Some form of conflict in the workplace is inevitable. Personality clashes, overstressed workers on a tight project deadline, or slacker employees not pulling their weight for the team — no matter what form it takes, workforce discord has the potential to disrupt efficiency. Thankfully, a few strategies exist to ensure conflict doesn’t sidetrack your company’s ultimate success.
Confront, Don’t Avoid the Source of the Conflict
When discovering dissension on your team, it is important to nip the problem in the bud before it has the chance to fester into something worse. Meet with the responsible parties in person as soon as possible. Handling any issues face to face works better than trying to accomplish the same thing through email or instant messaging; sometimes electronic communication distorts or masks your employees’ real feelings.
Additionally, make sure you listen and are sympathetic to both sides of any intra-team squabble. Sometimes this is better accomplished in separate one-on-one meetings with the two parties before bringing everyone together at the end to resolve the problem.
Don’t Let Petty Issues Waste Your Company’s Time
One-on-one meetings with those in conflict are a great way to make sure the issue at hand is worthy of a team get together to solve the problem. If it is something ultimately of little importance, let your employees know immediately; don’t let it waste your company’s valuable time! Be a sounding board, but offer a reality check if needed; some issues do not belong in the workplace.
Ultimately, once an actual important issue is identified, take action to solve the problem; reminding all your team members that everyone is working together towards the same goal. If a repeatable solution prevents the problem from rearing its ugly head in the future, all the better. Actionable steps for conflict resolution should be part of any software development or information management team’s methodology.
Your local technical recruiter keeps her finger on the pulse of technology management and can offer advice for the best methods for internal conflict resolution, so be sure to leverage them as a resource. As one of the leading technology staffing firms in the New York City metropolitan area, APN Consulting has the staff on hand to help you successfully manage your technical team.
Very well written story. It will be valuable to anyone who utilizes it, as well as myself. Keep up the good work – for sure i will check out more posts.