Employees Conflict Management
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There is no way to avoid workplace conflict; your teams will be staffed with people with different work styles, and values and conflict are bound to arise. However, by managing conflict quickly and effectively, you can prevent workplace conflict from becoming serious.
This article will cover the ways employees can prevent conflict from occurring between employees and what actions they should take when it does occur. It will discuss the roles of HR and management and the importance of company culture.
What Is Workplace Conflict and Why Does It Happen?
Conflict will inevitably happen in any workplace; everyone has a different way of looking at the world and different priorities. It can be manifested in personality clashes, miscommunication, insults, anger, bullying, and failure to cooperate. Workplace conflict becomes a problem when it disrupts work and other people in the office. It may cause absenteeism, reduced productivity, high turnover, and even your clients.
The following things can cause workplace conflict, some of these are unavoidable, but some of them can be avoided:
- Irritating behaviors in the workplace
- Personality differences
- Perceived inequality in the distribution of resources
- Clashing job duties
- Poor implementation of a job description
- Unclear roles
- Unmet needs
- Stress due to things like mergers and acquisitions, reduction in force, or workforce slowdown
- Poor communication
- Mismanagement of change
- Differences in work methods
- Lack of compassion in dealing with differences in perspectives
The company’s organizational culture, policies and procedures, and management roles should be designed to prevent as much conflict as possible. When conflict occurs, it should be addressed immediately and fairly.
When dealing with conflict, employers should:
- Ensure all employees are accountable for resolving conflict, not just the managers
- Address conflict and take steps to resolve it or prevent future instances
- Give clear reasoning for decisions
- Listen to the parties involved in the conflict so they can understand why it occurred
- Tailor the solution to the instance of conflict
While conflict is bad for workplace morale, showing that you can handle it effectively will increase workplace morale. It shows that you understand that conflict will happen and that you will listen to issues and find appropriate solutions.
How to Manage Workplace Conflict
Your workplace should be a place where employees communicate in a respectful manner, demonstrate respect for each other, and accept the differences that exist. Employers should deal with conflict in its early stages; this will show employees that they are fair and want to protect their employees. It will also increase worker satisfaction and loyalty which will save the business money in medical costs, litigation, and employee turnover.
Unresolved workplace conflict will decrease productivity, and cause emotional distress for employees. It can snowball and become bigger problems like discrimination, harassment, or workplace violence. Unresolved workplace conflict could cause the following consequences:
- Staff Turnover – If the conflict gets so bad that employees can’t stand going to work, it will result in staff leaving their jobs. The employees might leave because they don’t trust management or they see unfair treatment.
- Absenteeism – Unscheduled absences cost the employer in lowered performance, stress for other employees, benefits, and the cost of temporary workers.
- Unionization – Employees will seek resources such as union support if they perceive management as unfair.
- Litigation – If workplace conflict continues and management does not handle it correctly, an employee might seek legal counsel. Even if the employer wins the case, it will be expensive and time-consuming.
Employers should also be vigilant in dealing with bullying in the workplace. They should operate on a zero-tolerance policy and discipline any employees who are found to be bullying, even if it is management.
How Can HR Help With Workplace Conflict?
HR is responsible for developing and implementing policies and procedures that encourage a harmonious workplace. They should have conflict-prevention policies and conflict resolution policies. Consider training your HR team and supervisors in conflict-resolution to help deal with issues as they arise.
If the employees cannot resolve the issue between themselves or with supervisor intervention, then HR should step in to investigate the matter. They should hear each party’s side of the story and decide on a resolution in line with the company culture and conflict policies. If HR is not able to resolve the issue, then outside specialists may be needed.
Unfortunately, HR often does not hear about workplace conflict until the issue has escalated significantly. Employers should have a policy of reporting tensions to HR if they are not easily solved by supervisors. If the workplace conflict involves illegal activity, discrimination, harassment, or anything else that could result in a lawsuit, then HR must be informed the minute the conflict arises.
