Conflict Management

Frumi & Associates Recognizes the Damage That Conflict Can Cause to Teams and the Business they Run

We are certified in Conflict Resolution and Mediation and can help you:

• Reach clarity out of chaos
• Mine for “good” conflict to arrive at better decisions
• Resolve team conflict
• Improve communication
• Accelerate business results

Clarifying Confusion About Conflict

Conflict is when two or more values, perspectives and opinions are contradictory in nature and haven’t been aligned or agreed about yet, including:

1. Within yourself when you’re not living according to your values;
2. When your values and perspectives are threatened; or
3. Discomfort from fear of the unknown or from lack of fulfillment.

Conflict is often needed. It:

1. Helps to raise and address problems.
2. Energizes work to be on the most appropriate issues.
3. Helps people “be real”, for example, it motivates them to participate.
4. Helps people learn how to recognize and benefit from their differences.

Conflict is a problem when it:

1. Hampers productivity.
2. Lowers morale.
3. Causes more and continued conflicts.
4. Causes inappropriate behaviors.

Types of Managerial Actions that Cause Workplace Conflicts

1. Poor communications
   
   1. Employees experience continuing surprises, they aren’t informed of new decisions, programs, etc.
   2. Employees don’t understand reasons for decisions, they aren’t involved in decision-making.
   3. As a result, employees trust the “rumor mill” more than management.
   
   
2. The alignment or the amount of resources is insufficient. There is:
   
   1. Disagreement about “who does what”.
   2. Stress from working with inadequate resources.
   
   
3. “Personal chemistry”, including conflicting values or actions among managers and employees, for example:
   
   1. Strong personal natures don’t match.
   2. We often don’t like in others what we don’t like in ourselves.
   
   
4. Leadership problems, including inconsistent, missing, too-strong or uninformed leadership (at any level in the organization), evidenced by:
   
   1. Avoiding conflict, “passing the buck” with little follow-through on decisions.
   2. Employees see the same continued issues in the workplace.
   3. Supervisors don’t understand the jobs of their subordinates.
   
   

Key Managerial Actions / Structures to Minimize Conflicts

1. Regularly review job descriptions. Get your employee’s input to them. Write down and date job descriptions. Ensure:
   
   1. Job roles don’t conflict.
   2. No tasks “fall in a crack”.
   
   
2. Intentionally build relationships with all subordinates.
   
   1. Meet at least once a month alone with them in office.
   2. Ask about accomplishments, challenges and issues.
   
   
3. Get regular, written status reports and include:
   
   1. Accomplishments.
   2. Current issues and needs from management.
   3. Plans for the upcoming period.
   
   
4. Conduct basic training about:
   
   1. Interpersonal communications.
   2. Conflict management.
   3. Delegation.
   
   
5. Develop procedures for routine tasks and include the employees’ input.
   
   1. Have employees write procedures when possible and appropriate.
   2. Get employees’ review of the procedures.
   3. Distribute the procedures.
   4. Train employees about the procedures.
   
   
6. Regularly hold management meetings, for example, every month, to communicate new initiatives and status of current programs.
7. Consider an anonymous suggestion box in which employees can provide suggestions.

AN ARTICLE THAT’S A MUST READ
Poor Conflict Management Costs Businesses Billions

From an unhappy customer to a disgruntled director, business can have the challenge of conflict come from any direction – a challenge that is not always adequately addressed.

The cost of business disputes comprises not only amounts paid in legal fees but also the damage incurred by business as a consequence of those disputes – in fact the cost of this damage far outweighs the legal fees.

Over and above the economic cost, eight out of 10 disputes have a significant impact on the smooth running of business. In a case that is a million dollars in value, a company will consume an average of over three years of managers’ time trying to sort it out.

The problem is compounded because many managers do not feel comfortable addressing conflict. Indeed fewer than four out of 10 managers surveyed by the CEDR in Europe (only 37 per cent), feel trained to cope with business conflict.

Half of mangers would rather attend an event at which they knew no-one than tell a client a home truth and seven out of 10 would rather send back a bottle of wine in a restaurant than confront a boss’s underperformance directly.

Over a third of managers would rather parachute jump for the first time than address a problem with their team at work, and just under a third would rather shave their head for charity.

Almost one in 10 (eight per cent) even said they would rather eat bugs for a week than confront a problem.

Given the potential of conflict to damage a company’s reputation, impact morale, damage business relationships, lose customers, increase staff turnover and impact the bottom line, this lack of preparedness among managers in dealing with disputes should be a bigger concern to management.

Conflict is part of working life but it is how we deal with it that is important. Effective management of conflict can reduce the amount of time and money spent in trying to sort out a problem, reduce the damage it could cause to those involved and enable decision makers to make smarter choices earlier on.