equipment placed in their care by their employer. I know this from practical experience. Once upon a time I worked in field service for a large computer manufacturer with three initials and later for a large peripheral manufacturer that had no initials. On both jobs we were issued oscilloscopes and other, more arcane, test equipment, tools, and spare parts. These items would, on occasion, be pilfered by parties unknown or just disappear based on principles unknown to anyone. Our employers routinely would pis$ and moan and threaten to charge us for the missing stuff. We would routinely have legal counsel inform our employers of the law and include a bill for their services in lieu of a lawsuit. They paid the bill every time.
If an employee screws something up you write it off. You can fire the employee. Or not. But you cannot charge him for his error.
chester215
Just call me Chester.
I would think that back-charging employees would be looking for a lawsuit or investigation by the department of labor, especially if someone is making less than minimum wage after the deductions.
I have a really hard time understanding business owners who would charge their employees for mistakes on a regular basis (not to mention the legality of it). Mistakes happen, if the same thing happens multiple times, than that employee should not be doing that job. If that means termination, so be it. Perhaps its just more training, and a warning that any future mishaps will be cause for suspension or termination. I don't know why, but the last two people we employed would screw up on banners all the time. They could do way more difficult things without issue, but banners for some reason would come out wrinkled and the grommets would be puckered. After I voiced my disapproval loudly, one would ask for help (the other left to work more at a different job.)
I make mistakes that cost money (not really, because I'M AWESOME.) And my partner (husband) does so many things that cost more than they should. Its a learning process, and its cost of business. If you are not accounting for mistakes in pricing your product, than you are doing it wrong. A great idea is to offer that % as a bonus to those who don't screw up on a monthly or quarterly basis. That way, you are rewarding hard work, not punishing someone for what could be an honest mistake.
I make mistakes that cost money (not really, because I'M AWESOME.) And my partner (husband) does so many things that cost more than they should. Its a learning process, and its cost of business. If you are not accounting for mistakes in pricing your product, than you are doing it wrong. A great idea is to offer that % as a bonus to those who don't screw up on a monthly or quarterly basis. That way, you are rewarding hard work, not punishing someone for what could be an honest mistake.
Billct2
Active Member
There's one thing I have learned about running a sign shop
When an employee makes a mistake I pay for it
When a customer makes a mistake I pay for it
and the one that is the most frequent...
When I make a mistake I pay for it.
So one of my greatest responsibilities is to minimize mistakes.
When an employee makes a mistake I pay for it
When a customer makes a mistake I pay for it
and the one that is the most frequent...
When I make a mistake I pay for it.
So one of my greatest responsibilities is to minimize mistakes.
eahicks
Magna Cum Laude - School of Hard Knocks
Yeah....I worked at a company that did this. It was a joke...wanted me to keep a logbook with every mistake/recut of vinyl and give it a monetary amount to deduct from the 'pool'. I spent WAY too much time keeping logs of every comma, or letter, or number that had to be recut for whatever reason.
I would assume ANY company in this biz structures their pricing to allow for the common goof or recut, meaning your markup of cost of goods is in line to cover any mishap, wasted materials, etc.... You should be able to redo an entire banner if necessary, for instance, and still make a little money, not lose money. If reprinting a banner hurts your bottom line, you're not priced high enough. But I agree with others, if it happens a lot, then you need to retrain whoever is screwing up that much.
rjssigns
Active Member
IMO it boils down to type of mistake and frequency.
The following scenario looks at the same employee making the same mistake.
If an employee makes a mistake you have a chat about what went wrong. Use this chat to see if additional training is necessary. If additional training is indicated do it.
If said employee makes the same mistake again you have another talk about the mistake. At the end of the talk you tell them in no uncertain terms that the next time it happens they're gone.
Pretty simple.
Flip side is the employee that constantly makes mistakes no matter what they're doing. Course of action is quite obvious here.
Thing to remember is to have the paper trail. Signed training/seminar logs put an absolute end to; "I didn't get any training or know about this or that procedure B.S."
It was this way at my old job. The phrase Read it Learn it Live it was popular. Your job depended on it.
My helpful hint for the day:
Start hiring from temp agencies. Perfect way to have them on probation for as long as it takes to find potential flaws with their work or work ethic.
The following scenario looks at the same employee making the same mistake.
If an employee makes a mistake you have a chat about what went wrong. Use this chat to see if additional training is necessary. If additional training is indicated do it.
If said employee makes the same mistake again you have another talk about the mistake. At the end of the talk you tell them in no uncertain terms that the next time it happens they're gone.
Pretty simple.
Flip side is the employee that constantly makes mistakes no matter what they're doing. Course of action is quite obvious here.
Thing to remember is to have the paper trail. Signed training/seminar logs put an absolute end to; "I didn't get any training or know about this or that procedure B.S."
It was this way at my old job. The phrase Read it Learn it Live it was popular. Your job depended on it.
My helpful hint for the day:
Start hiring from temp agencies. Perfect way to have them on probation for as long as it takes to find potential flaws with their work or work ethic.
I find the entire premise of charging an employee for mistakes reprehensible. Unless you are underpricing your work and working on such a narrow margin that any errors are shoving you closer to the edge of bankruptcy, there just is no rationale for it in a modern society. Most of our grandparents fought long and hard to force the 8 hour work day, end child labor, sweatshops, unpaid overtime, the end of "company towns" where your rent, food, clothing was paid for out of your wages at highly inflated rates, etc... In fact, many of our country's agricultural workers still work under those type of conditions.
Stuff happens...... materials jam, vinyl runs crooked through the plotter and jams, etc., etc. Cheapskate employers also skimp on adequate tools, work areas, cutting areas, sharp blades, poor lighting, etc. all of which contribute to mistakes.
Nearly all of the materials we use most often cost pennies per square foot and an occasional full redo should still fall within the profit margin. That is unless the employee is both overpaid, slow as molasses and mistake prone.
Now if its user error mistakes that occur frequently with the same employee, then either retrain, shift duties or replace.
Stuff happens...... materials jam, vinyl runs crooked through the plotter and jams, etc., etc. Cheapskate employers also skimp on adequate tools, work areas, cutting areas, sharp blades, poor lighting, etc. all of which contribute to mistakes.
Nearly all of the materials we use most often cost pennies per square foot and an occasional full redo should still fall within the profit margin. That is unless the employee is both overpaid, slow as molasses and mistake prone.
Now if its user error mistakes that occur frequently with the same employee, then either retrain, shift duties or replace.