Conflict Resolution Training for Employees

Conflict resolution training is not just for managers. All employees who interact with customers or coworkers on a regular basis will experience workplace conflict and play a role in the conflict resolution process. Even the most skilled manager who has participated in multiple conflict resolution training programs cannot resolve conflict single handedly.

Instead, managers must empower their employees with conflict management skills to help them navigate workplace conflict. AllWin can give your employees the conflict resolution resources they need to manage conflict successfully in the workplace.

Related Offering: Conflict Resolution Training for HR Professionals

Why Is Conflict Resolution Training Important?

Employees in many different roles can benefit from conflict resolution training. The conflict resolution skills your employees will learn in a workplace conflict resolution training program are applicable to many different workplace conflicts. Whenever you are interacting with another employee at work, you are managing conflict in some capacity.

Conflict Resolution As a Professional Skill

Chances are, you already possess some conflict resolution skills if you have managed to stay employed for as long as you have. In a conflict resolution training course, you will learn to use your communication skills and emotional intelligence for the purpose of managing conflict between your employees.

By providing conflict resolution training to their employees, employers can encourage their employees to be confident in their leadership abilities and resolve conflicts more efficiently.

Introverts Need Conflict Management Training, Too

Conflict occurs in all workplaces, but some employees are especially skilled at staying out of it. Employees who prefer avoidant conflict management styles can still benefit from conflict training. They can learn to use their problem solving skills to prevent future conflicts and to address unresolved conflict that is currently happening in the work environment.

Conflict Management Skills Are Within Reach

Conflict resolution is usually not like what you see in the movies, where a tough talking, quick thinking guy persuades warring factions to drop their weapons in the nick of time. Interpersonal skills that you use as an employee during every shift at work, such as active listening, are vital skills that can help you resolve disagreements with clients and coworkers.

Actively Listen to De-Escalate Conflicts

One of the most common problems in workplaces is that some employees talk more than they listen. This problem is even more pronounced when people are stressed and frustrated or when there is time pressure. Listening is one of the most valuable communication skills when it comes to reaching a resolution to a dispute. Effective communication is only truly possible when you actively listen.

Creative Problem Solving Approaches

Collaborating to solve problems is an effective team building strategy. It is also an appropriate approach to take when trying to work through a disagreement with a coworker.

When every party involved has the opportunity to propose and implement solutions, not only do problems get solved more effectively, but team morale improves. Team leaders should encourage employees to take an active role in the conflict resolution process.

Respecting Different Perspectives

Respecting different perspectives is an effective conflict management strategy. It should happen all the time, not only when signs of a workplace conflict have become apparent. When employees behave inconsiderately to each other and managers ignore the perspectives of the employees they supervise, the human resources department inevitably receives a lot of complaints about interpersonal conflicts in the organization.

Soliciting the perspectives of employees who are not in managerial roles leads to improved communication and helps you avoid conflict, whether in the form of major or minor disagreements. It is easier to find middle ground when there are differing opinions in a work environment that encourages employees to share their views on work-related matters.

Finding the Best Course of Action to AllWin a Conflict

Setting company policies that prescribe a one-size-fits-all course of action for conflict resolution is a mistake. When you do this, employees learn to keep quiet about serious problems in situations where speaking up about them will require them to go through a lot of stress just to apply the company policy. Your policies should be sufficiently broadly written to allow for different conflict resolution approaches for different conflicts but not so broadly written that they enable managers to act capriciously or maliciously.

When Is Open Dialogue the Best Solution?

Sometimes bringing all the involved employees to a conflict together in the same room and asking them to talk things out is the fastest way to achieve a solution. It does not always have the desired outcome, especially in situations where people are angry and unwilling to listen to other people’s perspectives.

In fact, it can have negative effects, such as causing the conflict to escalate. New managers often default to this solution, assuming that it is the fastest and most cost effective way to solve problems, but they do not take into account the fact that different personalities will respond differently to the same situation.

Resolving Disagreements When the Parties Refuse to Speak to Each Other

When managers find themselves in the role of mediator, the conflict has already gotten bad. The most common causes of conflicts where employees refuse to deal directly with each other is that no one wants to be the first person to propose a solution to the conflict.

In cases like these, the manager should meet with each employee differently, which helps the manager gain perspective on the different styles of conflict among the employees in the organization. After meeting with one party, the manager should meet with the other employee and then repeat this process as many times as necessary to achieve common goals.

