How to improve someone’s attention to detail?

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I have tried everything I can think of to try and support somebody in my department to improve their attention to detail and reduce the number of mistakes, but there is still a problem with the number of mistakes being made.

I’ve made up a workplace to try and explain the role without actually talking about it, so that any insight any of you can offer will be tailored to what this person actually does for a job.

We work in a balloon shop. A customer calls and orders a box of various shapes, sizes and colours of balloons. They may want 3 small blue balloons, 5 long blue balloons, 10 large red balloons etc and this person has to collect the correct balloons and put them in the box. The employee doesn’t always manage to get the correct quantity and size/shape/colour of balloon which then causes problems for the customer and problems for the shop when the order needs to be corrected.

• I am aware that this job is boring and repetitive. I have emphasised that the balloon shop employees should take a break when they feel their focus slipping
• I have done my best to separate the locations of similar balloons so that they are not easily mixed up
• I have checked and there is no dyslexia affecting the reading of the balloon order
• I try to give this employee the smallest and most straight forward balloon orders
• I have worked hard to ensure the correct balloons are in the correct locations and that the balloon orders are clear and simple to read

Is there anything else I can do here? This person is a great employee in every other sense but ultimately the role of balloon gatherer isn’t going so great for them. Please offer any advice or insight that you can because I genuinely want to help this person improve

You're being very kind and considerate, but having done this job myself... how difficult is it really to tick off the order as you put the balloons in the box, and check what's going in is actually what was ordered? What does the employee say about the mistakes?

When they first started they said they were trying to be quick, I then emphasised there’s no time pressure. Nothing has improved.

You are obviously dedicated to helping this employee improve. That comes across really clearly. However, all the changes you have made come from you. What you haven't yet done (at least you haven't mentioned it) is ask the employee what would make a difference for them. Have you talked to them about how much getting the balloon orders wrong affects them ie do they mind that you have dissatisfied customers? In short, I think your next step is to (cliché warning) get the employee to 'own' the problem.

They need to use some kind of tick sheet or something if their memory is that bad.
if they can pull up their socks they’ll be out. Under two years in a job has hardly any rights so easy to fire someone.

I would be suspicious that they don’t want to do the task so mess it up on purpose hoping you’d take it off them.

Is there someone you could get to temporarily check an order is correct before it goes out? It may concentrate his mind if he knows his balloon box is going to be checked immediately after he’s done the task? If he doesn’t improve I genuinely think you need to look at a PIP and commence disciplinary procedures.

Could they be colour blind?

It sounds like a different role might be better for them. Some people are just not good at some things, but great at others.

I know you've made up a workplace so this solution may not apply, but if it does relate to picking and packing, usually there is a double check/verification process. I.e. Anna packs the balloons and Jeremiah checks the order before it is dispatched (and puts his initials on the invoice so that you know who checked it) and vice versa.

This would - arguably - stop the wrong orders going out, so that's part of the problem solved. In terms of getting Anna to improve their attention to detail, presuming she already has a checklist, an environment free from distraction, and all of the other measures you have put in place. Is it a case that there are other duties they could be involved in and then a cap on the number of orders they fulfil? E.g. 9am - 12pm is balloon packing, then after lunch it's updating social media or responding to emails. Are there alternative duties they could arguably do without fundamentally altering their role?

You sound like a great boss by the way.

Thank you for the positive comments about what I’m doing personally - that means a lot because I’ve worked for some shitty people and want to be the opposite!

To address the points made:

• The balloon order is literally a tick sheet, no memory required
• Colour blindness not relevant as the balloons have a code then description, eg. Code: LgRdBl, description: Large red balloon, quantity: 1, location: xyz
• Not a possibility that they’re messing it up on purpose so somebody else will have to do it, it’s the only job in the department
• The volume and size of the orders that come in are for a whole lot of different types of balloons and some quantities are very large, plus this is their full time job, so it’s not feasible for somebody to do a cross check. I will consider doing some spot checks for a short time though, thanks for the suggestion.
• This person genuinely comes across like they don’t want to make mistakes, I don’t think they realise they are making them at the time which is why I explored dyslexia but that isn’t an issue.

It may be the case that we go down the disciplinary route to see if any improvement can be made, otherwise I guess it’s just not the job for them. Thank you for all your input, it’s helpful to see if there are aspects I haven’t considered.

I once had a job where I could be a bit slapdash - fundamentally I found it boring, didn’t care, and didn’t have the maturity to recognise the impact of the mistakes I was making on the business - I was 19 and very much had the attitude that it didn’t matter and wasn’t a big deal and they should just chill!

Ultimately the only thing that worked was the fear of being sacked (and therefore not being able to afford the trip to Ibiza with my mates).

