How to Manage Workplace Conflict
Over 100 attendees recently joined CCIQ’s Senior Industrial Relations specialist Michael O’Brien at a virtual Brisbane Business Hub masterclass on learning how to deal with workplace conflict healthily and constructively. Michael provided attendees with the tools to prevent and resolve workplace conflict. For those who couldn’t attend the event, you can watch the presentation on demand here – otherwise, keep reading for some of the key takeaways.
Managing workplace conflict
Good working relationships around the workplace tend to make employees more likely to accept change and make them more engaged and committed. This ultimately leads to higher organisational performance.
Here are key tools to manage workplace conflict:
- Maintain positive body language, understand the employees’ and your communication style, and listen to the person even if you disagree with them.
- Map out the process – when did the conflict start; is this an ongoing or isolated incident? And map out the expectations – what are ideal, reasonable, and least acceptable outcomes. Set the ground rules together and plan out the structure stating – what will be discussed what do both parties want to achieve.
- Ask questions that help you see the conflict from the other person’s perspective and create a future-focused solution, i.e., by defining what both parties are expected to do to make sure the conflict doesn’t arise in future, write down the agreements are.
Watch the entire presentation on demand here.
