Conflict Management

According to a recent study of the Society of Human Resource Management between 25 and 60% of a HR Manager’s time is spent dealing with Employee conflicts.  It’s become almost a daily story line where violent incidents are happening in the workplace.  Like Death and Taxes, conflict is a fact of life.  The costs in terms of operating a business can be catastrophic when dealing with terms of lost productivity and employee morale.  The ability to gain a better understanding of the nature of the conflict and be skilled in conflict resolution can reduce the negative impact on both job satisfaction and productivity.

Let’s take a look at some of the root causes on conflict and then look at possible solutions.

 

·         Overwhelmingly the # 1 cause of conflict in the workplace is between manager and employee.  This may be due to various causative factors including:

o   Personality conflicts

o   Productivity issues

o   Unfair Treatment

o   Communications

·         Overall business environment:

o   Inadequate training

o   Clarity in job responsibility

o   Incentive programs

o   Working conditions, vacation, holiday, hours etc….

 Sincerity of Organization - The first step in conflict resolution is creating an environment that is based on openness. This needs to be the backbone of your organization.  Identification of your core values, belief and mission statement should be central in your discussions.  The goal should be to place emphasis on the common goals that people share within the organization.  As these goals are put into place and all employees are sharing equally in getting to the end point, a formula for success suddenly appears.  It is important that all levels of management and employees abide by the same rules. Letting people know that their voice is encouraged and that expressing one’s opinion can be done without fear of retaliation.  We want to make sure that our company offers a safe and enjoyable work place. 

Reward & Recognition - I once worked for an organization that published a monthly newsletter.  At the tail end of the newsletter, there was a page devoted to the “SUGGESTION BOX”.  As a young employee, I strived to get noted on this page.  In addition to being “thanked”, the recognition went above and beyond with a special reward and notations on my annual review.  This was indeed a company that valued its employee’s ideas.  Comparable base pay to other organization in the market coupled with an incentive program that is fair and consistent based on whatever goals you are seeking can strongly influence a positive outcome.

Positive Management Action or Inaction -   Make sure that you are truly listening to the interaction and ideas that are expressed.  If you are not getting good interaction, it may be due to the facilitator sending either verbal or non-verbal messages that it is not OK to disagree.  Be careful of interruption or opinion being formed too early. Avoid the possibility of the proverbial “hot seat” phenomena.  Always address behaviors and not personalities!

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Win the War versus the Battle – How important is the dispute?  Does it truly affect the company?  Does it sever corporate mission, core values or ethics?  If it doesn’t let it pass!