A conflict management system is a crucial business tool and yet I find it is one which most employers have not even thought about. When there is some thought given to the topic of managing and resolving conflict in the workplace, the assumption is that the supervisor or manager will handle it as part of his or her job. Some employers even go so far as to provide training in conflict resolution for managers.

I used to deliver this training, and of course, I still will if a client insists upon it. However, I have come to the conclusion that, in some cases, it may not be the best use of an employer’s limited training dollars. While of course the participants may enjoy the course and find it "useful", in reality, there is little correlation between enjoying the course and actually being effective at resolving conflict in the workplace.

The bottom line is that while conflict is an ever present phenomenon in our lives, both at work and outside of work, most of us simply don’t like it, so, if at all possible we try and avoid it. That is the "maybe if we ignore it, it will go away on it’s own" conflict resolution philosophy. Not generally very effective.

And for those of us who are brave enough to wade into the conflict pond, we soon discover that conflict resolution is a tricky business, because people are unpredictable. Many the well-intentioned manager has gone into a conflict resolution process only to come out the other end having made the conflict worse and alienated two employees in the process. The lesson that manager learns is that it is better to get out of the pond and go back to the ignoring philosophy.

A manager or supervisor really needs to maintain neutrality relative to his or her work team. He or she simply may not be the best choice in terms of dealing with conflict at work. However, effective conflict management is crucial to the success of every business, as unresolved conflicts affect morale, productivity, absenteeism, and employee retention, among other things. A recent Canadian Policy Research survey concluded that social relationships in the workplace are the number one cause of stress at work.

It is also a fact that the longer a conflict is ignored, the more costly it will be to try and fix, and, in many cases, the less likely that the resolution will be effective. It is important to remember that discrimination, harassment and bullying are all types of conflicts, and the earlier they are dealt with, the better the outcome for resolution.

Therefore, I work with clients to design practical conflict management systems for each work site which will ensure effective and timely resolution of workplace disputes, thereby promoting a healthy, safe, respectful and productive work environment. The system focuses on finding individuals in the organization that have an interest in conflict resolution and designing a system to effectively utilize them as internal conflict resolution advisors, while integrating supervisors, managers and union representatives as appropriate. I also provide the training and support required to equip these individuals to be successful at dealing with the gamut of workplace conflict complaints, including issues of workplace discrimination, harassment and bullying.