INSIGHTs & INTUITION

Q.What tactics are used by HR to mediate conflicts between co-workers?

Do not avoid. It will not go away by itself. Even if the conflict appears to have been eradicated, it will surface again whenever stress increases or new disagreements develop.

Do not meet with conflicted parties separately. If you allow each side to share their side of the story, you risk polarizing their positions. Best to have a discussion to arrive at a win-win vs. right-wrong.

Do not believe only those in conflict are impacted. Conflict spreads like the plague and its stress can affect everyone in the office. Quick intervention is key to reinstate positive culture.

Jen Messer

HR DIRECTOR FISHER INDUSTRIES BISMARCK, N.D.

When conflicts occur, managers can encourage employees to talk through their issues in a non-confrontational way to clarify what the problem is. Often, this exchange of each person’s thoughts can lead to better understanding of the other and provide for a common ground to successfully work together. When the conflict remains unresolved, or the conflict is of a more serious nature, managers can be an arbitrating presence by helping the employees find common ground and, if unresolvable, set expectations for acceptable behavior or assign the employees to different working areas.

We believe in transparent communication and value courage when addressing difficult issues. When conflicts arise, we’ve found it works best to encourage everyone involved to be open to different points of view, willing to listen to each others’ concerns, and to mutually arrive at a solution together in a respectful manner. One of our fundamental beliefs is to respect everyone. We live and breathe this, along with our other fundamental beliefs, no matter what situations may arise. By staying focused on the right things, and doing them in the right way, we’re ultimately better able to serve our customers.

We have a private conversation with each employee to understand all sides of the problem. The goal is not to find fault. Rather it is to figure out how they can work together. After the individual conversations, HR meets with the employees together and restates the issues we heard and sets the ground rules for the mediation process, which includes respectful listening without interrupting the person who is speaking, and having an open mind

We then mediate the conversation with solution-based questions (what if…?, how about…?) to help bring the employees to a resolution that meets both their needs.