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When employees fall out at work, everybody gets affected by the conflict in some way.
Sometimes it is the relationship between the manager and the employee that breaks down. Sometimes there is conflict in the team. It is not unusual for allegations of bullying, harassment and discrimination to come out of misunderstandings or breakdowns in communication.
Whatever the circumstances, when there is any conflict, there is a bad atmosphere, work gets disrupted and people get very stressed. The performance of the team always suffers as a result and employee engagement takes a big hit.
On occasion there is no alternative but formal grievance or disciplinary procedures. But where there has been a genuine breakdown of communication or misunderstanding, or there is a personality clash, sometimes skilled mediation will do the trick.
Where there is a personality clash or a misunderstanding, or when formal procedures are being considered, it is worth looking at whether both parties can be persuaded that mediation is in their own best interests. Our accredited mediators are skilled at:
- Helping the parties understand what mediation is and seeking their commitment to the process
- Allowing the disputants to identify what their real concerns are and to voice these in a non-threatening way
- Helping them to actively listen to eachother and reach mutual understanding
- Reaching clear, documented undertakings on how all parties will move forward
- Follow up review meetings to check on progress
We can never guarantee that people will become the best of friends. But in most cases we can help workplace relations to become much less strained and for people to restore a good professional working relationship.
