Any time you place multiple personalities in the same office or workplace environment, conflict may arise. Personalities inherently clash with one another, especially when you have a hearty mix of aggressive and passive employees.
As a business owner, conflict resolution is critical. Here are 3 steps to help resolve employee conflicts:
1. Explore Why Employees Do Not Align
At the root of conflict in the workplace are internal issues. Sometimes employees do not see eye to eye on the same goals for your company, while other times it is a matter of leadership.
You must get to the foundation of the disagreement. Identify why employees are not getting along, and see if there are policy adjustments you can make to align employees better together.
2. Deploy HR-Level Conflict Resolution Techniques
Once you have identified the issues, the next step is to assist with resolution.
- Wait: While two employees are shouting at one another increases tension, never attempt to resolve the issue while emotions are high. Instead, US News recommends separating staff and waiting until they have calmed down before working toward a resolution.
- Communicate: Most conflicts arise from lack of information or poor relay of information, says Forbes. So, be sure to inform employees efficiently and precisely. If you do not distribute information to employees, they might not understand workplace goals or two employees might clash over inaccurate information.
- Involve: Involve employees in the solution process. Have them meet with you, suggest solutions to the conflict, then assess as a group possible solutions. You can summarize the dispute told from both sides, then once a solution is selected, ensure both parties agree.
3. Conflict is Unavoidable, but Always Fixable
Conflict is inevitable because human beings will always clash according to the Society for Human Resource Management. However, the more proactive you are in responding, and the faster you work toward an agreeable solution, the less likely those conflicts are to affect your company’s bottom line.