Conflict Puts a Damper on Productivity

In many organizations, conflict among employees is a major obstacle to productivity. It is hard to focus on your tasks when the other people on your team keep antagonizing you. Dysfunctional communication can make your organization a downright unpleasant place to work. Organizations can boost their efficiency and achieve their goals by resolving conflicts among their employees. Every person in the organization can benefit from a conflict resolution training course.

Conflict Management Training Makes for a Better Work Environment

Employees who work in person and those who work online can agree that conflict management is an important part of their satisfaction with their professional lives. Antagonistic relationships with coworkers can harm focus, productivity, and morale.

If your company has employees who live in different time zones working on the same team, then online training is the most appropriate option. Online courses serve the same goals as courses that take place in person. The only difference is that you can participate in them from wherever you are.

How Does Conflict Management Training Work?

Managers can choose among many different types of training courses in which their employees can learn about conflict resolution in the workplace. The training could take place over a single session, or it could be multiple sessions. Participants will engage in interactive modules with conflict management experts.

What Do You Learn About in a Conflict Resolution Course?

At a conflict management workshop, you will learn practical strategies for resolving a conflict with another employee or client. The training will cover concepts such as conflict psychology and the five modes of conflict resolution, namely accommodating, avoiding, competing, compromising, and collaborating. The goal is for the employees to work together as a team to resolve the conflict.

What Are the Different Types of Conflict Resolution Courses?

Simply taking a generic course on the basic principles of conflict resolution will probably give you some insights into the causes of conflict on your team or within your organization, but there is an even more effective way to eradicate conflict from your workplace. You should choose a specialized training that is specific to your industry or to the roles of the employees participating in the training. For example, it could be a training specific to nurses, air traffic controllers, or members of almost any other possession.

How Does Conflict Resolution Training Affect Your Work Environment?

You will probably notice a difference in your workplace even after only one manager participates in a training. The manager might start adopting new strategies that he or she has learned from the training. The changes might take the form of problems that do not happen as often or are not as severe. For example, your manager might stop micromanaging after learning a more conflict-proof way to give instructions. This will make for a more peaceful workplace.

What Is the Difference Between Conflict Resolution, Conflict Management, and De-Escalation?

These three strategies often go together, but they are not exactly alike. In conflict resolution, the parties achieve a long-term solution that is mutually agreeable, even if they are agreeing to disagree or even agreeing not to engage in any further business relationships with each other. Conflict management includes conflict resolution, but it also involves efforts to stop conflicts before they start. It is conflict resolution, conflict prevention, and some temporary fixes to buy time while the conflicting parties think of long-term solutions and how to achieve them. De-escalation is when a conflict has already started, but you do something to stop it from getting worse.

What Is AllWin Conflict Resolution Training?

AllWin is a California-based company that helps organizations in the United States and other countries prevent and manage conflict in the workplace. We offer coaching, group workshops, and multi-session courses for managers and entire organizations. Our team has extensive work experience in the theoretical and practical aspects of conflict management.

Who Is Dr. Jeremy Pollack, the Founder of AllWin?

Jeremy Pollack, the founder of our company, holds a Ph.D. in psychology. He has published peer-reviewed research in academic journals such as Peace and Conflict, Human Nature, Cognition, and Religion, Brain, and Behavior. He has studied both Eastern and Western philosophical traditions. In recent years, he has dedicated himself to helping employees in a wide variety of industries gain practical skills that will help them resolve disputes in the workplace.

Situations Where Conflict Resolution Training Can Help You

You can rely on the conflict management experts at AllWin to help you in many challenging situations. If you are new to a management position, some coaching sessions with AllWin can help you deal more effectively with common types of conflict in your work environment. If you have tried for a long time to find a solution to a conflict in your organization, but the problem continues to persist, you might need some mediation sessions with one of our professional trainers.

Although we mediate ongoing disputes, our main mission is to help professionals solve their own disagreements. You can count on us for mediation, but you will learn so much about conflict management that, next time, you will probably feel comfortable being the one to mediate a dispute within your organization.

Contact Us and Find a Solution to Your Conflict

If you need some perspective on the underlying causes of conflict in your workplace, then now is the time to talk to us and find out more about what we can offer you and your employees. You might want to take a conflict resolution training class on your own and then share what you have learned with the rest of your team and employees. Contact us today and take the first step toward a work environment where colleagues interact in a peaceful and harmonious manner.