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Doin' it Old School - Written by Arizona Human Resources Outsourcing Professionals

In most cases, employees will spend as much if not more time with each other than they do with family and friends when you take into account a 40+ work week. Employees will butt heads every now and again when you have a group of people with varying personalities in close proximity to one another for extended time periods. Differences in opinion, conflicting attitudes, several levels of work ethic and interpretations of quality are but a few of the reasons employees square off at work. Can employee conflict resolution help?

If you are in the trenches, you know conflicts arise more often than executive management thinks. Human Resources and Operation Managers spend an enormous amount of time day to day resolving these disruptions. However, fear not, we present a few employee conflict resolution tips that will bring the temperature down a notch when dealing with hot issues.

First, listen to what your employees are saying. In most cases, simply allowing employees to vent one at a time is enough for the situation to defuse itself. This strategy requires little effort. If the issues remain heated, offer several suggestions that lead to accomplishing the company's goals while satisfying employee needs. More often than not, one of your suggestions will lead to a positive outcome.

Employee conflict resolution becomes increasingly difficult if there is no common ground. No worries, not every problem is an easy one to fix. A little work may be required such as getting both parties to write down suggestions on how to solve the problem. Review all your employee suggestions and then present the one that makes the most sense for both parties (i.e., a mutually beneficial solution).

Still no resolution? It may be time for some tough love. Some cases may have become so personal that no amount of on-the-job professional counseling will quell the bitterness.

When our employee conflict resolution tips don't work, remind employees that they are responsible for their work regardless of differences. Disciplinary action is a good tool to use for employees that are unwilling to see eye to eye at the workplace. If employees refuse to make an effort to assist in conflict resolution, it may be time to explore other personnel options. Once the employees understand the company's objectives, the job gets a bit easier.

A little old school? Maybe, but when all else fails go with what works.