Eliminate The Fatal Habit Of Unnecessary Errors

Do-overs are the hidden killers of profit, the destroyers of goodwill, the eliminators of clients, the root cause of loss of employee goodwill and destruction of positive direction, positive cash flow and profitability.

In fact, I can think of few things worse than having to go back to fix an error, a poor installation, a mistake… call it whatever you want, it’s something that must be watched and controlled as much as possible. Frequently, it appears to be the result of a poorly managed work team. Crews sent to a client’s houses to install or repair, and because of unclear communication, poor work habits, poor on-site management, low standards or not caring, the job is performed in a way that is unacceptable to the client (and probably to the business owner’s standards as well) and must be redone.

I figure that if all the downtime and discussion were actually tracked, a redo takes as much as twice the time and cost of the original effort required to do the job correctly. That’s a huge loss and depending on the complexity and value of the materials and labor, the cost of a fix could be disabling. If it happens frequently the cost could be cause for serious concern. This type of scenario reveals a number of flaws in the business. Certainly, it reveals a management flaw as it is possible that instructions, plans, etc. were not in place and appropriately managed and communicated effectively. Worse yet, this may be a trend, often repeated.

It may be an indicator of another deep issue, that there are no training programs going on, no mentoring programs, no teamwork, no way of supporting the quality of work desired. It probably also means that there is no incentive reward system and no attention to quality as a requirement of the job. Certainly it indicates that there are no consequences for inferior work, just lost profits while employees continue to make their high hourly wage and possibly even overtime.

I have seen businesses fail because of these problems. Many business owners I talk with tell me it’s far too expensive to add the additional management one needs to supervise effectively and provide the quality control required to insure that jobs are being done right. I say, whatever the cost, it’s still cheaper than failure.

How does one cure this issue? Install a tracking system with accountability and rewards for success. Add incentive-based pay for work completed successfully the first time. Add overview and quality control. Train effectively, have a mentoring program to help the younger workers improve with the help of a dedicated mentor being responsible for the improvement. Create a culture where errors and resulting repairs and redos are unacceptable. Create working teams. Create a career path.

Major errors need never happen again if you create a company culture where employees take pride in their work. If you train, and have quality control systems in place, you will reap the benefits. It can be done. Raise your standards and requirements and provide the systems necessary to support them.