What are the workplace conflict resolution tips to improve productivity and communication?

What if you enter the room and energy is tense? It is a central problem that most organizations face and, due to this, stay behind in productivity. However, the workplace environment affects a lot due to this conflict and ultimately disturbs stakeholders and customers. If we look around, then almost all organizations feel workplace conflict. According to a survey: 

“A single employee spends at least three hours at work while resolving conflicts.”

But the above data represents the conflicts that have been resolved, but many remain unresolved. Thus, unresolved conflicts are the main reason impacting employee engagement and organizational culture. But if you want to deal with all these things, then start learning from the basics: 

What is workplace conflict? Resolve conflicts:

Conflict isn’t a new topic for people, and we all deal with it in our day-to-day life. But sometimes, the conflicts cause a massive disruption that ultimately impacts the daily functions. If you have different opinions than your co-worker, we term it workplace conflict. But if these issues stay unresolved, then they create real problems. So, in this situation, we take the help of workplace resolution. In this, we adopt different strategies and techniques to reach a satisfactory agreement. Conflict resolution aims to get to a point where both parties think that their issue is heard and somehow resolved. 

Problems of un-resolved conflicts: 

An effective workplace conflict resolution strategy helps you to overcome issues on time. But if you don’t address the issue on time, it may lead to further problems. 

• Workers will file bullying claims. 
• Your leadership will be ineffective. 
• The organization deal with the team dispersion 
• Has profound impacts on workplace relationship 
• You lose precious talent 
• Workforce feel demotivated 
• Reduce organizational productivity because there is a lack of communication between workers. 
• Employees mistrust policies and leadership. 

So, if you want to keep your organization away from the negative impacts, then take action as soon as issues arise. In this way, employees feel satisfied that management is hearing their voice. 

Five major styles for resolving workplace conflicts:

“Conflicts are inevitable, but your skills can help you to get through the situation.”

Conflict resolution is the critical skill that management of all organizations should have, and basically, this is the HR role. So, if you are in HR and want to keep the environment positive, then here are five major styles to adopt: 

Collaboration: 

The conflict could be of any nature, whether related to payroll. The primary role of the HR department is to manage payroll, and employees can conflict if they aren’t using a paystub generator. So, in this situation, the department should adopt collaborative skills. In this style, you try to find a middle ground that works for everyone and satisfies their concerns. Thus, the organization should try to minimize negative feelings. But this style works best if you have long-term goals and outcomes vital for your organization. 

Avoiding style: 

In this style, you avoid issues as long as possible, but try this if conflicts aren’t that big. So, in a situation like this, the management becomes unassertive and postpones the solution. For instance, you can delay issues that aren’t impacting the day-to-day actions of an organization. 

Accommodating style: 

The third style is the accommodating style, where you adopt an element of self-sacrifice to satisfy the other person. The style looks more generous, and you adopt this when you don’t care about building relationships and outcomes. 

Competing style: 

The competing style is opposite to the accommodating one, and here you are willing to take action. Moreover, it doesn’t matter if the step is at the expense of other people. According to DR. Benoliel: 

“The competing style works best when you don’t care about the relationships.”

Organizations adopt this style when the outcome is more important than relationships. But it would help if you use this style when you need it the most because it doesn’t build relationships. 

Compromising style: 

The last but most crucial style that most companies adopt is the compromising style. In this style, the main aim is to satisfy the conflict of both parties by finding a middle ground. But in this style, be aware that people can’t be delighted. 

Note: Managers can adopt these styles where they think they should. But it’s also vital to take courses as it will help resolve conflicts that ultimately improve communication and productivity. 

Skills that you should adopt for conflict resolution: Improve productivity & communication:

Earlier, we learned that you could deal with conflicts using the above styles that go best with your situation. But apart from those styles, there are specific skills that you should adopt to manage workplace conflicts effectively. 

Be impartial: 

Partiality could be the main reason why conflicts arise. So, as a manager and head of the organization, learn to remain impartial. Thus, if any issue occurs, try to resolve things by standing in the middle ground and listening to both parties. Here are tips that will help you to stay impartial: 

• Separate the conflict from people 
• Focus on the people and characteristics that they have 
• Look at the problem and find the energy to bring the best solution 
• Remember the golden rule: Important vs. Urgent 

Moreover, make sure you are making a decision in favor of both parties, and no one feels ignored. 

Have open communications: 

You can build long-term relationships by having open conversations with each other. So, the same thing applies in the case of conflict resolution. However, after a conflict, try to have an honest discussion to bring stuff in normal condition. But don’t forget to create a line to keep the conversation healthy and respectable. In this way, both parties can find a mutual ground after conflict. But try to maintain a calm tone because arguments affect long-term relationships. 

Other skills to resolve conflicts:

If you are a leader of an organization, you should learn to be proactive. For instance, if you think you need an invoice generator to maintain a record, then start working on that right now. So, the same goes with conflict resolution, and here are skills you need to develop. 

• Don’t point fingers at one person and try to talk collectively 
• Show willingness and don’t talk back behind people back 
• Try to resolve conflicts as early as you can 
• Work on your problem-solving skills 
• Clarify the source of conflict before taking action 
• Set clear goals and tell employees about your expectations 
• Listen to people/employees carefully and actively 
• Respect personal space and maintain self-respect of workers 

If you are ready to adopt all these skills, it will help resolve workplace issues at a fast pace. Later, it comes with many benefits like improved employee job satisfaction, boosted productivity, better relationships, and environment. Moreover, it encourages workers to work hard and develop more creative solutions.