Candice Gottlieb-Clark
This summer I have been on the speaking circuit, and I'm not done yet!
On August 24th, I will be speaking at the Burbank chapter of PIHRA on the topic of
Workforce Retention and Enhanced Performance through Conflict
Management to attend, please
email Lynn Gleim, District Chair
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For the third year in a row I will be joining Human Resource professionals at the Annual PIHRA Conference. This year's conference will be held locally in Pasadena on September 21st-23rd.
I am honored to be speaking on two different topics at this years event:
Become the Office Peace-Maker
and
Identifying Conflict in the Workplace - Before it's too late!
As always, I am thrilled for the opportunity to educate others, and equally excited to meet and exchange ideas with the terrific business men and women at these events.
I hope to see you there!
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What do YOU do when
Conflict is Out of Control?
Conflict may be unavoidable, but our Peace-Maker Training webinar is designed to help you improve the way you manage such differences.
Topics covered include: - Creating Conflict-Free Communication
- Dealing with Difficult People
- Bridging Differences between Others
We offer early-bird discounts. To register now, or for more information, or to please contact us.
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Mediating Solutions
11684 Ventura Blvd.
Suite 239
Studio City, CA 91604
(818) 400-5670
If you find our newsletter to be helpful and informative, please forward this on to a colleague or friend.
We hope to be a resource to others as well!
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Greetings!
As a business owner or
Human Resources professional, you're aware of employee tensions and occasional outbursts
of anger or frustration. They're common
to the workplace. And things usually
settle down in a day or two. But
sometimes they don't. Sometimes things get
worse, or even spiral unexpectedly out of control. How can you know which conflicts need your
involvement and which can be allowed to resolve themselves?
As a Conflict Resolution
professional, I hear these questions quite regularly. Here are the Top 5 Situations where Intervention
is Necessary, along with a rationale for why it is time to step in.
1.
Repeat Complaints
As the
most common problem requiring intervention, repeat complaints are also the one
most likely to be ignored or given a low level of attention. Why?
Complaints between employees are often chalked up to personality
differences and viewed as minor or commonplace.
Repeat complainers may even become branded as being the problem itself.
The
reality: Repeat complaints signal a
level of urgency. When a number of people
share the complaint, the problem is widespread.
If one person is complaining, and running the risk of being labeled as a
result, the problem is most likely unbearable for them. In either event, keep in mind that when you
hear a complaint, you're only hearing about the tip of the iceberg. There is always more than meets the eye.
2.
Unexpected Turnover or Transfer Requests
While turnover
issues get noticed, it's typically because the focus shifts to replacing the
lost or transferred individuals. HR or
Management may rationalize the reasons for departures, or (if the employees
have no specific value to the company) they may be unconcerned about the
staffing changes. But the key word here
is unexpected. Unexpected turnover or transfer requests are usually
precipitated by problems or dysfunction within the department or team from
which they are occurring.
Waiting to
step in and address such issues sends an unfortunate message that either HR/Management
doesn't recognize the problem, doesn't know what to do about the problem, or simply
doesn't care that the problem exists. In
any event, the problem will snowball and more staff will leave, including those
you can't afford to lose.
3.
Legal Concerns
You learn through
the grapevine that an employee is making general threats of legal action. Or, you hear words like "hostile work environment"
or "harassment" floating among certain groups.
What do you do? Rather than make
direct contact with the parties in question, HR or Management typically get in
touch with their legal advisor, focus on their departments' record-keeping, and
ensure that all requisite training programs, like sexual harassment training,
are completed and documented. Their reasons
range from disbelief that the problem or threat is significant, concern that
addressing the issue will make things worse, or wanting to wait until the
affected person approaches or informs them directly. Their duck and cover efforts are not focused on
resolving the problem, but on insulating themselves and the company from future
damage.
The
problem here is that time is being wasted.
If the issue is minor, there is no need to perform an audit of all
record-keeping; if the issue is serious, any delay means you are losing the
opportunity to minimize damages or nip the potential problem in the bud.
4.
Arguments or Tensions are Intensifying or
Never-Ending
Sometimes
HR or Management is aware of a problem, but no one has asked for help and there
are no concerns about bullying, harassment, or other workplace violations. The problem is simply chalked up as a "personality
difference" between employees. With
limited time and resources, such problems are often given little if any
attention. However, when these conflicts
intensify or are long-lasting it is no longer appropriate for helpers to remain
on the sidelines. Whether there are
complaints or not, such tensions will lead to increases in turnover,
absenteeism, and possibly even violence.
And the longer they continue, the worse it will get. While there is no line in the sand to say
when it is time to step in based on time or intensity of the problem, it is
imperative that you keep such issues on your radar, and have a plan for addressing
them when they reach a certain threshold.
5.
Tensions among Top-level Staff
Human Resource
professionals often hit a brick wall when there are tensions or problems among
top-level staff. They see the issue, or
feel the impact, but they are unable to create change or resolve the issue. Why? Trying
to help those in a power position above you creates its own strife. Add to that the limited authority HR may hold
at that level, and the confined level of trust or respect they enjoy when it
comes to working with the C-suite executives and owners. It's an impossible situation to contend with. HR may want to help, but are limited and/or
fearful in doing so. Regardless of these
limitations, it's not OK to wait. Waiting
for things to blow-over is a fallacy. Chances
are that by the time HR becomes aware of problems at the top, things have
already deteriorated. And while things
may go into temporary remission, most likely because of the recent exposure to
HR or other staff members, anger and grudges do not go away because we ignore
them. They fester, grow, and become more
explosive and damaging over time. Problems
at the top are like an avalanche, and can easily destroy all that lies beneath
them.
Call us for
help in addressing these urgent issues in your workplace. We are also available to help you establish
guidelines for when and how to address these different issues as they arise. Remember the Boy (and Girl) Scout motto - Be
prepared.
To your success!
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Thank you for reading our Newsletter! If you enjoyed it, send it on to others!
If you have any comments or questions, or if we can
assist you in any way, please contact us.
Mediating Solutions
11684 Ventura Blvd. #239
Studio City, CA 91604
(818) 400-5670
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