The CIPD’s ‘Managing Conflict Guide for Line Managers’ is designed to help equip security and facilities management professionals with the necessary skills and confidence to intervene at an early stage in order to prevent disputes from escalating to the point where the formal disciplinary or grievance procedure has to be used (or an employment tribunal application is lodged).
The Guide has been produced in response to a CIPD survey on managing conflict in the workplace. The survey highlighted the fact that organisations are increasingly reliant upon their Human Resources Departments and external legal advisors to manage the rising number of formal disciplinary and grievance cases.
Speaking exclusively to info4security.com, Ben Willmott (the CIPD’s employee relations adviser) comments that, all-too-often, managers shy away from tackling conflict in case they do or say something that might be held against them during any formal proceedings. “This approach is counter-productive,” asserts Willmott. “By the time a dispute has escalated to the point where the disciplinary or grievance procedure is invoked, opinions are often hardened, confrontational and extremely hard to change.”
The Guide is based upon joint research carried out by the CIPD in conjunction with the Health and Safety Executive. That research involved interviews with nearly 400 managers and employees working across the healthcare, finance, education and central Government sectors. It highlights the management behaviours that were identified by the research as being most important to help line managers in preventing and management conflict within the workspace.
These behaviours are underpinned by six broad headings:
– Dealing with issues
– The use of official processes
– Participative approaches
– Monitoring team relationships
– Role modelling behaviour
– Integrity
Willmott adds: “Our research shows that only 38% of employers train their line managers in conflict resolution skills, despite the huge impact disputes at work can have on organisations. It’s not just management time wasted and financial costs that employers must take into account, but also the personal cost to individuals in the organisation who are under stress, the ‘ripple’ effects of employee absence, disruption caused by dysfunctional teams and damage to morale and overall productivity.”
Willmott is quick to point out that, in many cases, employees will simply ‘vote with their feet’ and walk out if conflict isn’t managed in an acceptable manner. “It’s essential for employers to ensure that line managers have the necessary skills to manage conflict as part of their core people management skills.”
– The ‘Managing Conflict Guide for Line Managers’ is available to download from www.cipd.co.uk/guides
– The research report entitled ‘Managing Conflict at Work’ may be downloaded from www.cipd.co.uk/research
