Responding to Issues and Incidents

Every workplace will, at times, find its people in conflict. An unhelpful response from the employer can weaken already fragile relationships. At ProActive, we provide recommendations and a structured process in response to workplace conflict. We help all the parties affected to learn from what has happened, strengthen key relationships, and transform the conflict into plans for cooperation and collaboration.

Mediation

When an issue is spotted early and some trust remains, it can be helpful to bring people together to help them communicate the impact of what’s happened and to request a change in behaviour moving forward. We refer to our future-focused mediation process as a Facilitated STRAIGHT TALK® Conversation, which includes the following steps:

• Introduction to the facilitator and exploration of issues. One-on-one conversations with each party to understand the dispute and support them in framing their concerns and requests of the other person.
• Facilitated STRAIGHT TALK® conversation. Following our STRAIGHT TALK® model, the facilitator supports each party to share their concerns and request a change in behaviour moving forward. The facilitator also drafts a written behavioural agreement for each party to review (and, in some cases, to share with their manager)
• Agreement Check-in. The facilitator follows up with each party to review their commitments.
• Debrief with employer. We do not share the issues or examples discussed in the Facilitated STRAIGHT TALK® Conversation, however, we do share the steps of the process and any high-level observations.
• Written Report. We provide a Report that captures the steps of our process and the names of the participants. Our report does not disclose the issues or examples discussed.

Conflict Transformation

Unlike a dispute, conflict always involves more than two people, is always complex, never lends itself to a simple solution, is never resolved by an investigation, and must always involve everyone affected to achieve a sustainable resolution. There are clear features of both conflicts and disputes, that can help diagnose whether you’re being asked to manage a dispute or a conflict. Understanding the derivation of the words is helpful

The words dispute comes from the Latin ‘disputare’ and refers to cleaning up the mess or the misunderstanding. Whereas conflict derives from the Latin ‘conflictus’, meaning the clashing together of swords. Conflict is an entrenched state of negative feelings about someone or something. A simple way to make the distinction is that disputes are in our heads, whereas conflicts are in our hearts.

When we’re in dispute there is a fundamental agreement that we need to get to a decision, but there might be a lot of disagreement about how to get there. When we’re in dispute, mediation can be a helpful way to resolve the differences. When we’re in conflict there is no such agreement. We often see that the only way forward is for me to win and you to lose. Individuals involved start talking to others and thereby involving them. Factions begin to form. Communication breaks down. Negative behaviours are reinforced.

Disputes can involve as few as two people. Conflicts always involve many more than two.

Our proven Conflict Management methodology for resolving conflict has been shown to achieve a 9:1 return on investment in a double-blind study. ProActive ReSolutions’ Conflict Management solutions do not focus on blaming individuals and imposing sanctions, or punishment. Rather the goal is to understand how the circumstances evolved, the impact of what has happened on those affected, and agreement on how to transform the conflict into plans for cooperation and accountability.

Potential Risk of Violence. When an employee raises concerns about their physical safety, employers in most jurisdictions are required to respond comprehensively. Given the potential consequences, an imminent risk of violence, trumps other workplace requirements.

But how do you know what behaviours constitute a reasonable concern for the risk of violence? How do you respond? How do you document the troubling behaviours and your decisions?

This is where ProActive comes in. We provide evidence-based processes for documenting and responding to workplace behaviours. We help you separate the signal from the noise when it comes to unwanted workplace behaviours. Whether you’re concerned about this specific person’s risk of violence in the short term or are looking to prevent future workplace violence, we can help.