Conflicts are not strange, and that too in a workplace is a common phenomenon, which a team collaboration software helps to know where things are going wrong.
They do take place commonly in personal lives, whether be family members, friends, or anybody else. In a workplace, conflicts arise out of anger, dissatisfaction, discomfort, pain, and frustration.
There are even intellectual, geographical, and sociological aspects to a conflict as well. People with different cultural backgrounds, from different countries, or having a different intellectual level get into a conflict more often. It is the mental state of individuals, which is the reason behind all conflicts.
A recent study done by MyPerfectResume with remote workers state 80% professionals experienced workplace conflicts, and in 65% cases the conflicts took place with the coworkers. Going by the study, the four primary reasons for conflict were found to be lack of teamwork, work stress, rude behavior, and absence of transparency. Furthermore, 62% people in a conflict faced consequences.
Conflicts are inevitable and has an adverse impact on organizations such as delayed projects, disturbed work atmosphere, office politics, increase in work pressure, so on and so forth. However, conflicts can be resolved with due diligence by addressing the situations beforehand or much earlier. Here are ways to resolve conflicts with ease.
5 simple tips to resolve conflicts at workplace
As a team leader or manager, managing conflicts can be tough, and a team collaboration software does play a big role in identifying conflicts to manage them. Before a conflict turns out to be complicated to handle, do sort out things in the earliest stages possible. However, following some tips help resolve conflicts.
1. Learn the root cause
If not a part of the conflict, it is important to understand the root cause. Allow both parties to share their point of views for comprehending their side of the story. Knowing their perspectives separately can help know where the disagreement lies.
The most crucial thing to keep in mind is not taking any sides. If in case, it is the team leader or manager involved then it is the team member who should be heard first. Letting things to calm down as a neutral mediator open up scope for healthy discussions within the team collaboration software.
2. Meet and discuss out
Conflicts go unresolved until things are discussed openly. Trying to resolve them using messaging, online chat, or emailing could further raise the issues. A face to face meet up or a virtual meeting via a video call in a team collaboration software is the real way to discuss out conflicts.
Before fixing the meetings, ensure to notify them in advance, so that they can be well prepared of what to say. A neutral location need to be chosen where discussions can be handled in peace. Do not let any one to dominate the conversation.
Find a time to meet far enough in advance that all parties have an opportunity to prepare for the meeting and think through what they want to say. Try to set up the meeting in a neutral location so that the environment isn’t more comfortable for one party or the other. Allow everyone to share their side of the story, and try not to let one person dominate the conversation.
3. Find a ground solution
After hearing all the arguments, find a ground solution that suffices the expectations of both as much possible. Implement a way that surpasses or at least satisfies what both parties want. A mutually agreed solution keeps everybody happy and on the same page within a team collaboration software.
Also Read : How School Management Software benefits the educational institutions
4. Define the underlying responsibility
Once the solutions have been decided, let each party be assigned with the underlying responsibility of what needs to be done. As soon as they realize, they should start working towards company’s objectives, with the delegated responsibilities. When they do so, the conflicts get resolved soon when looking at the team collaboration software.
5. Evaluate the future strategies
Never treat an issue to be a resolved one. Every issue brings together so many learnings, in spite of getting resolved. Taking those learnings, and implementing in the future strategies within the team collaboration software is how to keep conflicts at bay in future.
Conclusion
Conflict is a day to day event, especially in a professional setup, since there are people with different mindsets and viewpoints working towards common professional goals. The above things we saw are ways by which conflicts can be managed, while bringing in productivity. Bringing words like “sorry” and “thank you”within a team, restrict great deal from getting into conflicts.
Conflicts are bound to happen, but using a team collaboration software along with the above strategies can help get the job done. Conflict management is a delicate thing to handle with care, else things can get worse. Irrespective of any strategy, communication is the biggest key to conflict management, and having it as an integral part of every strategy is the critical part.
With appropriate tools in place, even if the team members are located globally. Any level issues can be resolved. Whether it is between coworkers at office, coworkers based remotely. Coworkers based at office and remotely, conflict management can be done seamlessly. Being professionally polite is important with an open minded broad perspective.
Pulling all parties together to work upon common objectives with two way open ended communication is instrumental. Conflicts resolved with one party being dominating and other being submissive, nor if there is a negativity right from the beginning.
