As you may expect, conflict in the workplace can be a severe issue for a small business. Unresolved conflicts among workers can create a challenging working environment for those involved and those witnessing the dispute. These issues also have a direct impact on the financial well-being of your business. However, certain types of conflict can facilitate growth. It allows us to explore new perspectives and understand different points of view. Of course, resolving the issue quickly is essential so productivity can continue uninterrupted.
According to a report published by the University of New Mexico, the collective cost of unresolved conflicts can be as high as $300 billion annually for businesses across the country. Other analyses peg the figure at approximately $359 billion in lost revenue.
Without a way to resolve contentious relationships, you’re inadvertently increasing the risk of developing a dysfunctional workforce that hurts your business in the long run. It’s time to break down the root causes of employee conflicts and how your business can resolve them.
What Causes Workplace Conflicts?
Conflict in the workplace can originate from any number of sources. It could be something as simple as a department manager being rude to a new hire or an employee who feels like they're not treated fairly by their colleagues. At its worst, the root of the conflict can be something such as blatant harassment or inappropriate, lewd behavior.
Hot-button topics are also notorious for creating unnecessary conflicts at work. The crux of the problem could be anything from political opinions to which sports franchise has more clout. The trick is to have a strategic conflict resolution plan to solve the problem.
Conflict in the workplace is inevitable, and it can have a serious impact on your business. Here are some of the most common causes of conflict in the workplace:
- Conflicting goals or expectations that aren't communicated clearly
- Lack of communication between employees
- Poor management skills or leadership style
- Distrust between employees
- Mistakes made by individual members of a team
Five Steps To Resolving Workplace Conflicts
First, knowing what kind of conflict you're dealing with is important. There are many different types of conflict that can happen at work or in any other situation where people interact regularly. Some conflicts may be a mere misunderstanding, while others can result in a culture of bullying and harassment. Neither should be taken lightly, but it’s safe to say the latter should be met with a swift response.
It’s important to have a plan that helps you handle conflict and help everyone work towards a common goal – growing the company and furthering its success. Use the following steps to address conflicts before it's too late.
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Meet with the conflicting parties
Defining the root cause of the conflict is the first, and arguably most difficult, step. It's critical to discover how the issue got to this point in the first place. Meeting with the conflicting parties can help you get both sides of the story and identify if the problem is easy to address or will require a more detailed response.
These meetings should happen in a private, neutral setting. Both parties need to have their voices heard so that each of them acknowledges the other’s perspective. You’ll also want to play the role of an active listener. Ensure both parties know you’re paying attention and obtain as much information as possible to help them come to a reasonable solution.
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Investigate the conflict following the meeting
Following the meeting, it's always wise to investigate the integrity and the validity of each party's explanation of how the conflict started in the first place. Often, you'll discover that the root of the problem is nothing more than a usual misunderstanding between two dedicated, passionate, and career-minded professionals.
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Determine ways to truly resolve the conflict and meet a common goal for all parties
The next step involves a fair amount of creativity on your part. You have to think outside of the box and brainstorm ways to manage and ultimately resolve the issue once and for all.
This process may require additional communication, investigation, and planning. Don’t be afraid to sit down with both individuals again to openly discuss ways to manage and resolve the conflict. Use this brainstorming session to come up with ideas to de-escalate the situation and come to a conclusion that benefits everyone.
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Develop a conclusion
Once you gather all the information, you can finally decide on the extent of the issue, how the conflict began, how it escalated, and what everyone can do today to put the negativity to rest finally.
The idea is to lay out a clear plan of action to find common ground and focus on the task at hand: working towards the same goal and furthering the company's success as an efficient team of skilled professionals. Once this plan is in place, communicate it with the individuals so that they can put an end to the ordeal.
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Decide on preventative strategies for the future
The last step is ensuring this particular conflict doesn't happen again. Evaluate the situation to see if this conflict can rear its ugly head again. If so, create an action plan to not only avoid conflicts but also quickly address them in the future if they do occur.
Tips For Approaching Workplace Conflict
Conflicts in the workplace are inevitable. It's just a matter of when, where, and how they will occur. Here are some tips to help you manage conflict resolution in the workplace:
- Understand where the conflict came from: Is it between you and another employee? With your manager? Or did it come from a customer or client? The key is knowing who is involved in having an effective resolution process.
- Figure out what kind of conflict it is: Are you dealing with a disagreement over ideas or resources? This can help determine how best to resolve the issue at hand.
- Find out if there are any other issues at stake here: This might include financial issues or personal concerns that need to be addressed as part of solving this problem together and any other factors that may affect its outcome, such as company policy.
- Develop a conflict resolution plan: If you don’t already have a system in place to resolve conflicts, now is the time to develop one. That plan should detail who should be included (HR, managers...etc.) in the resolution process and the steps you’ll take based on the severity of the conflict.
- Look for common ground: You don't want to get caught up in small details when resolving your issue because it can lead to even more problems later. If not addressed effectively, things could escalate further!
- Don’t make assumptions: When emotions are running high, it's easy for things to get out of hand quickly—and before you know it, someone has said something regrettable. Don't make assumptions when it comes to conflict.
- Hear out all parties involved: Nothing ignites a conflict more than feeling like you’re not heard. Regardless of who may be at fault, listen to all parties with compassion and understanding.
- Work together: Brainstorm solutions and ways to avoid conflicts like this in the future. This will help create a positive environment for discussion and help prevent things from escalating too quickly into an argument.
Six Ways Small Businesses Can Minimize Conflict
While some conflict is inevitable, there are ways to minimize the likelihood of workplace disputes. There are a variety of strategies small businesses can utilize to protect themselves and their employees from these issues.
Establish written rules and clearly defined company policies
A good policy will make the conflict resolution process smoother when issues arise. Use your employee handbook to lay out clear guidelines about employee conduct and expectations for individuals within your company. These ground rules will help set the tone for what is and isn’t acceptable and clearly describe the consequences and next steps for misbehavior.
Hire the right people
The right employees will be less likely to create conflict. It’s important to not only hire people with the right skills but also a good temperament for your business. You can also conduct background checks to try and identify any red flags that may cause problems in the future. Spend some time to properly vet each prospective employee to minimize the chances of conflict in the future.
Provide management training
Another way to minimize the impacts of conflict is better management training. You can't be everywhere at once throughout the day, so you entrust your management team to be your eyes and ears. Training managers and other appropriate personnel on established policies and identifying brewing conflicts can help your business quell minor issues before they grow into severe problems.
Create a fair grievance process
Poor communication is a problem. A fair grievance process is an effective problem-solving tool that allows employees to feel heard and managers to identify the source of conflict before it becomes a bigger issue.
No matter what policies you put in place, the process needs to be transparent and equitable. The same standards should apply to management and workers. This process will keep everyone accountable to each other and quickly soothe exasperated employees.
Feedback
Feedback is what brings the resolution process back to the beginning. You may spend a tremendous amount of time making written procedures and policies – and for good reason – but there's still plenty to overlook.
Give employees a way to provide feedback so that they share ideas on how to make the workplace a better place, whether that’s an anonymous tip line or a company email address. This feedback loop can help you fine-tune your policies for your workforce and, hopefully, put petty fights and arguments to rest.
Protect Your Business From Conflict
Workplace tension is a recipe for lost productivity and heated arguments. However, it’s not always easy to put conflict resolution strategies into place by yourself. GMS has the human resource experts to provide you with the tools and support you need to manage employee relationships.
Ready to make your business simpler, safer, and stronger? Contact GMS today about how we can support your business through dedicated service and support.