As we expand our business in terms of scope, we inevitably start to bring more people into the fold.
Whether you need to outsource components or you start hiring employees, hired help is always going to be a time of adjustment. But this is when we start to encounter conflicts of interest or office politics.
It is a daily occurrence, but if you have just made the upgrade from a solo business to one with an employee or a small group of cohorts, what does it really take to to manage and resolve conflicts in this environment?
Determining the Source
One of the problems in an office environment is that gossip can start veering off like a runaway train.
When you define the source of the conflict, you will understand how the issue came to grow. When you do this, you can get both parties to agree on what the disagreement is, so you have a better forum to discuss the needs that are not being met.
This is one of the fundamentals of any management training and management training providers like Corporate Coach Group offer a wide variety of training courses, including conflict management as a foundation.
When you start to figure out the real source, but obtain as much information as possible, you need to press further to make sure the both parties understand what the problem is.
Let Everybody Have Their Say
Ensuring the gossip mill doesn’t get out of control means you need to bring both parties to a private and secure place so they can voice their grievances and give their perceptions of the issue.
This is where you need to embrace a positive but assertive approach, and this will encourage both parties to articulate their thoughts openly and honestly, as well as comprehend the causes and identify the relevant solutions.
It is so important for you to be a mediator because this will ensure the conversation doesn’t descend into arguments and mudslinging.
Ensuring that you know how to mediate a conversation is so important, and in many ways, it’s like being a referee, ensuring that both sides have equal opportunity in an event, but also understand the other side of the situation.
Investigate Everything
We have to avoid prejudging. We have to dig deeper to find out about the emotions behind the issue, what actually occurred, and who is involved.
Sometimes it can stem from an underlying conflict that may not be noticeable at first. There are unconscious biases that some people may have which will inform their opinions of others, and therefore it will stymie their approach to working with that individual.
This is something that we all can benefit from weeding out prior to bringing people on board. If you are upgrading your business, you need to have a solid candidate selection process.
When you learn how to hire the right person, you will immediately deal with these preliminary issues that should theoretically minimize conflicts. However, conflict is a common part of doing business.
Conflict is something that we can’t avoid. We can minimize it by ensuring that we bring people on board, but have an understanding of what the business is trying to achieve.
It’s not about bringing people on board that necessarily complement each other (unless it’s pivotal to their work), but ensuring that everybody is mature enough to deal with conflicts in a manner that does bring about a measurement and effective outcome.
Determining Responsibilities Within the Resolution
When we try to manage conflict, the important thing is to set a common objective that resolves the issue and makes sure it does not come back again.
When you agree on the best solution, you can then give them responsibilities so employees will understand that the goal is not to view them as individuals, but about meeting the objectives of the company.
It is crucial to find common ground and determine the responsibilities each party will have in resolving this conflict. This will ensure that employees retain a sense of accountability, which is so important for any company.
You can use this as the opportunity to identify the root causes so you can guarantee this issue will not occur again.
Read also: Finding Inspiration to Lead and Grow Your Business
Evaluation and Prevention
We can never assume that the issue is buried. We need to ensure that employees are working together to meet the goals of the organization, but we also need to put in place preventive strategies so this won’t happen again.
Conflict is part of our daily lives. We can disagree with people, but there are ways to ensure that everybody can get along despite disagreements.