Managing types of conflicts in the workplace

Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.

As most of us can kindly remember, this retort or variations of it is periodically used in various childhood settings, such as on the playground or in a classroom. It is indicative of ways that children proscribe to ignore or fend off conflicts. Well, growing up and becoming an adult doesn’t change things very much. Adults are faced with conflicts on a regular basis, especially in the workplace. Some conflicts can lead to litigation that can affect a company in such a negative manner that it can be very time consuming, costs a company millions a year to retain counsel, there’s a loss of productivity, settlement costs, and not to mention the amount of time it takes way from productive HR work.

HR can play a big role in this by helping to develop a system that will encourage employees to find an alternative dispute resolution process that works with their conflict. The purpose of this system would be to give employees and employers a way to communicate about issues that they may be experiencing in the workplace.

When I first read about a dispute system design, I thought it would serve as the perfect tool for employers and employees if managed properly. According to the conflict research consortium at the University of Colorado, “a dispute system design is the design of systems or mechanisms which are used routinely to handle similar repeated disputes”. It’s pretty basic and can be very rewarding if designed correctly.

There’s a lot of effort and analysis that goes into developing a system like this. But, here are some short steps that may assist you along the way:

• You would first begin by analyzing the number of disputes and conflicts in the workplace. Make a log of them so you capture as many repeated ones as you can. (Are any of the conflicts interest based, rights based or power based?)
• Develop the scope of the project. (Statutory vs. non-statutory complaints)
• Objectives that you would like to use for measurement purposes.
• Development of the design (Matrix, graphs, color coding)
• Implementation
• Evaluation

As always, prioritize, set boundaries, and live!