#1 - It starts with the people. Curtiss emphasized the importance of hiring the best staff and never compromising. You're better off being short-staffed than being stuck with the wrong employees, she said. Hire for attitude, because everything else can be taught. And compensate employees for error-free production; it's better to spend money on bonuses than on fixing costly mistakes.

#2 - Never stop training. "If you make training your number one priority, you will be a star in your organization." Curtiss said. The Hacker Group does three to five training sessions each and every week. Training should be an ongoing process. For example, Curtiss suggested that, while entry-level employees need to focus on the basics, advanced professionals might benefit from training in time-management, decision-making, or interpersonal skills.

A training program should also include cross-training, Curtiss advised, because producing a great direct mail campaign requires the various participants to understand parts of the project that may not involve them. For example, how can the designer create the right mail piece if they don't know and understand the printing constraints they must work around? In training, it is also critical to teach not only the "what," Curtiss noted, but the "why."

#3 - Work with only the best vendors. If you want to put out error-free, high quality products, you need to make sure that the vendors you use share your commitment to these high standards, Curtiss said. To find out if prospective vendors are up to snuff, consider taking the time to tour their facilities. Ask the manager who the company's best staff workers are and request that they be assigned to your project. And, above all she advised attendees not to be afraid to fire a vendor that doesn't come through on a project. "The real measure of a successful business partnership is if it survives a major catastrophe," Curtiss observed. "If your vendor quickly and painlessly fixes their mistake, they're a good partner. If it's painful cut them loose."

#4 - Train your vendors and put your expectations of them in writing. Curtiss asked attendees: "How are vendors going to be successful if you don't train them to produce your job the way you want it done?" The Hacker Group has found some strategies that work. For example, before they start their first project with a new vendor, The Hacker Group has new vendors come to their office for at least one day and meet with department heads to review processes and procedures. In addition, vendors are given the same instruction manual that employees are given so they can better understand how the company works. Finally, every year The Hacker Group invites all of its vendors to its office for an agenda-driven meeting that addresses changes in technology, proofing methodology, color consistency, etc. The participants work out solutions and share them unilaterally.

#5 - Define what is to be included in every project and in every bid. "What is often attributed to being a production error is that the project as it was bid bears no resemblance to the finished product," Curtiss said. To combat this, she suggested that standards and expectations, on which the vendor's performance will be judged, be defined and documented before the project is started. Some issues to address may include vendor proofing, documentation, reporting, etc. Curtiss also recommended that vendors be asked to read and sign a copy of this agreement before the project begins.

#6 - Set accurate expectations. Avoid having vendor-specific systems, but don't set yourself up for failure. "Make sure you have realistic expectations of your internal staff and of your vendors," Curtiss cautioned.

#7 - Define your color standards and how you will evaluate the vendor's print quality. "How do you have a color conversation over the phone - I want my blue 'blue'?" Curtiss quipped. "It's like trying to do origami blind folded. As a result, The Hacker Group has outlined all of their expectations on print quality, Curtiss told attendees. This includes a definition of how the company will evaluate color between the elements of the package, called color benchmarking. "We also get ink-dry-downs on all of our stocks before the package ever goes to press," she added.

#8 - Establish what will happen when an error is made before it happens. "In my business service agreement, I have laid out all of my expectations.... if the printing is unacceptable, they're going to reprint it. If the lasering or lettershop is bad, they're going to fix it. If the vendor misses a drop date, they're going to upgrade the postage. All of that is negotiated upfront," Curtiss told attendees. This makes the dreaded "mistake" phone call easier to handle."

#9 - Be a rules-based organization. Bob Hacker, founder of The Hacker Group once said, "You hire workers and 'people' show up." "Your employees and vendors aren't robots, and they make mistakes," Curtiss said. As a result, The Hacker Group strives to create an organization where it is difficult to fail, she added. "The result of that was the development of hundreds of our internal standard operating procedures (SOPs). Our employees appreciate that they don't have to spin their wheels when they have to do a project over and over again because nobody defined the project well to begin with." Job flows should be documented, easy-to-understand, and easy to follow, she added.

