Build an Internal Conflict Resolution System - Workplace Conflict
The principles to create an effective
conflict resolution system for your business or organization.
Benefits of Conflict Resolution at Work
Here are some other benefits of conflict resolution, if
conflict is effectively addressed in organizations. Also, see our blog about how conflict is good for business.
Also, be sure to see our blog on how conflict can be used to
decrease
business risk and promote growth within an organization.
How to develop a conflict resolution system
So, what can you do to transform conflict into a good thing in your company or organization?
Set up an internal conflict resolution system for your organization
or business. Here are some tasks and/or principles to keep in mind when
developing a system.
Top 10 tips to build a conflict resolution system
- Customization. Customize
the system based on organizational and ‘people’ needs.
- Self-responsibility. Everyone
must take responsibility for their own behaviour and needs. If you have a
problem, address it, do not avoid it, unless you believe you can let it go or
it will help you resolve the issue in the long run. If something was said that
bothered you, find out how to address it effectively. Read about having a constructive
confrontation (or discussion) and how to take self-leadership
and self-responsibility
in conflict resolution.
- Leadership Support. Management,
HR, and Unions must encourage and support conflict resolution training and
encouragement managers and employees to manage conflict in a mutually
respectful way. This includes the provision of resources, human, special and
financial, in order to ensure that conflict resolution is easy to access for
all within the organization. Without leadership support, conflict is likely to escalate and become destructive and hard to fix (how to fix a relationship)
- Build Team Cohesion
and Trust. Ensure that you encourage all employees and managers to build
personal relationships, and integrate this into a weekly agenda of activities. When
things do become challenging, individuals will be more likely to have enough Trust to manage these challenges effectively. Trust will also be essential when
planning, designing and delivering a program. See our blog on the Definition
of Trust and Building
Trust.
- Participation:
Ask for the participation of all stakeholders prior to the development of a
plan for the organization.
- Problem Solving. Encourage
interdisciplinary and interdepartmental problem solving (levels of conflict). If employees and
managers are given the opportunity to share concerns and brainstorm on how to
resolve conflicts, the organization is more likely to gather critical data to
prevent issues from hurting the organization overall. See our blog on the levels of conflict
within an organization.
- Listening and
Feedback Training. Encourage active listening and how to give and receive
feedback. If employees and managers are able to effectively listen to one
another, they will be empowered to self-resolve many of their issues, often
without the help of management and HR. This means more time spent on critical
issues. Never underestimate the power of active
listening.
- Meta-communication.
Make it part of your weekly routine to talk about how you communicate, how to improve
interpersonal relationships, and how to address potential conflict situations (Top 10 Tips on How to Resolve Conflict).
- Self-resolve Conflicts.
In addition to training on interpersonal communication, employees and managers
must be given the skills to deal with conflict before it becomes an issue. It
might entail other types of training or services, such as those related to
stress reduction, whereby these might improve one’s ability to better address
personal issues that might lead to conflict. It might also encourage activities
such as meditation and yoga in the workplace, to help people feel centered and
capable of addressing issues in a healthy way. This is also covered in our blog
on self-responsibility, managing anger and our self-resolution tool.
- Change Agent. Find a mediator, conflict coach and project manager to design, build and implement your conflict resolution system. Be sure to find a mediator with years of experience in workplace
conflict resolution to assist in this process. We’ve discussed some of the
essential tasks and principles to keep in mind when setting up an internal
conflict resolution system. However, they will be able to do a needs assessment
to determine the needs of the organization, and recommend how these may be
achieved.
In summary, conflict can be used as a positive force of
change in your company or organization if it is addressed effectively. Leave your recommendations and questions on the blog in the comments section below. Also, try using our web app to set up your own system.
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Build an Internal Conflict Resolution System - Workplace Conflict |