Mistakes at workplace? How to correct and move on

From The Economic Times

TNN  Experts say that the trouble is in not making mistakes, but in not accepting them and knowing how to deal with them. In a professional setting, people are more focused on covering up their mistakes so as to protect their jobs.  HR, however , plays a major part in the kind of attitude that an employee adopts in the acceptance of his/her mistake and how they go about working on correcting it so that the employee can learn and move ahead.  “HR can motivate employees by creating an environment that reinforces confidence, trust and satisfaction ; if this is prevalent in the work culture , it is observed that the employees are not afraid to accept their mistakes. The work culture should inspire self-assurance in the employees. To let them know that even if they make mistakes they will not be penalised and infact, will be helped towards not making such an error is vital,” says Ruth Singh, head – HR, Emkay Global Financial Services Ltd.

Forgetting and letting go off mistakes becomes problematic

When you are working in a professional setting, forgetting and letting go off mistakes becomes problematic, which in turn, also leads to employee engagement problems.  “The environment in the office should be relaxed so that an employee feels safe. Only in such an environment can he/she own up their mistakes to their immediate supervisor or any other supervisor in that case. They should be able to share a relationship with the supervisor based on trust and faith, so that they can admit the mistake without any fear in their minds. HR in an organisation should understand that a relaxed environment makes a person feel more comfortable and gives them a sense of belonging towards the organisation,” says Poonam Singh, HR manager, Neev Group of Companies .

Leadership and communication skills play a major role

For an HR manager, it is always a tricky situation as to the amount of freedom they can afford to give to the employee to make a mistake. It becomes a dual task to ensure employee satisfaction and also keep in mind the organisation’s goal structure, so as not to let the employee make a mistake big enough to interrupt with the same.  “It is the onus of the HR department of an organisation to foster a culture whereby employees not only confess their mistakes, but also take lessons from them. Leadership and communication skills play a major role here. Those in the leading positions need to be trained to handle such tricky situations. When a subordinate opens up to his/her senior, in a quest to confess a mistake, the senior needs to determine the future actions and behaviour of the employee. Appreciation for owning up the mistake should be followed by encouraging the employee to think how such a situation can be avoided in the future,” says Ruth Singh.

It is important to realise and leave room for mistakes

Considering the high-pressure jobs that most people have, it is important to realise and leave room for mistakes, a buffer of sorts. This will help in increasing the productivity per employee and in turn, make the investment in human resources maintenance lesser for the organisation.  “HR can make necessary efforts from their side to bridge the distance between the supervisor and subordinates. They can arrange meetings , training and workshops as an effort to dissolve the distance between the two. Mistakes are our teachers and accepting them and learning from them help us to progress in life,” concludes Poonam Singh.