Conflict Resolution: How to Resolve Employee Conflict Successfully

As a manager you will undoubtedly have to resolve conflict between your workers at some point. It’s part of being a manager. You should keep in mind that conflict is inevitable in the workplace.  Employees will disagree on various issues and sometimes you will need to act as mediator to help them resolve their differences successfully.  Employees will sometimes disagree about work related issues but not all the time.  Other times conflicts arise due to personality clashes, differences of opinion, hearsay, and other times it’s just a simple misunderstanding. Nevertheless, be prepared to productively resolve conflict when it arises. Conflict can be resolved if managed properly and dealt with before it becomes unmanageable. Failure to deal with conflict effectively will eventually diminish productivity and could have a negative impact on the success of your company overall.  Moreover, management is responsible for creating and maintaining a safe and harmonious environment in the workplace.

Meet with individuals in private- the first thing you will need to do is meet with the employees who are involved in conflict.  It’s best that you meet with these individuals in private and away from the area where the conflict took place as to avoid distraction from on-lookers.  Choose an area in which all parties involved will feel comfortable (could be your office, conference room, etc).  Listen as you allow each a chance to clarify what they are at odds about in a respectful manner.



Mediator- As mediator, you will need to remain neutral.  Be careful not to side with either person involved in conflict.  Taking sides with one party will only cause the other to feel slighted and may also feel that you dislike them.  However, you should offer your advice when needed.  To make things easier, hand each individual a pad and a pen. Have each party write down what they feel the problem is.  Then have each compare notes. They are well on the way to fixing the problem themselves.

Confrontation- you should discourage avoidance. These individuals will need to confront their issues no matter how painfully difficult it may be.  The main objective is to solve the problem before it escalates.  If employees shy away from fixing the problem they will never achieve desired goals and objectives effectively and efficiently nor will they have a good working relationship.

Promote harmony- encourage those individuals involved to resolve their conflict peacefully. It’s perfectly okay to disagree without being disagreeable. However, explain how unresolved conflict can decrease morale and productivity.  It’s quite difficult to achieve goals and objectives when employees are in constant conflict.

Conflict Resolution- Before you dismiss your employees back to their work area, they will need to come to a common goal or at least agree upon a solution so that they can move forward. In order to bring about a peaceful outcome, each will have to listen to the other as they respect one another's views.  It’s time to put away negativity and adopt a resolution.  If they fail to come up with a solution within a reasonable amount of time, you will need to step in and offer helpful solutions that will put an end to the bickering. And that’s final!