Messed up at work

[dodojojo]

I just deleted a whole spiel...well just in case in the tiny off chance someone connected to me reads it.  So I'm not going to go into the details but what to do when you have 100% screwed up...There's nothing I can do to rectify the problem, I tried, but to no avail.  I can't fix it so will have to fess up.  Aside from groveling and being transparent, what else can I do make it through this? 

The problem goes externally since we have been paid on wrong data.  After I tell my manager, he/we have to tell the external partner.  Afraid it's going to trigger scrutiny and auditing.  Definitely feeling the heartburn tonight. 

And no, not close to FIRE.

[Reynolds531]

Most people have been there. It's not nice but assuming it wasn't intentional then your manager should blame the process and not you.

If you've done everything in your power to repair the damage it's time to fess up. I hope it goes well.

[ObviouslyNotAGolfer]

Don't grovel at all. In fact, don't be so hard on yourself. I don't know your situation, but the fact is that many employees would screw up less if their bosses weren't such evil, stupid, ignorant jagoffs (who got the job because daddy golfs with someone on the BOD). I've been there.

Also, if you are able to steal a significant amount of money (we're talking hundreds of millions) from either customers and/or the company itself, you may well get promoted high into the ranks of management. This is risky unless you have the right cronies, but, as we all know, if you do the sky's the limit!!! [<- not seriously suggesting this strategy, just a little dark humor!]

[dodojojo]

Yeah, I just have to woman up....not much to do but come clean.

I work a lot with spreadsheets, lots of vlookups and sorting.  I'm pretty sure this was a bad sort situation.  Once you sort incorrectly and you don't catch it, well, it's basically bad data going forward.  Reminder that it's tedious as hell, but will have to do spot checks.

[dodojojo]

My boss is actually pretty okay, sure we have some tiny issues but I'm pretty lucky.  I do work for a soulless global company but yeah, my immediate supervisor is alright.  But yes, our process is pretty much me--manager doesn't review my work.  Not sure it's about trust--he's too busy to be going over spreadsheets with a finetooth comb. Definitely a case of get it done and if there are issues, we'll deal with it if it ever comes ups.  Guess this is one of those times.  Just wished it wasn't so clearly my screwup.

[Gremlin]

I would also document:

What has happened;
What checks you did;
Who else reviewed it (including being explicit that no one did if the case);
What you tried to do to rectify;
Your upcoming conversation with your boss;
Be positive with your boss about being part of the solution, not just part of the problem.

Mistakes happen in professional life.  Best to be upfront, but also clear about how it came about, including any failures of process or review. Best to do this whilst fresh in your mind rather than down the track.

[Frankies Girl]

Bandwagon...

Go immediately to your boss and tell them without groveling what happened, that you tried to fix it, but it seems as if there is no recourse for you yourself to fix, so you are now bringing this to them so it doesn't become a larger issue. You say you are very sorry and will do whatever they instruct to make things right.

Be honest, be matter of fact, apologize, and make sure they understand that you are not trying to weasel out of the responsibility of what you did/didn't do. No excuses, no whining, no passing blame. Just state the facts, take responsibility and tell them you are committed to do whatever it takes to set things right.

[moof]

Verify that IT does or doesn’t have nightly backups.  If they don’t, your company is negligent.  If you do, well you lost a days work.

[sparkytheop]

Fess up, explain what happened, any attempt to correct it, and what you can/will do in the future to make sure it does not happen again.

In my job, mistakes can kill someone.  Showing you understand what went wrong and how to prevent it from happening again goes a long way (assuming it was a non-lethal mistake).  The most dangerous people in my job are those who try to lie/cover things up, or don't learn from their (less damaging/lucky) mistakes.

[hadabeardonce]

Shit happens. Pobody's nerfect. Learn from your mistake(s). What's done is done. You'll get 'em next time slugger.

[PhilB]

Fess up, explain what happened, any attempt to correct it, and what you can/will do in the future to make sure it does not happen again.

In my job, mistakes can kill someone.  Showing you understand what went wrong and how to prevent it from happening again goes a long way (assuming it was a non-lethal mistake).  The most dangerous people in my job are those who try to lie/cover things up, or don't learn from their (less damaging/lucky) mistakes.

This.
Own up, preferably with lots of swearing, and start working with your boss to add additional controls to stop it happening in the future.  These things happen and you feel like shit when they do, but they are just part of life and your organisation should be well used to dealing with them.

[Loren Ver]

Also, if you are the one that caught the mistake, this is even better.  You catch it (even if it is yours) and bring it forward.  Better than you customer finding it and coming back to you.  Now just working on a way to catch is before it goes out.

