A Guide To Managing Workplace Conflict. The top ten causes of conflict. Employees surveyed in the CPP Global Human Capital Report ‘Workplace Conflict and How Businesses Can Harness It to Thrive’ identified the following top ten causes of conflict. [1] Forty nine percent, personality clashes and warring egos. Thirty four percent, stress. Thirty three percent, heavy workloads. Twenty nine percent, poor leadership from the top of the organization. Twenty six percent, lack of honesty and openness. Twenty three percent, poor line management. Twenty two percent, lack of role clarity. Twenty one percent, lack of clarity about accountability. Eighteen percent, clash of values. Sixteen percent, poor selection pairing of teams. Four common conflict management mistakes. One. It’s not my problem. Managers have a responsibility to actively manage conflict in their teams. Leaving conflict unaddressed or expecting team members or HR to solve the problem can easily cause the situation to escalate. This, in turn, can affect the happiness, wellbeing, motivation and productivity of those involved in the conflict, as well as the wider team. Fifty five point seven percent. According to Fifty five point seven percent of participants in a survey of HR professionals in the UK, managers do not see conflict as their responsibility and quickly pass it on to HR. [2] Thirty eight point five percent. Meanwhile, Thirty eight point five percent said that managers do not have the necessary skills to deal with conflict. Two. Conflict. What conflict. Fifty three percent of HR professionals report that their organization is reactive rather than proactive in relation to conflict management. Many managers fail to spot the early signs and symptoms of conflict in their team members’ interactions with one another. These signs are likely to be reflected in people’s. body language e.g. crossed arms, leaning away from the person they’re talking to. facial expressions e.g. frowning, gazing down or into the distance. tone of voice e.g. cutting, disparaging, dismissive. If you spot these kinds of signs, it’s important to be proactive and take steps to address the potential conflict with the individuals concerned. Three.  It’ll blow over. Conflict is usually borne out of small annoyances or disagreements that can often be resolved when addressed early. Failing to take prompt action can, in extreme cases, lead to serious consequences. Ten percent of employees say they have seen conflict lead to project failure. Twenty five percent of employees say that they have seen conflict lead to sickness or absence. Four. Taking sides. Even if you empathize or agree with one individual in particular, you should still remain objective while discussing conflict between team members. Remember that your role is to help the individuals address the issues causing the conflict and to reach a resolution that works well for both of them. It’s also essential to provide ongoing support to both team members after discussing the conflict. Becoming an effective conflict manager. Seventy percent of employees believe that conflict management skills are ‘very’ or ‘critically’ important for leaders. Participants identified the following top five actions that leaders should take to manage conflict more effectively. Fifty four percent, identify and address underlying tensions beforehand. Forty two percent, more informal one-to-one conversations. Forty percent, act as mediators. Forty percent, provide more clarity over what’s expected. Thirty nine percent, be a model of the right behaviors. Top tips for managing conflict. One. Create a positive working environment. Conflict occurs less in positive working cultures where mutual trust and respect abound.  Foster positive working relationships with colleagues, peers and team members, and ensure that disagreements do not descend into conflicts. Two. Set some ground rules for discussing conflict. If you become aware of conflict between team members, it is a good idea to bring them together to talk about the problem. Before getting the conversation underway, set some ground rules. Team members should listen to one another, respect each other’s points of view, and refrain from interrupting each other or making personal comments. Twenty seven percent of employees have experienced conflict that involved personal insult or attack. Three. Seek guidance and support. If you are faced with a challenging conflict situation in your team and are unsure how to handle it, seek some support from a trusted colleague, your line manager or your HR department before taking action. Conflict management training. When asked about the effectiveness of conflict management training. Twenty seven percent of employees said that conflict management training delivered as part of a leadership development program made them more comfortable and confident with handling conflict. Twenty percent said it helped them avoid conflict. Nineteen percent said it helped them get more positive outcomes for both parties. Four. Develop your team’s conflict management skills. It is important for team members to understand conflict and feel confident about resolving situations independently. You may wish to liaise with your Learning and Development department to discuss the possibility of offering opportunities to develop their conflict management skills. Five. Evaluate your conflict management skills. After handling a conflict situation in your team, spend some time reflecting on how effective you were. Consider what you did well, as well as what you might wish to do differently in the future. You might also find it helpful to solicit some feedback from the team members involved to find out how effective they felt you were at helping them resolve the situation.

References
[1] ‘CPP Global Human Capital Report: Workplace Conflict and How Businesses Can Harness It To Thrive’, CPP. Available at: https://www.cpp.com/pdfs/CPP_Global_Human_Capital_Report_Workplace_Conflict.pdf (2008).
[2] ‘Workplace Conflict Survey (UK)’, People Resolutions Limited. Available at: http://www.slideshare.net/PeopleResolutions/workplace-conflict-survey-uk-report-2010 (2010).

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