Recruitment
indepth
Conflict management
B efore conceiving Cledor, I earned my customer service stripes in hotel management and ‘white glove’ restaurants in Paris and London. The customer was king! Nothing was too much trouble and by and large they left the building content and relaxed. Often in the background was organised chaos, but the customer saw none of that. We appeared to be in total control when quite often that simply wasn’t the case! Having worked with property managers for the last 15 years, I have become to appreciate how stressful it can be and that there are similar challenges when it comes to conflict management. I’ve worked with some superb property managers but also with some seemingly out of their depth. Almost without exception, those property managers who were able to avoid conflict were (and are) more successful and happier in their role. These property managers realise that being 80, 90 or 100% right is largely irrelevant when dealing with an irate leaseholder! Ok, so avoiding an escalation and being able to bite one’s tongue doesn’t necessarily come naturally. The following should help to make you aware when a situation is taking a turn for the worse and you’re ready to do something (positively) about it. Face time How many times have you been told (or told others) to stop hiding behind email and speak to someone? Property managers struggle with the volume their jobs bring, and
many feel like they are chained to their desks doing little more than answering incoming emails. That environment may be busy, frantic and pressured and may lead to you being snappy and impulsive. Assume you are able and willing to have a conversation (face to face) with an upset customer. You have chosen this positive action to diffuse a conflict and the chances are your positive intentions will be reciprocated. It’s an opportunity to use the three basic elements of communication: 1. Words – what is said. 2. Tone – how the words are said. 3. Body language – how the words are delivered. Dr Albert Mehrabian’s research in the 1960s concluded that 55% of communication is body language, 38% tone of voice, leaving only 7% importance assigned to the actual words spoken! The importance of the 55% and 38% combined overwhelms the importance of the words, so unless your tone and body language complement the words you’re using, the words will have limited impact. And don’t forget to listen, apologise if necessary, speak softly but with confidence, sit upright at a respectable distance and maintain the right level of eye contact. ‘Connecting’ with someone defuses the situation and conflict can easily be avoided. It takes two to conflict. The follow-up is equally important.
Dealing with difficult situations can be a challenge, but there are steps you can take to avoid conflict, writes Nick Regnier
them all that this is your own time and you’ve already done a day’s work and you don’t deserve this, in an attempt to earn their sympathy? What you need to recognise in these situations is that we all have the tendency to become irrational and emotional. A balance is needed between rationality and emotion – say 50-50. If our emotional mindset rises above 50%, our rational mindset decreases by the same amount and our ability to deal with a situation calmly and productively rapidly diminishes.
Do as you’ve promised to do.
Rational v emotional Neither is good, neither is bad! It’s all about getting the balance right between ‘thinking’ and ‘feeling’. Achieving this balance can be severely tested at an RMC AGM where there is frustration and even anger. Do you match the frustration of the leaseholders and push back? Do you put your head down in a conciliatory manner and say nothing, hoping the directors will step in? Are you tempted to tell
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