Consulting Services for Conflict Handling: Exploring Workplace Assessments and Restorations
Organizational unrest and workplace conflict are rising. There are a plethora of assessments and interventions to help clients reach a stable, engaging, and thriving organization. Following an environmental scan, consulting groups commonly offered the following conflict-handling services: workplace assessments, fact-findings, investigations, and workplace restorations. This article highlights two of these processes: Workplace Assessments and Workplace Restorations.
Workplace Assessments
Workplace Assessments are a strategic diagnostic tool used to leverage organizational talent, achieve organizational goals, and positively impact bottom-line performance. Importantly, workplace assessments are a crucial driver in hiring the right people, motivating employees, training and educating leaders, and guiding promotion for organizational success. Common workplace issues and complaints may include decreased productivity, minimal politeness, lack of respect for others, uncivil behaviours, microaggressions, gaslighting, etc. A workplace assessment can initiate a proactive response to these unhealthy signs and symptoms.
Organizational due diligence is essential to avoid costly, litigious, and possibly public disagreements. Unfortunately, workplace issues and bad behaviour can go unreported, ignored or unaddressed, often culminating in a triggering event that negatively jolts the organization and its employees. Depending on the severity of the triggering event, managers and often HR leaders will decide what level of assessment or intervention should take place to help the team get back on track. Adverse triggering events are often dealt with in a formal fact-finding or investigation process. Therefore, organizations should perform various workplace assessments or reviews regularly to get ahead of major issues. Workplace assessments can also move groups and teams from good to great!
Given organisations' nature and massive differences, most workplace assessments are custom designed by consultants. However, here is the general approach:
General Approach
1. Meet with key stakeholders to assess what appears to be the issues. The initial information gathering about the workplace's processes, policies, and practices. A meeting with the client to discuss tools and options to engage employees with methods such as; one-on-one interviews, focus groups, and surveys.
2. Provide a communication plan. To ensure a successful project, consultants want employees to fully engage in the interview process; therefore, consultants should communicate with them. Communication may include letting them know why a workplace assessment is happening, the approach, and what form reporting and feedback will take.
3. Gather data. The most common approach to gathering data for a workplace assessment is either; an employee-wide survey followed up with a small selection of employee interviews or building on previous surveys or documentation and conducting private individual interviews with the workplace participants. One-on-one interviews provide a deeper insight into organizational issues and can help build trust in the process.
4. Develop a work plan. An assessment is integral to setting the stage for effective workplace restoration.
Organizations in Canada are required by law to ensure safe and healthy work environments. Staying on top of workplace issues and risks can be challenging for organizations. Hence, engaging in periodic workplace assessments can safeguard employee engagement and performance. Knowledge is power, and a systematic, neutral third-party consultant review allows organizations to reach goals efficiently and effectively. Workplace assessments are tailored to fit the organization's challenges and provide a report identifying key issues and recommendations to achieve the best results.
Case Example:
To illustrate the power of a workplace assessment, consider a group of professors within a university department that is in conflict. The university relies on professors to provide a welcoming and engaging environment to develop student learning and knowledge. Ten individuals were interviewed in this intervention, including several senior leaders (past and current), the departmental professors and administrative staff, and an HR representative.
In this process, each person was interviewed confidentially for approximately one hour. A series of common questions led the interviews, although it was encouraged for the employee to share what was important to them. A report and presentation were created from the results. The report identified four key areas fueling the ongoing conflict: historical issues and conflicts preventing several team members from moving forward, review process fatigue, poor management and leadership issues, and negative team relations. An analysis of the findings also supported the key themes. It revealed the problem areas of the department being seen as declining and without a mutual vision or direction, lack of teamwork including no communication at all between several members, lack of a dispute resolution process, fear and lack of trust amongst the group, and substandard behaviour inconsistent with the organization's policies and Occupational Health and Safety Legislation.
The consultant provided a list of nine recommendations, including suggestions from those interviewed. A 1.5-hour workshop was presented to the group, outlining the results of the workplace assessment to discuss moving forward and resetting the group's norms and behaviours. Sharing the results with the team demonstrated a transparent process and played a key role in rebuilding workplace trust. A key recommendation was to restructure the department, which the organization is completing with their internal human resources team.
Workplace Restorations
Workplace restoration is a series of interventions designed to re-establish healthy working relationships and a positive workplace, often responding to stressful events such as workplace harassment and conflict with a few or groups of employees. When a disruptive event(s) for a group of employees has occurred, these incidents can significantly impact employee commitment, workplace productivity, the culture, and overall organizational success. The restoration process employs interventions, including facilitated conflict resolution meetings, training sessions, and one-on-one coaching. The desired outcome is to have employees communicate respectfully, build trust within the team, align with purpose, and engage in a supportive, healthy workplace.
