Like many companies, BTN, Inc. knew their employees were making far too many clerical errors and attempted to eradicate data entry errors at their source. Unfortunately, they made the incorrect assumption that such errors were nothing more than typos. Consequently, senior management established a quality department to find and report mistakes. Once notified that a particular employee was making errors, BTN management was mandated to send the employee to a keyboarding class to improve his/her typing skills and tell the employee to be more careful in the future.  

Much to Senior Management’s chagrin, this new approach wasn’t making a significant difference in the number of errors. So, they looked for other options and discovered Accuracy in the Workplace.  This course provided tools to help their employees learn how to mentally process and verify data and accurately transfer it from one medium (such as a fax or a printout) to another (such as a computer database).

ACCURACY IS A TRAINABLE SKILL.

What Makes Someone Accurate?

While some people seem to be “naturally” accurate or “good with numbers,” accuracy is not an inborn gift (like perfect pitch). When the Accuracy in the Workplace authors set out to create this course, they asked several companies’ permission to observe and interview the employees who were the most accurate data handlers. You might think of them as “Accuracy Superstars.” The authors wanted to determine whether those Superstars were naturally accurate or whether they used certain techniques that helped their accuracy. What they found was that the Superstars had a lot of techniques in common – and those fundamental techniques could be transformed into training that would help everyone to be more accurate. Accuracy in the Workplace teaches those techniques and applies the skills to every kind of data and all the ways in which people work with data.

How Is Accuracy Taught?

Evoke Development offers a 7-hour, skill-and-drill course, called Accuracy in the Workplace, which is typically delivered over two consecutive mornings. This schedule allows employees to return to their normal work in the afternoons and apply what they have learned. Then, the next day, the participants have an opportunity to discuss with the trainer how their new skills worked in the “real world.”

To be more accurate, individuals must:

• Know and apply a range of data accuracy techniques that enable faster and more accurate work.
• Understand the barriers to concentration that can cause errors and be able to apply techniques to overcome these barriers.
• Check work accurately and be able to recognize and correct errors quickly.
• Identify individual error trends to avoid mistakes.
• Apply new techniques to a variety of data types and ways of working with data.
• Know and apply simple ergonomic techniques to reduce strain.

Who typically attends accuracy training?

Even your best, most conscientious employees sometimes make mistakes. This course is for everyone who works with numbers, alphanumeric data, names, and addresses. Examples of data-intensive departments that can benefit from accuracy training include:

• Operations
• Customer Service
• Finance/Accounting
• Inventory Control
• Payroll
• Accounts Receivable and Payable
• Call Centers
• Other key client service areas

What Types of Errors Are Addressed in the Accuracy in the Workplace Program?

Below are a few of the error types addressed in the program.

What Results Can Be Expected from Accuracy in the Workplace

We measure increases in accuracy using Pre- and Post-Course Assessments in the classroom. The assessments evaluate the participants’ accuracy and speed in data transfer, matching, and proofreading. Our testing typically shows a 59% reduction in errors from Pre- to Post-Course, and a 7% increase in speed as learners work more efficiently.

If on-the-job productivity is measured, decreases in errors and increases in productivity can easily be seen. Although on-the-job results may vary, we are confident that you will see improvement.

Don’t just take our word for it; Evoke Development is happy to put you in contact with our existing clients to discuss their experience with Accuracy in the Workplace and their on-the-job improvement.

What Performance Outcomes Can Be Expected?

After attending Accuracy in the Workplace, participants will be able to:

• Concentrate more effectively.
• Identify their own personalized error patterns – learning where they are most likely to make mistakes and what to “watch out” for in situations where they are most prone to make errors.
• Learn their optimum processing speed for transferring data.
• Identify efficient grouping patterns for working with data.
• Significantly reduce the number of errors they typically make.
• Work comfortably and accurately with long numbers.
• Proofread all types of data including names and addresses.
• Decipher handwritten data more accurately.
• Listen more closely to and speak more clearly when transferring verbal data.
• Apply new skills to on-the-job tasks immediately.
• Evaluate data for correctness and punctuation.
• Know and apply simple ergonomic techniques to reduce strain.