I worked in a government regulated industry.  There are lots of checks (I am one of the checkers now) but we all know mistakes happen.  Sometimes really big ones.  When they happen we put up the flag and fix the issue.  The worst issues are the ones that get hidden.  Finding and issue means it gets to be fixed.

LV

[Abe Froman]

I would also add to that. When you do go to your boss with the mistake, it might be valuable to bring some ideas as to how to avoid it next time. This can be independent data checks on the source data in Excel, can be an independent auditor function added to the team - whatever. Point is - it sounds like you know the process very well - and unfortunately this got through - you are likely one of the best people to identify methods to reduce this risk in the future.

My old boss told me that if I bring problems - bring solutions.

[dodojojo]

What are the chances that you'll be fired?  And how will this affect your future career advancement at this company?

If you think you'll be fired, or your future advancement will be stymied, then is it possible to line up another job at a different company, and then resign before the mistake is detected? If you get a different job and then resign, then you're an ambitious go-getter. 

If you get fired, you'll have to tell this story again and again... and, by the way, it's a story that makes you look careless and sloppy, which is not a great look for a data analyst type of position.  Optics matter to your professional career.  Make sure you consider them.

Don't know about being fired unless the external party makes a big stink.  I work in an extremely niche field and it's a two-person team.  So if I get sacked, then the team doesn't function for awhile.

Keeping mum could work out--since the report is over a year old and no one noticed anything.  But if anyone just took a cursory look, they could see things not adding up and the consequences would be dire.  So coming clean really is the only way to go.  As advised by many, I will have to step up and offer solutions.

I cannot feign ignorance because the request to go back for additional data would blow away any chance to say I didn't notice the mistake.  Actually, funny enough, the only way I can do it is to work with the faulty data and submit even more of it. I only discovered the mistake because I used another process to find additional data and that's how I discovered the problem.  Otherwise, if I had worked with the data in the same manner as the original, I wouldn't have noticed anything.  So I guess I could go that route...

I don't want to chance it though.  The fact that the external partner is being repped by a new person--he may not overlook things as much as the previous rep.  The latter didn't question anything.  Maybe if he had, the problem would have been nipped in the bud early.  Now, we're 1.5 year after the fact and submitted many reports since then.  So the ripple effect is also a huge worry and a mess to untangle.

Finally, just wanted to clarify that while the data is wrong, we have not invoiced for any more than we produced.  We have more than enough to warrant full earnings--just the data is jumbled up.

[katstache92]

Mistakes happen, as you've already determined - addressing it head on is best.

Consider process changes that would eliminate this issue in the future - since you're using excel - can you turn the data into a table rather than just keeping it in data form (read up on tables, they might help you), can you put the data into a pivot table which will sort it for you?  There are most likely some process improvements that can be made to help avoid this in the future.

[dodojojo]

Oh good, that's way better.  That's no big deal.  I had the impression that compensation was affected.  But just a data thing?  Nobody got hurt then.  Sounds like you've got a good plan in place.

Yeah, just raises trust and competency issues that my self-esteem may be able to handle.  I know, get a grip. I'm glad I can voice these things here so I'm going to blurt them out when I talk to my manager.

In terms of the screwup, let's say I reported 300 widgets produced and we invoiced for $10,000.  It turns out I reported the wrong widgets.  But going back to the correct source data, we do have the right widgets and totaled, they far exceed the $10,000.  What makes me nervous, especially is that the external partner in question is a government agency. So they not be able to look the other way.

[dodojojo]

Mistakes happen, as you've already determined - addressing it head on is best.

Consider process changes that would eliminate this issue in the future - since you're using excel - can you turn the data into a table rather than just keeping it in data form (read up on tables, they might help you), can you put the data into a pivot table which will sort it for you?  There are most likely some process improvements that can be made to help avoid this in the future.

Yep, use pivot tables, though I could definitely learn to use them on a more advanced level.  There's a lot of sorting as I work with the data especially in setting the data up for vlookups.  One bad habit is that when there are long column headers, I do not expand them column and some titles bleed into the next row.  And you don't notice there's a blank column tucked in the report.  And that can affect a sort and one bad sort that you miss...well it's all bad data from that step forward.  After a few years of these spreadsheets, I've definitely not always done the old boring spot check.  Simple, but tedious.  But it's likely the easiest way to spot bad sorting/jumbled up data.  But yeah,  picking a few rows of data and checking them against the original source would do the trick.  I do this when I suspect something has gone wrong.  The problem of course is when I do not suspect anything at all.

[dodojojo]

I hear you on the government agency part.  Do you think it would be possible to go back and create accurate version of the previous reports?  A ton of work, I know.  But then you're not just identifying a solution, you're providing one.

