REWARD
3) Repositioning conflict Conflict has a bad reputation. But channelled in the right way, it can present the opportunity for creative change. Perhaps the secret to this is senior leaders taking conflict seriously, being willing to be transparent about the difficulties they face in their roles and empowering employees to speak up about concerns. It may mean greater transparency of conflict reporting at board level too – as part of the increased accountability of organisations, and considering the known cost of poor conflict management. Finally, we often think about conflict in terms of day-to-day, transactional exchanges and negative behaviours. But sometimes this belies deeper cultural or systemic problems in organisations, for instance, around unfair or inappropriate treatment, or discriminatory attitudes and systems. The value of repositioning conflict to be a matter of concern at board level opens the potential for deep-rooted issues to surface and the status quo to be challenged. Addressing conflict through the lens of costs is useful – it helps bring a sense of reality to an aspect of organisational life that’s often pushed to one side, or at worst, denied. But there’s a much deeper rationale for taking conflict seriously. It stems from opportunities to enhance well- being and to be a fairer employer, along with securing the kind of engagement and retention that can help organisations and individuals thrive. n
Part of the costs are associated with the management of the process and procedure itself (and these can rise as processes become more protracted), but the real costs lie in subsequent resignations and dismissals – nearly half a million people resign and over 300,000 are dismissed every year. The cost of recruiting replacement employees is £2.6 billion annually, and lost output as new employees get up to speed adds a further £12.2 billion.
in its early stages. Indeed, the average costs of conflict where employees didn’t engage with their managers, HR or union representatives were higher than where such discussions did take place. This may seem a daunting challenge, but given the evidence on costs associated with conflict, it may well prove a sound investment. For smaller firms, this may involve training a small number of managers, making space for employees to voice their concerns and ensuring expert advice is available (at least ensuring basic policies are in place). 2) Building ‘conflict competence’ Whatever the systems and styles of conflict management a business chooses to adapt, ‘conflict competence’ among all managers must be an essential element. Yet, Acas research and experience persistently finds a gap in conflict handling confidence in organisations’ skills. Perhaps this isn’t surprising: having difficult conversations is no easy task. Training needs to cover skills for tackling day-to-day challenges, but also allow managers time to reflect on their own ways of working. This could include reflecting on their practice, as well as how to manage the ‘triggers’ and conflictual situations which arise in their teams. Greater skills and confidence also have the downstream impacts on supporting the well-being of the managers themselves.
We must also be mindful of other associated costs, for instance around
emotional well-being, with an estimated five million employees reporting stress, anxiety and / or depression arising from conflict. And we know the stresses and strains are equally felt by line managers and those handling procedures. A brand new approach to conflict management Acas’s analysis has important implications for how employers manage and resolve conflict. We believe there are three primary areas of focus: 1) Investment in early intervention Organisations must lay the foundation for good conflict management. First, having well-trained managers is pivotal, as is having HR or expert support. Where employees have some form of representative voice, conflict can be more effectively managed
Read Acas’s paper, Estimating the costs of conflict , at http://ow.ly/OL1f50LXkBj, authored by Richard Saundry and Peter Urwin, and based on data from the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD): http://ow.ly/l6OB50LXkxu.
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| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward |
Issue 87 | February 2023
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