How Can Employees Help With Workplace Conflict?
Employees should be encouraged to try and resolve minor conflict themselves. They should try and settle the differences before they bring the issue to a supervisor’s attention. This helps employees to develop conflict resolution skills and find a mutually beneficial solution.
If a manager approaches an employee to tell them about another employee’s complaint, then the employee is likely to feel more resentment towards the reporting party and might even feel the manager is taking sides. Employees who are encouraged to take initiative are more productive and creative in their work. It also frees up the time of your managers and prevents a bottle-neck where tasks are halted until a manager approves them.
Here are some tips for encouraging employees to resolve conflict themselves:
- Give clear guidelines about how employees should handle conflict.
- Tell employees that they should only bring the issue to a supervisor if they are unable to resolve it themselves.
- Supervisors should be trained to support employees who are experiencing conflict but they should not become too invested in the issue.
- Train employees in basic conflict resolution.
- The company culture should champion employee-led conflict resolution. Recruiters can ask interview questions about how applicants have dealt with conflict in the past.
- Employees who resolve conflict themselves should be praised.
- Employees should focus on behaviors rather than personality when resolving conflicts
- There should be clear guidelines on when a problem should be brought to a supervisor and that severe conflict should always be reported.
- Employers should be aware that a lack of conflict-reporting does not mean that conflict no longer exists. They should remind employees that they can discuss the conflict with supervisors, but that they should always attempt to resolve small issues first.
How Does Conflict Management Training Help?
Some employers are giving conflict management training, not just to HR and their managers, but to their staff. This type of training helps employees to deal with conflict in a proactive manager rather than resorting to gossip or passive aggression. It helps them to speak up in a constructive way when they have an issue rather than creating a toxic workplace.
There are a number of different types of training available, including one-day sessions focused on particular types of conflict. HR should research the available options and pick one that works best for the company or individual employee.
Conflict management training may be particularly helpful for employees who are regularly involved in workplace conflict. If these employees are supervisors or managers, then HR should definitely provide them with this training. Managers with repeated conflict issues will cause unproductive teams and increase staff turnover.
When conflict threatens the safety of anyone, then HR needs to take more serious action than training. Workplace violence or threats of violence like throwing things or slamming fists on the table should be dealt as per the employer’s workplace violence policy.
How to Create Strong Employee Relations
In order to create an environment where workplace conflict is less likely to occur, company culture should encourage employee relations. If managers and employees have a relationship of mutual respect, trust, and fairness, then workplace conflict is less likely to occur. It will also encourage a productive workplace, employee loyalty, and job satisfaction.
The following strategies will help create employee relations:
- Two-way communication – giving employees a voice and listening to their concerns will help build trust and loyalty.
- Trust – If employees don’t trust their manager and the managers don’t trust employees; then there is unlikely to be two-way communication.
- Ethics – If the company or managers do not demonstrate good business ethics, then employees will question the motives of their managers.
- Fairness – Employees need to be treated in the same way, straying from policy leaves the company open to discrimination claims.
- Empathy – Managers should be sensitive to employees’ feelings; showing compassion is important to building trust.
- Perceptions and beliefs – A key part of employee relations is perceptions. Employers should be aware of how their employees perceive them and try to make those perceptions positive. One of the best ways an employer can ensure they are perceived well by employees is to be transparent.
- Clear expectations – Management and supervisors should ensure their instructions are clear and that employees are not given conflicting instructions.
- Conflict resolution – Employees should trust their employers to handle conflict quickly and fairly.
Large companies should consider hiring an employee relations position to show their employees they are serious about building a positive relationship. While HR are trained to resolve conflict, having an impartial specialist can help to prevent issues before they escalate or deescalate issues.
How Can Employers Minimize Workplace Conflict
Employers should implement a number of strategies to keep their employees engaged and conflict-free. Here are some of the best ways to create a positive work environment are.