A workplace restoration is often a spectrum of several initiatives involving a variety of disciplines simultaneously, such as organizational development, change management, dispute resolution, human resource management, and operational excellence. Therefore, before a group or organization undertakes a workplace restoration, there is a need to understand the fundamental issues at hand and the outcome expectations. Should the term be used to restore an ineffective (but still manageable) team, the interventions would focus on team dynamics, communication, workflow, and team training and coaching in line with workplace assessments.
Workplace restoration services are typically provided following a workplace assessment, fact-finding, or investigation. During these processes often, several areas of improvement are identified. The list of findings and recommendations is the best starting place to build the roadmap to re-engage employees and restore the workplace to a healthier environment. Common workplace restoration services include facilitated conflict resolution and mediation sessions, various training programs, communication strategies, internal policy design, and risk assessment. Understandably, the interventions and expectations will differ if the group has gone through more serious challenges such as workplace harassment and violence incidents, prolonged conflict or bullying, severe incivility, re-integration of a disciplined employee, etc. In this more serious case, a workplace restoration would require a diagnosis and work plan that may include facilitated conflict resolution meetings, mediation sessions, respectful workplace training sessions, emotional intelligence training and one-on-one coaching to meet the organization's needs.
Workplace restorations can get employees moving on and moving forward - together. Employees engaged in a restoration plan will feel supported in uncertain times and will be more thoughtful in changing to improve morale, rebuild mutual trust, and increase loyalty and commitment to each other and the organization. Workplace restorations allow organizations to address dysfunctional behaviour, re-establish positive and healthy working relationships, rebuild morale, trust, and productivity, and promote a collaborative culture to inspire innovation and organizational success.
Case Example:
To illustrate the power of workplace restoration, consider a group of employees within a municipal water treatment department that is having conflicts and underperforming. The city and its residents rely on clean and accessible water, and having a well-performing and capable team is paramount for public safety. In this intervention, 23 individuals were interviewed, including several senior leaders, the management team, HR representatives, and team members.
In this process, each person was interviewed confidentially for approximately one hour. A series of common questions led the interviews, although it was encouraged for the employee to share what was important to them. A report and presentation were created from the results. The report contained several sections, but importantly, it outlined five critical themes of discourse: historical issues and conflicts preventing several team members from moving forward, poor management and leadership issues not allowing for relationships to grow and build trust, negative team relations including incivility, operational gaps with inconsistent application of the rules, and lastly the most important theme was communication.
Communication was the most significant barrier the majority of the team identified, including what was or was not communicated and how it was shared. An analysis of the findings also supported the key themes. It revealed problem areas of systemically poor communication, fear and lack of trust amongst the group, and substandard behaviour inconsistent with the organization's policies and Occupational Health and Safety Legislation. The consultant provided a list of forty-four recommendations and suggestions of those interviewed. It was also noted that everyone in the group stated they were committed to finding a workable solution to the problems and wanted to turn the situation around and move on. A two-hour workshop was presented to the group, outlining the results of the workplace assessment to discuss moving forward and resetting the group's norms and behaviours.
A commitment was made by all and witnessed by all. The leaders and group members actioned the list of recommendations and shared the plan with the team. Several one-on-one and multi-party mediations cleared the air and allowed the individuals to move forward. Select individuals received additional one-on-one leadership coaching. Training sessions were provided to the group in Building a high-performing Team, Developing Conflict Handling Skills, Leading Effective Meetings, and Communication Styles and Best Practices. Numerous initiatives utilized change management best practices, organizational development theories, conflict resolution tools and techniques, and operational excellence exercises. One year later, the team is communicating and functioning well, building trust amongst the team members, and overall working in a positive and healthier working environment.
Conclusion
Creating a robust client-consultant relationship from the beginning will enable better client outcomes and the ability to grow both the consultant's knowledge and experience and the organization and its employees. Consultants that continue to develop their emotional intelligence, empathy, and competence will endeavour to leave clients self-sufficient to take on next-level challenges and interventions.
Providing workplace consulting services by defining and designing workplace assessments and other problem-solving initiatives benefits the wellness of all employees and organizations. Life comes with enough struggles; thus, a well-functioning and supportive working environment should be a priority for all. Organizations benefit from workplace assessments from time to time to keep the pulse beating and strong.