Yes, I worked with the data last night.  That's why I can say we have enough to cover the original invoice.  It's the ripple effect because of the subsequent reports and remaining balances.  But yes, all can be fixed--no fun at all but doable.  It's up to my manager on how he wants to deal with it.  Today, I'm working with the subsequent reports--god, I hope those are okay...

[dodojojo]

Another solution is to win the Mega Millions jackpot tonight :)

[wageslave23]

Also from a bigger perspective remind yourself that you are just an employee.  So you don't get all of the rewards (profits) of being an owner, you also don't get the risks (feeling the consequences of F*ck ups).  So remind yourself that as an employee your risk is limited to being fired (the bad kind) and then you would have to find another job.  That always helps me sleep a little better at night when I am worried about a work f*ck up.

[MrsDinero]

When you mess up the most important thing to do is own it and apologize.  Talk to you boss about what happened and what YOU plan to do going forward to make sure it doesn't happen again. Then don't let it happen again.

[mm1970]

I would also document:

What has happened;
What checks you did;
Who else reviewed it (including being explicit that no one did if the case);
What you tried to do to rectify;
Your upcoming conversation with your boss;
Be positive with your boss about being part of the solution, not just part of the problem.

Mistakes happen in professional life.  Best to be upfront, but also clear about how it came about, including any failures of process or review. Best to do this whilst fresh in your mind rather than down the track.

+1 shit happens

We've all messed up.

Management varies.  I had a manager once who loaned me a book about personalities, and how people "fail".  Meaning, when people get stressed out, they revert to their "natural tendency".  Unfortunately, most of the management at my company revert to "be perfect", so if something goes wrong they yell and expect everyone to "be perfect". 

My natural tendency is to just sit and work, and in the meantime come up with solutions to avoid failure.  Meaning, having others double-check, creating or buying software that will avoid mistakes, setting up systems that will avoid mistakes.  Training.

In manufacturing, we have a thing called "8D" which has been helpful also, for avoiding future mistakes.   Makes you go through everything that happened.

http://asq.org/learn-about-quality/eight-disciplines-8d/

[AnnaGrowsAMustache]

I screw up all the time. And yes, it often involves outside organisations. It happens, especially when multiple changes are being implemented. Just speak up and fix it. No big drama. My screw ups used to be a bigger drama, but now everyone knows that I'm usually the first to identify my own mistake, I inform all the right people, and I work to get it fixed before it starts impacting on other people.

[stoaX]

This is one thing I like about my job - when I screw up, it's only money...and it's not even my money!  Screwing up when you're an airplane pilot or surgeon on the other hand, that could be quite distressing. 

[PDXTabs]

Tell the truth, but don't feel too bad. This is why businesses develop processes, to stop dumb stuff form happening. Even then sh%t happens. I used to do pre-silicon validation of ASICs, and we always kept enough money in the bank so that if we completely screwed up and had to redo the entire mask set we could, and that was well over $1M just sitting, waiting for us to screw up.

[londonbanker]

Not much more to add there. Fess up like a man, apologise and try to be part of the solution / fix if they let you.
Good luck.
Worse comes to worse - if they fire you, it won’t be the end of your life. Chances are, in this market you will find a job in no time - so not much downside in the grand scheme of things... so don’t over dwell on this. You will look back in 5 years and that “terrible” mistake will probably make you laugh then.

[dodojojo]

Thanks for the perspective check to y'all.

I'm going through succeeding reports and I admit I'm dragging my feet because I'm afraid of finding more boneheadness.  Advice about quality check/control is good but difficult with a 2 person team.  Manager may demur he's too busy and he has said he doesn't want to do compliance work--that's what he hired me for.  So solutions I propose may well have to revolve around me double/triple checking my own work.

And you're right, in the big scheme of things, this is a drop in the bucket. Then again, I could get fired and never find a comparable job because I'm in the dreaded expensive but no longer a spring chicken demographic.  Then my dreams of FIRE vanish and I tumble into homelessness and end up babbling to myself at a park bench.  Then, you'll all be sorry.

[sparkytheop]

Thanks for the perspective check to y'all.

I'm going through succeeding reports and I admit I'm dragging my feet because I'm afraid of finding more boneheadness.  Advice about quality check/control is good but difficult with a 2 person team.  Manager may demur he's too busy and he has said he doesn't want to do compliance work--that's what he hired me for.  So solutions I propose may well have to revolve around me double/triple checking my own work.

And you're right, in the big scheme of things, this is a drop in the bucket. Then again, I could get fired and never find a comparable job because I'm in the dreaded expensive but no longer a spring chicken demographic.  Then my dreams of FIRE vanish and I tumble into homelessness and end up babbling to myself at a park bench.  Then, you'll all be sorry.

You truly overestimate our compassion. ;)