Your team may seem like a close-knit family most of the time.
But even the happiest "work families" can experience simmering conflicts, short-term flare-ups and even red-hot feuds between certain members.
Here are some techniques to help you deal with these fires quickly and effectively before they spread and cause irreparable damage to workplace morale.
Business Management Daily is teaming up with workplace guru and syndicated columnist Marie McIntyre on a webinar that will help you learn how to diagnose the specific cause of an employee conflict — and choose the best strategy for bringing it to an end. Transform your workplace into a conflict-free environment with Resolving Employee Conflicts: How to Handle Squabbling Co-workers, Chronic Troublemakers & Fractured Teams.
1. Identify the spark. Interpersonal conflicts can be ignited by unusually heavy work pressures, new roles, procedural change, perception of unfairness or a host of other circumstances. Start your fire-fighting by looking past the heat and smoke to find the source of the conflict, or there is little you can do to keep the peace. Hold one-on-ones with those whom you suspect are in the thick of the conflicts to help you gain an understanding of what's at the root of the discontentment.
2. Cut back on the fuel. Often the simplest approach is to reduce work pressures by adding a temp, stretching deadlines or rearranging priorities. Try separating people who aren't getting along. Sparks generally become harmless when there's little or nothing around them to burn.
Conflicts between employees can disrupt morale, reduce productivity and create a generally unpleasant place to work. Because a solution often seems impossible, these disagreements can also drive managers crazy.
The good news, however, is that you do not have to tolerate disruptive workplace conflicts. By consistently using effective management practices, you can restore peace and productivity to almost any bickering group. Register now for this informative event!
3. Dampen smoldering embers. Unless people involved are totally inflexible, you can usually induce them to try mediation. Let both sides take turns expressing their grievances and desires — and listening to the other side to do the same. Look for possible compromises or accommodations, and encourage each to "give up" something in return for movement from the other.
4. Prevention is the best weapon. To keep conflicts from burning out of control, it's important to make clear to your team that cooperation is part of the job, not an afterthought or a lucky circumstance. At least once a month, talk up instances where team cooperation yielded concrete benefits. You'll cool off a lot of unwanted friction and irritability that might otherwise ignite into productivity-sapping conflicts.
Note: If there is an employee who has a propensity for fighting and thrives on chaos, you need to step in quickly and straighten him out. Bullies have no place on any team.
Join us Tuesday, November 22, for Resolving Employee Conflicts. During this 75-minute webinar, you'll discover: - 6 warning signs that a conflict may be brewing
- How unresolved issues produce serious business problems
- 7 frequent causes of workplace disagreements
- How managers will sometimes make a conflict worse
Identifying the problem:
3 different types of employee conflict- The difference between productive debates and destructive arguments
- Using a specific 4-step plan to resolve any workplace disagreement
- Challenging personalities: how to identify and manage chronic instigators
- Establishing realistic expectations about relationships at work
- Unclear goals and roles: when personalities are not the problem
- How to address continuing disagreements through "couple's counseling"
- The "storming" stage: preventing predictable conflicts on project teams
- Sending a stronger message: when to request higher-level help.
You can also pose your questions directly to speaker Marie McIntyre and get specific solutions to your problems. And because this is a webinar, there is no limit to the number of colleagues you can invite to sit in on this interactive event.
Wouldn't it be nice to have a workplace where employees collaborate on projects without arguing and whining? Join us November 22!
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