Resolving Workplace Conflict | strategies for intervention and prevention
According to WorkNest’s recent survey, a staggering 47% of workplace grievances involve conflict between employees. Even more alarmingly, 37% of employers have seen a general increase in grievances over the past year.
But these are just the complaints that make it to the surface – countless others will go unreported, silently eroding staff morale and retention while masking the scale of the issue.
Ready to take action? Join WorkNest’s legal and HR experts for actionable advice on how to address common types of employee conflict, proven early intervention techniques, and ways to streamline a formal process so that it doesn’t take up copious amounts of management time.
19 October, 2.00 - 3.00 pm
Overview
Workplace conflict is a pervasive issue that can be difficult to resolve. In fact, our recent survey uncovered that 30% of all grievances stem from strained relationships between an employee and their manager, often triggered by discussions around performance, absence, or conduct. Sometimes, it’s as simple as perceived favouritism within a team or poor line management.
It’s also not uncommon for employees to fall out with each other due to differences in personality, poorly defined job roles, or feelings that another person isn’t pulling their weight. Indeed, our research found that co-worker disputes account for 17% of grievances.
But here’s the kicker: quite often when you start to address the underlying concerns behind a complaint, a grievance can quickly ‘grow arms and legs’. As such, they can become more complicated and time-consuming to resolve than you originally anticipated at the outset.
In fact, our team often see employees attempting to provide several years of evidence to support their complaint, with many examples lacking witnesses (or witnesses willing to ‘go on record’). The result? You’re left battling ‘he said, she said’ arguments.
What's on the agenda?
During this live highly-anticipated webinar, Employment Law Adviser and Solicitor Toyah Marshall and Senior HR Consultant Sharon Gibson will address employers’ burning questions, such as:
- Which early intervention techniques are most effective in resolving conflict?
- How can you better equip managers to defuse complaints informally?
- How can you manage reluctant witnesses or provide clear proof with little evidence?
- How can you streamline the process of dealing with grievances and counter-grievances?
- What can you do about serial complainers who raise further grievances when not satisfied with the outcome?
- What are the potential risks of mishandling workplace conflict?
To bring these areas to life, our hosts will also share case studies on the four most common types of workplace conflict and walk you through the best approach in each scenario.
What's the cost of not taking any action?
When it comes to workplace conflict, avoiding early intervention can lead to stress-related sick leave, grievances and counter-grievances, resignations and dismissals. In fact, Acas estimates that workplace conflict costs UK organisations a whopping £28.5 billion – that’s over £1,000 per employee!
Have a question?
As always, we’ll aim to answer as many of your questions as possible in a live Q&A at the end of the session. Please submit your questions in advance via the registration form so that our hosts can review them ahead of time.
Register for free webinar
Half-day course: Managing Conflict
Looking for more comprehensive training for you and your team?
Clear communication and regular interactions play a key role in ensuring your teams perform to the best of their abilities. That’s why it’s vital for managers to have the skills needed to identify and handle conflict early on before it spirals out of control.
This course aims to provide the practical strategies you need to resolve or mitigate the impact of conflict within teams.
Webinar review
“Having attended a few WorkNest webinars, I am always impressed with the no-nonsense, well-balanced guidance they provide. Their advice gives me confidence to deal with situations that may arise in an appropriate way and the fact that they follow up with answers to all the questions posed during the webinar is an added bonus.”
Mary Greig, Scaled Solutions
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