Nobody’s perfect. No matter how skilled and experienced you are, you’re going to make mistakes at work from time to time. Whether your mistakes become learning experiences, or come back to haunt you and hurt your career, depends on how you handle them.
Here is some sage advice about what to do (and what not to do) when you realize you have made a mistake at work. Plus, we’ll explain how you can learn from the experience and avoid making the mistake again.
4 steps to fix your mistakes at work
1. Keep calm and keep things in perspective
When you realize you have made a mistake at work, chances are you’re going to feel embarrassed, frustrated, regretful, or even panicked at first. That’s perfectly normal and it’s ok to feel those things for a short period of time.
However, don’t let those negative emotions linger too long. Take a deep breath and put the problem in perspective. It’s common (and tempting) to make the problem bigger than it is, imagining that you’ll get fired and you’ll fail in your career. Things are rarely that bad in reality.
On the other hand, don’t make the mistake of dismissing or avoiding the problem. The trick is to take it seriously, own up to your mistake, and take responsibility without beating yourself up.
2. Evaluate the potential damage
To respond appropriately to your mistake at work, you need to figure out who may be hurt by your mistake and what may happen as a result.
Take a few minutes to think realistically about the consequences of what you did wrong (or failed to do right). Is a customer angry because their problem isn’t fixed? Have you made a coworker upset? Will your mistake cost your company money or lost business? Consider who is impacted and how they are likely to react.
Now you have the information you need to fix the damage to the best of your ability.
3. Apologize the right way
Trying to hide your mistake, make excuses, or shift the blame to others is only going to make things worse. Instead, be honest and straightforward about what happened and make a sincere apology to those who have been impacted by your mistake.
There’s no need to be long-winded about it. Simply share what happened, take responsibility, and express your regret.
If you’re apologizing to a customer, let them know what you are doing to make things right (see the next step). If talking to your supervisor, you can also share how you plan to avoid making the same mistake again.
4. Make things right
When it comes to responding to mistakes at work, it’s true that actions speak louder than words. An apology will go a long way to ease others’ feelings, but taking action to fix things does more to minimize the fallout and help put the mistake behind you.
For example: if you made a mistake on a repair job because you were distracted, you could offer your company as much flexibility as possible to go back and fix it. Or if you were late for an important appointment because you overslept, show your boss that you have set up multiple alarms to make sure you won’t do that again. If you’ve had an accident with a company truck, even if it’s just a fender bender, offer to take a driving course to improve your skills and possibly lower insurance costs for your company.
In the days or weeks following the incident, it’s smart to work extra hard to rebuild your own confidence as well as others’ trust in you.
How to avoid making more mistakes at work
Think about the mistake and what caused it
After you’ve done what you can to fix things, take a little time to think about what led to your mistake. Were you in a hurry? Were you distracted? Were you stressed out by other problems? Were you trying to take on something you aren’t qualified to do? It’s essential to uncover the root cause of the problem if you want to prevent it from happening again.
Identify your weaknesses and work on them
Have you been in a pattern of making numerous small mistakes at work? If so, take stock of the weaknesses or deficiencies that may be causing them.
Do you need more training on a specific technical skill? Or to work on your communication skills with customers? Maybe you need to correct your own thinking or behavior in certain situations. Either way, change starts with awareness.
Once you have identified the behaviors or skill sets you need to work on, actively seek out resources to help you improve, whether that’s formal training, coaching from a mentor, or online resources (like this one). In fact, check out our training resources for HVACR technicians for educational articles and videos on a variety of topics.
Be your best self
Mistakes at work often happen simply because you’re not at your best. Inadequate sleep, poor nutrition, not getting enough exercise, and too much stress can impair your judgment, your attention span, and your problem-solving ability, among other things.
Don’t overlook your physical and mental wellbeing. Taking steps to improve your health will improve your work performance and help you minimize mistakes.
HVACR Career Connect NY was created to promote the exceptional quality-of-life benefits of a career in HVAC and Refrigeration service, and also to provide a clear path for getting started in the profession. In doing so, we serve as a resource for employers in the New York City metro area to find and hire smart and capable new technicians. We also serve as an educational resource to support business growth and to help service technicians succeed in their chosen profession.
Learn about technical careers in the HVAC & Refrigeration industry, how to get hired and tips to build your career.