can I get fired for this? how bad is it?

[Snowowls]

I work in a company where I enter data manually into a system. I do about 8000-10000 entries per annum (it's about usage of a certain product which is linked to invoice creation). I was informed last week that in the last few months, 3 entries were incorrectly entered (though the have been corrected after the customer complained), all invoices had been corrected. I have been told that is is an unacceptable standard of working and I am having an urgent meeting with my line manager about it next Monday to discuss my poor performance. I have been in my job for 5 years but I worry I will let go. There were innocent mistakes. Not sure how they happened, just human nature. It's the first time in 5 years such a mistake has been flagged to but I am absolutely terrified as I have now a (disciplinary?) meeting about it. Any advice on how to respond? I am not in a union.

You have a 0.00006% error rate in the last five years.

Don't quit. Got to ACAS and join a union if you can. They cannot reasonably expect a 0% error rate.

no controls, we work like in the dark ages esp for such a major company.

This ^ plus you're now more likely to make mistakes due to the pressure.

BMW had a ridiculous 2 parts per million error rate when I worked for a car parts manufacturing ompany. They had plenty of checking in place to stay within target.

Any company that needs 10000 manual entries by one person per year needs to seriously look at its working methods and more automation re data collection and transfer.

If you're having to type commas into numbers (and you're in the UK, so the comma isn't the decimal separator?) the system you're using sounds like a load of old cobblers as well. Numbers should never have to be typed in with separators other than the decimal.

0% error rate is just ludicrous. It sounds like you're typing up something from paper, where did the data on the paper come from? Why are they being too cheap to get the data sent from one place to another digitally, instead of having you type it in? Using humans means they simply have to accept a certain error rate. This blog post mentions a study by the Journal of Accountancy on expected error rates, I'm still trying to track it down as I work a lot in data and this would be useful for me to be able to refer to - when I find it I'll post a link here and I would arm yourself with some statistics to demonstrate 0% error rate is not possible.

If their target for errors is 0% then they need to have very robust quality checking in place, if they haven’t they can’t seriously expect a human to have 0 errors, that’s not possible even for the best, most diligent workers.

You only made three mistakes ... your employer should be glad that you're so accurate. I don't know anyone who doesn't make mistakes. Some could be life & death, for sure. Others, such as data entry, should be corrected and everybody moves on. Please don't resign. I'd ask your line manager in the meeting if they can say that they NEVER make mistakes. In my company if we makes mistakes - they happen - our customers understand that a mistake has been made but as long as it's rectified then no problem. Good luck.

A blue-chip company wouldn’t have a data inputting role like this. To be honest I thought jobs like this became obsolete at least 10, if not 20 years ago!

Any company who still operates in this way would be very inefficient, and I’d be looking to move if only because a company that continued with 20th century practices like this can’t have long for this world!

This. Your reaction seems quite extreme to me over what is in reality a very small mistake that caused no lasting harm.

I can almost with 100% certainty say that if this company were audited, probably hundreds more errors would be uncovered, but because they haven't been complained about they've not been picked up.

It is simply not possible to work to a 0% error rate in manual data input, this is why there should be controls in place, checks and balances etc. to ensure there is no customer or company detriment.

I bet you could easily pull up emails with spelling errors in them, official in house communications etc.

This. They should have systems in place for this!

Well I think this is completely insane. You're a human, data entry is tedious at best, and it is ludicrous to expect someone to never ever make a tiny mistake when inputting masses of data. Nothing terrible happened! Unless it would be literally life or death for a mistake to slip through the net, they are being absolutely unreasonable. And if it is life or death, they should have better systems in place for work being checked and validated. You are demonstrably good at your job given your track record and they should be keeping that in mind.

I say all this to try to reassure you that you are not being unreasonable. However. It sounds like they probably are going to be arseholes about this. I think in your shoes I'd probably attempt to appear very contrite, take on any changes they want to implement, and quietly start looking for another job where you'll be under less stress and they treat people like actual humans.

Like others, I agree it’s impossible to eliminate human error - no matter how careful you are.

But if it’s just data entry with no judgement/discretion, why is it not automated? This isn’t meant rudely to you, OP, but it sounds like they want you to work like a robot (no errors but no value-add) - so why isn’t it done by a machine?

You are not a machine and - to my mind - 3 errors for the amount of input is negligible. But I wonder how sustainable your job is - does it have another aspect other than data entry?

That is an absolutely ludicrous standard.

Don't suppose you're in a union?

I expect my job to be done my a machine soon. I know they are working on things in the background. Just a question of time.

Then it looks like they are trying to bully you out of the job so that when your job will be done by a machine they don't have to pay you redundancy. I'm sorry. Time to join an union

Part of me is astonished there are still companies using a system where data is generated, the info is printed out and then re-typed by someone else. Its the least efficient system they could use. If there's a digital output, you should be able to just import the data.

I agree that zero errors is unsustainable.

Can I ask what the outcome of the error was? As in, did it mean your company paid out £1,500 pounds rather than £150 or did it mean someone else was billed incorrectly and which way? I.e were they underbilled or over?

We process a lot of data but there are secondary checks but if an error occurred I’d be looking at the actual harm caused rather than ‘that’s an error’ if that makes sense.

Maybe this is indeed the plan - start misconduct proceedings, follow due process, eventually fire you for gross misconduct rather than make you redundant.
It's very strange that after 5 years they are suddenly picking up the extremely rare error.
I'd be looking for another job.

I'm sorry you are having to deal with this. Your company's policy of zero errors for a process reliant on humans is INSANE.

go to the meeting.
try to say as little as possible
see if you can take a colleague with you if possible.
it is very unlikely they will sack you for this so absolutely do not resign
tbh it sounds like they might be trying to get ride of the human input role (because as you say it's archaic) and replace your role with an automated one, so perhaps they are trying to get rid of you on the quiet without paying redundancy.
join the union NOW
even if they can't give you advice straightaway then if your work put you on a last warning or whatever now, they can help you if they then call you in again in a few months' time.

I second all of this.
Do not be ashamed and do not resign.

Please try and join union now.

Go to the meeting but say little and 100% do not agree to anything in the meeting. Say thank you I would like some time to consider this and get back to you.

I'm sorry, but I'm cackling at the accepted error rate being zero. Good luck with that 😂

If they want 0% errors then they need to have better controls in place.

Otherwise it's not realistic to have a 0% error rate. You are human.

Having said that, no error for years and 3 in 3 months does look odd. Has something changed for you? Sleep issues?

They are unlikely to sack you. Perhaps go to the meeting with suggestions for how to prevent errors in future.