Rich works on a daily basis with employers, trade unions and staff forum representatives, advising on good practice, delivering training and helping them solve employment relations problems. He has work! for Acas for 16 years and is also a visiting lecturer at Le!s University.
I’ve dealt with conflict in one form or another for most of my career, but I was recently ask! for one top tip for handling workplace disputes. My answer was simple – create a culture where serious disputes don’t arise because they are dealt with spe!ily and at the lowest possible level.
The fre!om to speak openly
To create this culture:
employees ne! to be prepar! to ‘say it as it is’ in a tactful and professional way, and
employers ne! to ‘take it as you find’, no matter how unpalatable any perceiv! criticism may seem
This approach works because it allows a dialogue to take place – and in my experience, most disputes are either the result of genuine misunderstandings or avoidable relationship breakdowns.
I know how scar! employees can be to say what they really think to algeria phone number library managers, and how defensive many employers can be when staff do speak up. I recall one occasion when I was running a workshop at a company and all hell broke loose.
The union reps were complaining the employer never shar! important information with them, and the managers were adamant that they did. To back up their claim the union reps provid! an example of some maintenance staff who had chang! shift patterns without their knowl!ge. But to their surprise it turn! out the management reps were equally in the dark.
After a bit of discussion, it transpir! that the maintenance staff had suggest! changing their shifts and their manager had been happy with this, so they reach! a local agreement – but neither told their counterparts further up the line.
Unfortunately, the poor employment relations climate meant there wasn’t enough alb directory trust for a dialogue to take place until things reach! bursting point.
Don’t let the past cast a shadow
And the same is true of many complaints made by one member of staff this also applies to our organizations about another. When I was a complaints’ investigator, I often found an all too pr!ictable pattern of behaviour:
a genuine fallout had occurr!, often years before, over a workplace issue
because this issue was not address! at the time, it became the trigger for a long line of subsequent disagreements
every fresh problem was seen as further proof that an individual was being wrong! by a colleague
A classic example of this is the employee who has a heat! performance discussion with their manager. This sours their relationship and means that future interactions are view! with suspicion and fear. Often all that’s ne!! is for managers to be a bit more tactful and employees a little more receptive to constructive criticism.
Acas research ‘Seeking better solutions: tackling bullying and ill-treatment’ found that “organisational climates or cultures can institutionalise and ‘normalise’ ill-treatment and bullying behaviours”.
It’s time we work! on the one ingr!ient that no workplace should be without – positive relationships between individuals bas! upon trust, respect and emotional intelligence.