Written Rules, Policies, and Agreements
Employers should publish their conflict resolution policies in the employee handbook, so all employees understand the process. By having the policies in written form available to everyone in the company, this way, managers and employees can look them up if they need guidance. It also provides evidence of fair treatment if the employer faces discrimination charges.
The employer should consider contracts and agreements with key executives that state that employment disputes be settled by binding arbitration rather than litigation.
Effective Management
When there is a strong leadership team, conflicts are more likely to be managed well. If leaders allow poor behavior to go without punishment, then employee relations will be weak. Effective managers can boost employee morale.
Careful Recruitment
The recruitment process needs to include careful selection and interview questions that ascertain whether the applicant is a good fit for the company culture. Background investigations will help you to uncover any conflict in previous jobs.
Fair Conflict Resolution Policies
Companies must have clear written policies for handling workplace disputes. The policy should be thorough in explaining when the policy should be employed and how it should be administered. By having a policy and process in place, there is a clear avenue for employee disputes, and employers can avoid litigation.
Here are some conflict resolution tactics:
- Open-door policy – Supervisors and managers should have an open-door policy to allow employees to advise them of workplace conflict. This will help the conflict get solved before it escalates.
- Management review – If the supervisor cannot solve the dispute, then it should be escalated to the next level of management to deal with.
- Peer review – Some companies may find it helpful to have a peer review board to hear any workplace disputes. The employees on the board should be trained in conflict resolution. Depending on the company, the peer-review decision may be binding or non-binding.
- Facilitation – An employee relations manager will facilitate the dispute by listening and recommending resolution solutions.
- Mediation – A mediator is a neutral person who listens to both sides and helps both parties to reach a resolution. An employee trained in mediation could be the mediator, or it could be a third party professional. No matter what, the mediator needs to have no conflict of interest. Mediation is a voluntary solution, and both parties must agree to it.
- Arbitration – This is a formal process which can cost a lot of money and take a lot of time. An arbitrator will listen to the case and evidence and issue a binding decision.
Training for Managers
All supervisors and managers should receive management training to ensure they are effective and good leaders. Managers should know how to deal with issues that arise and when they should seek counsel from more experienced managers. This ensures that employees are treated fairly and that the employer is protected from legal claims.
Managers should be trained in:
- Legal responsibility and employee rights
- Conflict resolution
- Company policies and expectations of them as managers
- Professional standards
- Effective communication
- Performance reviews and employee evaluations
Feedback and Performance Evaluation
Companies should conduct performance reviews at least once a year to ensure their employees receive feedback and necessary training. Some employers may find it useful to conduct performance reviews on a more frequent basis. Employees who know where they stand and feel supported by their supervisors are more likely to be loyal and perform well. If employees do not receive feedback, they will not know where they stand or will coast along in their role.
Fair Discipline and Termination Process
Giving employees a chance to tell their story will help avoid unfair dismissal lawsuits. Discipline policies should protect employees from being dismissed on the whims of management. If discipline policies give fair warning and retraining procedures, then employees are more likely to see them as fair.
Communication
All employees should know the dispute resolution policies, especially managers and supervisors. The communication should link the policy to the company culture and values and give reasons for the system. HR should formulate a communication policy that works for the company. Regular updates should be given to managers and supervisors to ensure conflict is dealt with appropriately.
How to Monitor Conflict Resolution
HR should consider using these metrics to monitor the success of the conflict resolution programs.
- Number of grievances per 1000 employees (or a measure that works for the size of your company) per period. The period could be per month, quarter, or year depending on the programs.
- Cost of grievances, calculated by legal costs, and the time of supervisors, HR personnel, and the legal team involved.
- The causes of grievances such as poor recruitment, unclear policies, poor management, and supervisor errors.
- Average time to close disputes per period, calculated from the time the grievance is identified to the day it is successfully resolved.
- Return on investment in terms of how much money the program saves.