ERRORS ARE EXPENSIVE

The letters, documents, proposals and marketing materials a company produces are a measure of the organisation. If they contain spelling mistakes, grammatical errors and incorrect punctuation, then the wrong message is being sent. If written communications are faulty, what does that say about the quality of the products, services and people?

Proofreading errors can affect every letter, proposal, invoice and purchase order an organisation produces. They are noticed and remembered by customers, suppliers and colleagues. They can even result in lost business. They reduce the effectiveness of Quality and Customer Service programmes; they damage the company’s image and reputation. And they are remembered...

There are three levels of errors:

-       -  the highest level is those that leave the company and end up on a business associate’s desk. They can have a simple, negative impact on the way people think about you. Worse, they can be returned, usually to senior management, causing mayhem and retribution inside the company

-     - the second level is those errors which are noticed inside the company before they leave the premises. Their negative impact is minimised, but the responsible department is thought the less of and Quality programmes come into disrepute

-        - the level that no-one ever sees is those errors which are ‘self-corrected’ by the person who made them. This is the most frequent and, whilst no damage is done, the reduction in productivity is both immense and hidden

How does an organisation overcome this problem?

You could: 

-        - rely on spell check: most pea sees have won, but you can knot bee shore that it will c every miss take. It certainly will not notice if not is not there

-       -  check each other’s documents: a splendid way of reducing productivity and a rule that will fall into disrepute within days

OR

-        - teach secretarial, administrative and customer service staff a system of proofreading that works.

Everyone responsible for producing any document that reflects on the organisation should be able to proofread their own documents quickly and efficiently. They should have good grammar, punctuation and spelling skills. They should, in other words, be trained to do the job that is expected of them.

Proofamatics, available from Sindall Jackson Associates Ltd (go to www.proofamatics.com) meets these training requirements. Widely used by commercial, financial and government organisations, in a one-day or two-day workshop it teaches a system of proofreading that measurably reduces errors by 30%. It is designed to be run in-house by the client's staff, or trainers can be supplied.

As business gets tougher, no-one can afford to give the edge to the competition.