Internal conflicts can be extremely disruptive to the smooth running of a company. Resolving them quickly and effectively is an absolute necessity for any manager faced with these situations. Discover tips for managing and resolving tensions with or between your employees to improve relations.
Where does conflict in the workplace come from?
Conflicts arise for a variety of reasons: differences in age, origin, opinions, values, overwork, rivalry... Sometimes they are unexpected and therefore unforeseeable, while other times they could be avoided.
Effective management can prevent conflict. A good manager must always be attentive to the needs of his staff, and give priority to communication. Without necessarily holding endless meetings every morning, he or she can talk informally with everyone and gauge the general climate. Good supervision and regular feedback are essential to anticipate problems.
Neither company policy nor the attitude of the personnel manager is totally unrelated to the tensions that arise in a team. Disorganization, unclear instructions, too much rigor, misallocation of tasks, favoritism, signs of weakness on the part of the manager, lack of recognition... all have a strong influence on staff attitudes.
A calm environment, pleasant surroundings and equally pleasant working conditions foster a good atmosphere.
The first thing to do is to take a step back and ask yourself how you manage and organize everyone's work.
How do you manage a conflict situation?
Having to resolve a conflict situation between members of your staff certainly makes you feel like a waste of time. But even if your agenda is overbooked, that's no reason to botch the dialogue and ignore each other's demands. You run the risk of things getting worse and the problem getting bigger.
Here are six pertinent recommendations:
- Act quickly. Even try to anticipate. Conflicts are often latent, rarely sudden. Gather information on a regular basis, without encouraging denunciation, and "take the temperature" as often as possible. As soon as a serious disagreement arises, call the people concerned together for an explanation without animosity.
- Draw up internal regulations, an organization chart, job descriptions and memos, and then, if necessary, give feedback and remind people of the rules. Most employees need to feel supervised and know their place, even if they aspire to greater autonomy. Delegation and trust are not synonymous with permissiveness.
- Don't get personally involved, and never side with one employee at the expense of another. Be objective and fair. Arbitrate by sticking to the facts. Your role is that of mediator.
- Facilitate dialogue and negotiation by showing patience and understanding. Take account of each person's personality, sometimes approaching them in a different way. Let the protagonists express themselves to better understand the dispute. A simple misunderstanding is often at the root of a problem.
- Disagreements are not always negative. New ideas may emerge as a result of clarifying certain points in heated discussions. Try to pick out the positive points. In all cases, play it down.
- Call in an interim manager. The intervention of a third party can prove salutary when the manager feels unable to manage the conflict himself, either because he is too involved or overwhelmed by the situation, or because the conflict has been entrenched for a long time and is beginning to jeopardize the life of the company.