They did random spot checks, identified x number of errors and gave me a formal written warning. They warned me that spot checks would carry on and that there’d be no more warnings I would just be sacked for the next mistake. Absolute zero tolerance, any mistake would be a sackable offence.

Then I started paying attention, double checking everything, and stopped making mistakes.

My actual career now is extremely detail oriented so it was very good for me having that slightly harsh lesson.

That’s interesting hearing it from that perspective @TralalaTralalee

They don’t give the impression that they don’t care, but I do know there are other factors in their home life which may be reducing their focus (for which adjustments have already been made) but ultimately they need to be able to do the job for which they are being paid.

I think my next step is requiring that once they’ve finished their balloon box that they go back through and check everything again, plus some spot checks from me. I’ve already said to double check everything but if they know I’ll also be coming to check them it may just make sure that they do it thoroughly.

I like the idea of double checking.

If there is no time pressure I’d have the boxes packed on day 1 and then checked on day 2. So that the check is happening when they’re freshest.

My gut feeling reading this is that it is as likely to be a reading issue as an attention to detail issue. People often don’t want to admit to reading issues.

If it’s possible I would also colour the codes. So on the checklist aabbcc prints as green and it’s green on the shelf label. aabbcd prints as yellow and is yellow on the shelf label. So there is a good visual double clue that they’ve got the wrong thing.

It sounds like the OP has taken steps to make it impossible to make a mistake eg: box 1 Blue balloons, box 2 red balloons etc.

If it’s possible I would also colour the codes. So on the checklist aabbcc prints as green and it’s green on the shelf label. aabbcd prints as yellow and is yellow on the shelf label. So there is a good visual double clue that they’ve got the wrong thing.

as people have different perceptions of colour it would introduce risk of errors to do colour matching like that. Once the balloons have been taken out of the storage boxes and put into the customer's box for despatch, that point of reference is lost.

It's also a ridiculous amount of hassle in order to get someone to just pack the right stuff!

Random checks are the way ahead OP, after a formal meeting to lay out the issues and the possible exit route.

Yes any sort of colour coding is impossible - there are thousands and thousands of different kinds of balloons and the orders are printed off the computer system and would need to be manually colour coded. Similar balloons or similar balloon codes are already separated where possible.

When I say there isn’t any time pressure I mean there’s no need to rush like in some large warehouses where people are literally running around. Nobody is ever sitting around doing nothing so there are obviously time restraints on how long things should take in reality and doubling that time by having somebody else check every single ballon isn’t possible.

I’ll move forward with the expectation that they do more careful double checks and do some spot checks and then see where we stand. Thanks everyone.

You need to have a formal meeting, OP, and minute it. Or whatever the official terminology/system is. So you can start a process, and the person takes it seriously.

I’ve no idea why people think they can improve the performance of others on their behalf.

set out your expectations in a formal way, ask them if they have any barriers to the task being carried out properly, monitor them and deal with the outcome. Either they will be able to do it or they won’t.

I’m not trying to do anything on somebody else’s behalf, I’m just checking that I’ve put everything I can in place to give somebody the greatest chance of success. If they can’t do the job at that point it’s entirely on them, and I’ve already stated that now I’m satisfied I’ve done everything I can to help, I will be moving forwards more formally and monitoring their performance. I don’t think it’s a bad thing to make sure there’s nothing else a company can do to help before somebody loses their only source of income.

I like your approach, I think you have exhausted all possible causes and tried your best to make it clear for them. There may be a reason you dont know about which means they are struggling, but I think at this point you should start disciplinary procedures.

have they tried saying it out loud to themselves? e.g, not just looking at the list and ticking it off but saying 'okay first three big blue balloons...' goes to blue balloon shelf and picks three 'that's three blue balloons in the basket. Next 2 small red ones...' etc. Obviously might not work if balloons actually equals admin and they work in a quiet office etc. but might get them to stop and think a bit.

other than that, who fixes the mistakes? If it's you or another manager, make sure you get them out everytime. If they need to stay late, or have a customer get annoyed with them, tough luck. If they can see there are actual consequences to them they might take it a bit more seriously.

but ultimately your focus should be 'are they in the right job?' not 'how can I make the job even easier for them?' You've done a LOT to help them, at this point I would start telling them that if they don't buck up you'll be heading down the disciplinary route. It's already not fair if they are getting all/most of the easy orders and other staff the harder ones just because they are vaguely competent!

Start documenting everything including everything you've tried, every single complaint you have, etc.

This isn’t a detail, this is the whole job.
It’s like a pilot being scared of heights, or a surgeon not liking blood, or a dustbin person unable to tolerate bins full of smelly nappies.

This person can’t do the job, three mistakes and it’s pack you stuff and off you go, here’s the P45.