In the UK, almost 500,000 people resign every year because of workplace conflicts. This leads to losses in profits, as each company has to then replace the person who leaves, and this takes both time and effort. Would you prefer to address such issues before they get to such a state?

In this article, we provide information on how to handle conflict in the workplace. At the end of the blog post, you can learn about a communication skills course in London we are running. It will help you find real support for issues in your office culture.

Be Proactive in Addressing Issues

Your conflict resolution strategy should not start when the situation has escalated. In theory, you should aim to start long before then.

Conflict resolution itself can sometimes impact an environment negatively before it gets better. As such, you want to prevent a situation from needing it in the first place.

Make sure your employees are aware of the problems that arise if people avoid conflicts that risk escalating. At the same time, work to try to identify issues before they become a problem among your employees.

Working with your HR, draft conflict resolution policies too. These should offer a structured manner of solving issues everyone can adhere to.

Open and Honest Communication

One of the best ways to solve issues once they flare up is to encourage communication. This involves aspects such as:

Active listening. Talking to employees is a two-way street. Maintain eye contact, validate people’s feelings, and aim to understand perspectives.

Ask clarifying questions. Allow all participants to learn more about the situation rather than diving in. This can help people find common ground or resolve misunderstandings early on.

Offering constructive feedback. Focus on the behavior that led to the issue and how it could improve, rather than the situation. Encourage non-confrontational communication.

Regular Team Meetings

Create a platform for people to talk about issues that come up. This will often illuminate different workplace conflicts as they begin to form. Also, foster a safe space in such meetings by not punishing people for raising concerns so long as they do so professionally.

If you do this right, you can facilitate effective communication between participants. This can work even if there is existing tension.

Improving Trust and Rapport

Improving workplace relationships is often a path to stopping conflict before it begins. People who trust each other will be more likely to raise concerns with one another rather than choose to speak about them in private.

Encourage and train skills such as empathy, emotional intelligence, and inclusivity. This helps people feel like they fit in and builds rapport between people no matter how hard things get.

Find a Communication Skills Course in London

The above strategies should help you resolve, or at least mediate, any issues that might crop up between employees. Still, it may be very tough for some people to bring together workers who are already at one another’s throats. Lucky for you, we can help with that.

We run a communication skills course in London that is perfect for your needs. Join us for our 1-day business training course and find a way to resolve any issue that rises up in your company moving forward.