How to Handle Conflict Resolution in the Workplace

According to SHRM’s Civility Index, US workers experience some 208 million acts of incivility per day. Conflict occurs in every organization, regardless of size, industry, or location.

The subject of the conflict can vary greatly—but as a manager or HR professional, it’s your job to know exactly how to handle conflict resolution in the workplace so you can tackle any issues as soon as they arise.

How you choose to handle conflict at work not only affects the parties involved, but it can also have costly consequences. Unresolved work place conflict is estimated to cost over $359 billion each year in the United States alone. Discover how to handle conflict resolution in the workplace like a pro with BambooHR.

What is workplace conflict resolution?

Workplace conflict resolution refers to the process of handling disagreements or tension among employees in an organization. Such disagreements can disrupt workflow, prevent collaboration, and stifle creativity.

While it is often believed that employees should work things out themselves, HR professionals and managers are often better equipped to know the best ways to handle conflict at work and resolve problems among employees.

How to handle conflict at work as a manager

To better tackle this difficult subject, we’ve compiled a step-by-step guide on how to resolve conflict in the workplace as a manager.

1. Step in early

Whether it’s an employee coming to you or something you notice, stepping in and resolving workplace conflict before it becomes a more serious problem can improve the working environment for everyone involved. This can also help reduce stress for other employees who often feel the ripple effect of negativity, even if they’re not the central actors in a conflict.

2. Meet with all parties involved

Another key step in resolving conflict in the workplace is to understand the situation by conducting a proper investigation. Interview those directly involved and possible witnesses. Depending on the situation, you may need to first meet with each individual separately before meeting together for mediation. It’s a good idea to first hold individual meetings or conversations with the parties involved, only inviting others as needed. You may need to meet a few times if a single meeting isn’t enough for each person to have their say.

Alternatively, you may decide that it’s best not to have the different parties in the conflict meet at all. For example, in the case of more serious allegations, like physical or sexual harassment, your priority should be protecting employees and maintaining confidentiality. This makes it improper to meet with all parties involved.

3. Brainstorm solutions together

Summarize your understanding of the issue back to employees to establish the common ground you’ll all be working from to find a solution. Have employees drive the conversation for how to handle the conflict at work—they’re more likely to stick to the plan if they come up with it. Ensure that employees suggest positive (rather than punitive) actions and that all parties agree on the proposed plan of action.

4. Check in and monitor progress

Make sure the action plan includes measures for HR to stay up to date. These mechanisms can include employees submitting reports and HR holding check-in meetings with managers to review day-to-day improvements in employee interactions to measure and encourage progress.

5. Escalate response if no progress is made

If any of the employees renege on their agreement and fail to change their behavior, you will have to decide on the next steps. This will depend on the severity of the conflict, of course, and what’s feasible in your organization.

If you have more than one location or different teams, you might offer employees the opportunity to transfer if they aren’t able to resolve their differences. There may be grounds for disciplinary action to deter future issues. Alternatively, if employees aren’t improving their behavior despite your best efforts, then you might need to consider terminating their contract.

6. Make sure the same problem won’t happen again

The best workplace conflict resolution processes not only resolve current issues but also help prevent the same problem from occurring in the future. Once things have calmed down, take a closer look at how the problem arose and the factors involved. There may be an underlying issue with morale or a process that you need to fix first to avoid the conflict escalating again.

How to handle conflict at work as an HR professional

Although situations can vary across multiple types of industries, HR should get involved in managing conflict in the workplace in any situation where an employee violates the company’s policy on worker conduct.

The amount of involvement and the consequences for these violations should be established beforehand so that employees understand what action will be taken by the company because of their behavior.

Let managers do their jobs—unless they’re involved

To make sure managers have adequate conflict resolution skills, you may need to train them on how to both recognize and address conflict in a professional manner. However, if the incident is between a manager and a direct report, then HR may have to step in as a neutral party.

Never wait to intervene or investigate serious violations

Some conflicts call for more drastic conflict resolution strategies in the workplace. If the incident is particularly egregious, like a threat of violence, an allegation of sexual harassment, bullying, etc., you need to step in to protect employees and put an immediate stop to the behavior.

When there’s a conflict of interest, get a neutral third party involved

HR has a responsibility to keep conflict resolution at work fair, so it’s important to remain neutral. If a HR representative is too close to the situation, you’ll need to assign the case to someone else on the HR team or hire a contractor, depending on the situation. If you fail to get a neutral party involved, any attempt at resolving workplace conflict is unlikely.

Establish a code of conduct

HR experts agree that it’s important to clearly communicate your company’s policies and conflict resolution process from the start. At the very least, make sure they’re included in the employee handbook and that management fully understands them.

A handbook communicates your guiding principles and values. making it a part of your conflict management strategy, and by including a code of conduct in the handbook, you’ll let your employees know the basic expectations for behavior in the workplace.

The added bonus is that it will help onboard employees more quickly by giving them a guide to how your company does things.

What are the most common types of conflict at work?

Conflicts come about for several reasons, many of which are often outside of HR’s control. Some of the most common types of workplace conflict include:

• Differing political opinions: Politics was once a topic people tended to stay away from discussing in the workplace. However, given how easy it is for people to share their political opinions online, this can easily cause friction in the workplace with people who hold different opinions.
• Different working styles: Conflict can quickly arise when a group of employees disagree over the best approach to take to get things done. If these problems are left to fester, they can damage team relationships.
• Communication styles: Every employee has a different communication style. But if an employee is an assertive communicator, this could come across as hostile to people who may not be familiar with their communication style.
• Ethical beliefs: Ethical conflicts can arise in the workplace when team members do not share the same ethical priorities. This could stem from arguments over work duties, processes or personal relationships, for example.

Other reasons for conflict could include:

• Competition for budget or resources
• Varying levels of experience (whether job- or age-related)
• Interpretation of company communications and policies (or lack thereof)
• Assumptions about intent, behavior, etc.

No matter what the cause of workplace conflict, common issues can usually be overcome by improved communication and compromise on the parts of those involved. However, sometimes these problems can get out of hand and require professionals to intervene, so knowing when to step in is important.

Next steps: strive for a harmonious company culture

Knowing how to handle conflict at work isn’t the most glamorous part of the job. But as a HR professional or manager it’s important to have conflict resolution strategies in the workplace to help establish and maintain a healthy and strong workplace culture. Always remember, no one is perfect, and conflicts may arise, but it’s important that employees feel safe enough to bring up their problems.

To build a workplace that is effective in resolving conflict in the workplace, HR and managers need to:

• Think of conflict management as a broad strategy that should be included in all policies and processes
• Step in to resolve conflicts as soon as possible
• When conflicts do flare up, help mediate between employees so they can come to a compromise and work towards improving their relationship
• Provide training on how to communicate respectfully and how to build a positive work culture for everyone
• Bring the team together more to encourage collaboration and foster better relationships

A truly inspired leader will not only manage workplace conflict effectively but will also recognize the hidden opportunities it provides to help create a better overall working environment.