And once you've developed your SOPs, review them every year, Curtiss continued. "And you know who you have lead the effort?" she queried. "Not the most experienced person on your staff, but your newest, least trained person. By the time they go through those SOPs, they're not going to be your least trained least experienced person anymore."

#10 - When mistakes happen, embrace them. The Hacker Group has a very direct - and extremely effective - way of handling mistakes, Curtiss said. When an error is reported, that same day an error meeting is convened - almost instantaneously - and everyone who touched that job is required to attend. It also includes the company's senior managers, as well as the president of the company. Curtiss told attendees that the meeting's goal is to complete an error report, a standard form used by the company to provide structure to the conversation as they trace the progression of the project and to pinpoint why the error occurred. It addresses issues like:

•  What happened?
•  How did it happen?
•  Was every procedure followed?
•  Who is at fault?
•  Who contributed to the error?
•  Who is solely responsible?

"When somebody accepts responsibility for an error, we also then know how to make sure it never happens again. In production there are probably 20 million possible mistakes; our goal is not to repeat them." Curtiss said.

#11 - Develop an immediate solution that will satisfy the client. By the end of The Hacker Group's error meetings, an immediate solution is reached. The client is then contacted immediately and the solution - mutually agreed upon by The Hacker Group and its client - is implemented. After you do this, create a long-term solution within your company, Curtiss continued. Is there a pattern in mistakes? Did your SOPs fail to prevent the mistake? Is additional training needed to prevent future mistakes? Does the mistake warrant personnel action?

#12 - Teach your staff to discuss instructions for the project in addition to writing them. "Nothing replaces one-on-one communication. It's just not enough to fill out a form correctly, write a memo, or send an e-mail. Every job-critical communication should be discussed," Curtiss advised. "In this day of instantaneous electronic communication, we avoid talking to one another and miss the opportunity to get consensus and resolve issues that can only be achieved through one-to-one, face-to-face communication." Too many mistakes are made because e-mails are outdated, incorrect, or misunderstood.

#13 - At the project's first meeting ask your team: 'What could go wrong?' The Hacker Group begins its first project meetings by going around the table and asking each person to identify potential pitfalls and issues they believe could be problematic, Curtiss said. "This allows you to identify potential problems and avoid them before they happened."

#14 - Always get multiple bids so you don't waste money. "It's really tempting to fall in love with vendors who are easy to work with and you like," Curtiss told attendees.  "However, be careful because you may be paying big bucks for the opportunity to work with them." The Hacker Group always gets at least three bids for every job, and the amount of money they save through this is substantial, she noted.

#15 - Save money on paper. "We don't spec paper; we spec finish, weight, and brightness - and never spec brand." Curtiss said. She reminded attendees that the choice to use a particular brand of paper is not going to affect response rates, but it may have a significant effect on the company's bottom line.

#16 - Improve your product. The Hacker Group uses a Product Improvement Committee comprised of art directors, creative directors, print specialists, pre-press manager, proofreader, data processing manager and the assistant general manager (Curtiss), which reviews every element of every package that was mailed during the previous week. The group evaluates mistakes and sets goals for product improvement, Curtiss said. In addition, everyone who worked on a project is seeded to receive that piece in the mail so they can view the finished product through the eyes of a consumer.

#17 - Make proofreading a company-wide process. Curtiss encouraged attendees to empower their proofreaders. She noted that The Hacker Group's proofreaders have the responsibility and the authority to stop a job anywhere they deem necessary. Curtiss also explained that there should be two different sets of proofreaders - those who read for strategic content and those who read for technical accuracy. These responsibilities should be separated and assigned to different groups to maximize effectiveness, she advised. "By delineating the responsibility, you will make sure that both sides are covered."

#18 - Check one more time. Finally, The Hacker Group never releases a piece of mail without checking it one more time. After the entire package is complete, the vendors are asked to overnight a sample of each version, Curtiss explained. "We take these samples and have our proofreading department reexamine every single piece," she said. "We also check for lasering issues, lettershop, and bindery. Yes it is an expensive time to catch mistakes but at least they're not in the mail."