We’ve all experienced conflict in the workplace at some point in our careers. Most of the time, the storm quickly blows over. Indeed sometimes, conflict can actually improve employee relationships as when things come to a head each party is forced to see where the other is coming from.
But what about when things are more serious? When individuals have deep rooted issues that start affecting engagement, performance and overall happiness not just of themselves but of those around them? Conflict like this cannot be allowed to fester. Particularly within SMEs where low staffing numbers make such issues more keenly felt by others and where, the costs in terms of man hours spent trying to resolve issues can be severely draining on resources.
So what you do when relations have thoroughly broken down between 2 (or more) employees? There’s 2 approaches: formal or informal. And here we discuss each in turn:
Formal – The Grievance Procedure
You should have a formal grievance procedure already laid out in your company handbook or on the intranet (and if not, then do get one – it’s the law). In short, it begins with a when the person has raised a grievance in writing, after which the employer chairs a grievance meeting (to which the employee can bring a colleague or TU rep) to establish the facts, listen to the employee’s concerns and their options for resolution. This is followed up by a decision by you, the employer, outlining whether or not you feel their complaint is valid and what (if this is the case) you recommend the next steps to be or how you wish the matter to be resolved. In response to your decision, the employee can appeal within a certain number of days (the timeframe of which will be spelt out in your policy and can vary from company to company) if they feel they disagree with your decision. If the complaint involves you as their manager, then the meeting should be chaired someone else and then someone separate to this hearing the appeal, although as an SME there is not always this discretion to have multiple people involved.
Fortunately formal grievances are rare in organisations. Which is good, as in my opinion, by the time things get to the formal grievance stage, a situation has already gone way too far and it’s rare to see the relationship resume or be resolved after such a meeting. Extenuating circumstances aside and, assuming both parties are still in employment by the end of it, often the whole grievance process can end up a massive stale mate. Individuals are looking for their chance in the spotlight to mud-sling at the other party … who invariably follows suit. It’s also worth noting that this course of action is often prevalent as a counter measure to any disciplinary action taken against them, thereby prompting a whole circle of process which is hard to unpick the actual issues from! Ultimately most who head down this path wants some action taken = normally for the other parties knuckles to be rapped. Or worse…
But when that doesn’t happen: what then? Does the whole company have to walk on egg shells around the individual who’s raised a grievance, making sure they work on separate projects or in different places regardless of whether its good for business? The reality is, small businesses simply cannot afford to accommodate a situation like this. So for me, in most cases, grievance procedures are truly a last resort and best avoided if it all possible.
Informal – Mediation
Provided the issues are not concerning harassment or discrimination, which need to be formally investigated, the best way to deal with conflict is to get both parties to air their concerns in a safe environment as soon as problems start to arise.
You can act as mediator yourself or use an impartial third party (which could be another employee who perhaps has a reputation of being fair and straight talking). Talking to both sides separately or together, the overriding aim of workplace mediation is to restore and maintain the employment relationship wherever possible and the focus is on working together to go forward, not determining who was right or wrong in the past.
It is not the mediators role to pass judgement, but to question carefully in order to uncover underlying problems, assist the parties in seeing the situation from the others point of view and ultimately work with them both to clarify the options for resolving the dispute. Often it helps to get those involved to see the bigger picture, not just the impact on the business and on their colleagues but on their own wellbeing, stress levels and happiness.
Of Course, Ideally You Would Seek To Avoid Conflict Amongst Staff Altogether…
The first step to protecting your business from damaging workplace conflict problems is to promote an honest and open culture where individuals feel comfortable raising concerns with their manager (or the leadership team), confident that their opinions will be valued and listened to. Consider also adopting a general way of working that encourages feedback, particularly when it comes to individuals’ working style – i.e. how they go about things as well as what they do. If feedback on working style is given and received by everyone and is seen as a positive step to personal growth then it’s a much easier pill to swallow when your on the receiving end. This should go some way to resolving niggles earlier.
Also be clear to all those involved in recruitment what values and cultural fit your are looking for in new recruits to avoid bad apples joining the business in the first place. And train your people managers to look out for the first signs of disengagement (absenteeism, poor quality work, reluctance to work on a team etc), which are often a by product of conflict, so they can intervene and nip things in the bud early.
Lastly, make efforts to facilitate good personal relationships between staff by investing in the odd night out or away day where people can let their hair down and get to know each other better. Now, who said HR wasn’t fun?…
For help and advice with workplace conflict or any other HR issue get in touch today on 0203 627 7048 or drop us a line at hello@thehrhub.co.uk
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