A constructive error culture within the company is important. It involves dealing openly with mistakes, communicating them instead of sweeping them under the rug. On an interpersonal level, this contributes to the corporate culture as well as to work motivation. On the other hand, on a business level, an open error culture strengthens an organization's innovation capacity and offers opportunities for further development.
Revolutionary discoveries in science have arisen from supposed mistakes. One of the most prominent cases happened in 1928, when Alexander Fleming did not consider the resulting mold in a bacterial culture to be an error, but investigated it further and thereby discovered penicillin. Today, this antibiotic saves lives all over the world.
Interview: Christian Biedermann & Jan-Philipp Schwarz
In a nutshell, mistakes simply happen in life, even if they make us sweat sometimes. Both in private and on the job, to err is human. That is the underlying attitude at Coopers, too. To dig deeper, we sat down with Christian Biedermann, Managing Director, and Jan-Philipp Schwarz, Business Manager, to talk about the open error culture at Coopers.
Jan-Philipp, today we are talking about the error culture of companies. We'll start with a basic question: What do you consider a mistake?
JPS: Good question. I find two categories of errors relevant. First, grossly negligent errors. And second, careless errors. It is in particular careless errors that we make and that get me upset.
What is a careless mistake in your line of work?
JPS: My people act to the best of their knowledge and belief and are genuinely committed to delivering the highest service quality - and yet things can go wrong at times. For example, if an important piece of information is not obtained during the initial conversation with a customer or candidate. Or if tact was lacking; however, it is important to keep in mind that we offer a service which is person-specific - and people differ in their manner and perception.
Though, I have to be self-reflective here: I am a perfectionistic supervisor, which does not always make it easy, of course, and it builds up pressure, which is how slip-up mistakes happen.
That sounds like self-reflection. In a leadership role like yours, is there a risk of becoming blind to your own mistakes?
JPS: Yes, definitely. You pay a lot of attention to the behavior and dynamics in your team. That makes it all the more important to talk to colleagues in the same position, so they make you look in the mirror and challenge you.
What do you do when a mistake happens? How do you deal with it?
JPS: I neither dwell on mistakes nor punish them. Rather, it is important to me that we talk about why mistakes happened and how they can be avoided. I want everyone to learn from them - that is why we talk openly about mistakes and the lessons learned in our team meetings.
Is that not unpleasant for the person concerned?
JPS: Sometimes, yes. But we are not at all interested in embarrassing our colleagues. Rather, we understand that this is how we prevent others from repeating the same mistake. For us, this is part of our strong team spirit, how we develop together.
Christian, here is a question for you. How do you define a positive, open error culture?
CB: Companies with a positive error culture have a certain basic attitude toward errors. It is like Jan-Philipp said; employees are explicitly allowed to make mistakes and then talk about them without fear of punishment.
A study from Ernst & Young in 2018 showed that managers perceived themselves as approachable and open to talk to - yet their employees perceived it differently. What does Coopers do to avoid this discrepancy?
CB: We strive to create an atmosphere that encourages people to speak up voluntarily when something went wrong. We do not provoke anyone to confess to something, and we do not corner people.
How do you do that?
CB: Mistakes should never destroy an employee's self-esteem. That is why we look at mistakes objectively and deal with them constructively. It is the only way to learn from them.
And you, Jan-Philipp, how do you avoid perceptual differences between supervisors and employees?
JPS: With transparency! My door is always open and I am completely open about my own mistakes. I give concrete examples of what happened to me and how I dealt with it. That may be from my private life. Sharing things like that creates a bond and trust. It also normalizes mistakes and encourages my team to talk about theirs.
Do you have processes or rules for this internal communication?
CB: We stick to the following pattern:
– What exactly happened?
– What are the consequences?
– Accept the as-is situation; life goes on.
– What do we learn and how can we avoid this mistake in the future?
Because of the open error culture, the team knows that others make mistakes too and that this is absolutely okay.
To follow-up on the fourth point: What do you do to ensure that mistakes do not happen again?
JP: There is, of course, no guarantee. But by sharing openly, we sensitize everyone about potential error sources and certain situations. After the second or third time, I expect an improvement. It is part of my job to point it out if something is wrong, what is wrong, and how it should be done correctly.
Does that mean at Coopers there are no consequences for mistakes?
CB: We do not want to limit our people too much. We do not want them to be inhibited and intimidated. There are only serious consequences if there is intentional harmful behavior; but I guess that is self-evident.
That concludes the interview. Thank you both for your time, the insightful conversation, and the glimpse into the error culture at Coopers.
Top 5 Tips: How to Establish an Open Error Culture
To round things off, here are our top 5 tips for building an open and solution-oriented error culture:
- Acceptance
Mistakes simply happen – and when they do, you have to own up to them instead of sweeping them under the rug. All members of an organization need to be aware of this.
- Trust
In order for everyone to own up to their mistakes, you need a trustful work environment. For example, one in which managers disclose their mistakes as well.
- Objectivity
It is not about WHO made a mistake, but WHY it happened.
- Rationality
Mistakes are not to be taken personally; they must be dealt with on a rational rather than emotional level. Learn from them and move on.
- Routine
To normalize making mistakes, include them as a regular part of team meetings, for example as "F*ck Up Stories".
How are mistakes handled in your work-place? What do your superiors and colleagues do well, what would you like to see in the future?
Send us an email on this topic or comment your experiences, wishes and inputs on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook or Xing. We would love to hear your opinion.
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PS: Our interview guide helps you to avoid mistakes in job interviews. Download it conveniently and free of charge as PDF.
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