"Her tattoos are distracting me."
"He rolls his eyes every time I speak."
"It's not fair that she takes all the credit for the team project."
You may hear complaints like these frequently in your workplace. According to a 2009 CareerBuilder national survey of 2,667 hiring managers, unusual complaints are commonplace.
In everyday life, communication breaks down and misunderstandings occur even more frequently in a diverse workplace. The varying perspectives about how to get a job done or directives from the top can become a breeding ground for complaints and conflict.
Effective leaders make it clear to all team members that they want to hear their complaints. Then the leaders deal with the complaints in an even-handed way to resolve the underlying problems. Constructive working relationships are maintained. The workplace remains productive.
Managers and supervisors must deal with three areas in order to keep the workplace cool: managing complaints, mediating conflicts and using discipline effectively. Without training in these areas, leaders are unequipped to handle these situations. Everyday issues become problematic and can explode like a powder keg.
Unresolved complaints and grievances cost an organization time and money. The flip side of this is that well-trained leaders know that complaints, conflicts and effective discipline provide an opportunity for open communication, produce better solutions and keep the workplace productive.
Intervening to Keep the Cool
Whether you work in a large corporation or for a small nonprofit organization, the potential exists for growth and development as a result of a complaints, conflict or discipline. There are four areas of interaction in which a leader may intervene:
- Individual or between individuals
- Team or groups
- Inter-group
- Throughout the organization
First, it is important to understand the style differences of individuals. People don't communicate in the same way, and this influences how they react to each other in the workplace. When leaders understand their own styles, they can better understand and value the differences of others. This is a self-awareness practice that leaders can use to articulate clear business goals and keep individuals and teams focused.
According to a global study, "Workplace Conflict and How Businesses Can Harness it to Thrive," 54 percent of U.S. workers, report a better understanding of others after conflict, versus 42 percent of workers globally. Furthermore, forty percent of U.S. workers find that conflict leads to better solutions to workplace problems, comparedwith 31 percent globally.
Leadership training for conflict resolution should focus on four key objectives:
- Accept conflict as an inevitable part of all work situations and deal with it in order to maintain individual and team focus and productivity.
- Recognize positive and negative impacts of conflicts so that they may be leveraged for all involved.
- Recognize the sources of conflict so that they can be resolved fairly, effectively, respectfully and amicably.
- Establish a cooperative atmosphere to resolve conflict as they arise.
When Discipline Is Necessary
When team members perform their jobs while keeping with the established standards, they do so out of a sense of self-discipline. Occasionally an employee may lapse, but a reminder from the team leader usually puts the entire team back on track. If a team leader overlooks the situation, then the issue may continue and the team member may not realize that a certain behavior is unacceptable. When the team leader fails to respond altogether, the situation can deteriorate. Co-workers may be watching a bad situation unfold. If it persists, then morale suffers.
The effective team leader approaches the team member on a mature level, presenting the disciplinary matter as a problem to be solved by the team member. Using this communication strategy elicits an adult response and a solution to the problem. The team leader obtains the team member's agreement to solve the problem, evaluate possible solutions and select the best course of action. This works because the team member is committed to, and has responsibility for, maintaining appropriate behavior.
Mediation as a Cool Strategy
Mediation is a strategy to use when issues have progressed without resolution through other means. Mediation involves the voluntary agreement of conflicting parties to consult a neutral third party to help them reach a resolution. Even if no resolution is achieved through the mediation itself, employers can demonstrate that solid steps were taken to investigate and evaluate the problem.
Mediation generally results in a quicker resolution, reduces costs and preserves relationships. Disagreeing parties often are able to resolve the dispute better than a third party issuing a decision. Mediation is particularly useful in addressing the underlying cause of a disagreement so that a resolution can be found and damaged relationships can be healed.
Some Final Tips
Keeping the workplace cool is not always easy. But, it is possible to encourage more harmony in a culture that values issue management. First, train supervisors to communicate more effectively. Train them in conflict-resolution, managing complaints and effective discipline skills. These should be treated as core competencies for leaders. Leaders should also be able to set clear expectations for their teams. Leaders also should have an open door for listening to concerns, and they should know when to intervene.
Contact your Vital Learning representative to learn how to create a training system for your leaders in the area of conflicts, complaints and discipline.
Thought for the Day
"Working relationships are less likely to be damaged when the individuals in dispute listen to each other, share opinions and feelings, and determine their solutions."
--- Jim Hanley, Adjunct professor and Mediator
Sources:
Effective Discipline (2010). Vital Learning
Managing Complaints (2010). Vital Learning
Resolving Conflicts (2010. Vital Learning
Gurchiek, K. (Aug. 2009). Big Hair, Magnetic Personality Among Oddball Co-worker Complaints, SHRM.
Hanley, J. (April 2010). Transformative Mediation, HR Magazine.
Mooney, J. (Jan. 2009). Coaching Can Help Counter Personality Clashes, SHRM.
Wolfinger, P. (Dec. 2008). Workplace Conflicts Differ by Persona and Locale. SHRM
