Everyone has had at least one cringe-worthy moment in his or her career. Whether you accidentally hit “reply all” on an email that revealed information only meant for one or you misspelled your client’s name in marketing materials, a mistake at work offers varying degrees of embarrassment. While some mistakes can buy you a ticket to unemployment, most instances offer a chance to recover.
First and foremost, apologize and be gracious. Do not offer a slew of excuses; they will only make you seem insincere. Everyone makes mistakes, and people appreciate it when others own up to their behavior. Also, apologizing once is enough. Excessive “I'm sorry's” make everyone uncomfortable and add to the stress levels of everyone involved.
Make a plan to fix your mistake. Apologies only go so far, and try to rectify the situation if possible. If you accidentally deleted important documents, offer to stay late and create a new report. If a client is upset about late or missed work, throw in a bonus like a discount on future work.
Seek out support. Making a mistake at work is stressful, especially if your job security is at stake. That can be enough to make your stomach churn. Whether you enlist a spouse, a friend, or a co-worker, it helps to give voice to your anxiety and receive advice and reassurances from your support network.
Move on. Difficult as it may be, you need to let bygones be bygones and move forward. Do not allow your remorse to cripple your work and your ability to make decisions going forward. One mistake does not rule you incompetent. Be humble, but trust that you can learn from your mistake.
Some mistakes are preventable. Losing important documents, for instance, should not trip up your business. At Pacific Office Automation, we can improve your workflow with a custom document management system. Digitizing your records makes them easy to access, edit, and share. Important client or business information stays protected and will not get lost as it moves among different departments. Plus, it provides a paper trail of who created, edited, and shared a document.
Mistakes happen, but preventing them can save your business valuable time and money. Contact Pacific Office Automation today to find out how we can help your company reduce the hiccups.