Articles

18 Dec 2009

Dealing with workplace disputes

This article by Fiona Colquhoun, Director Conflict Consultancy, CEDR, appeared in HR Director magazine on 1 December 2009.

2009 has been an interesting year for conflict. First, the Employment Act 2008 came into force in April 2009, supported by the new ACAS Code, and then the media's attention on a growing number of labour disputes in the recession. Whilst there might appear to be no direct link between these developments, there are similarities in the principles around best practice in conflict management and the use of mediation and commercially mediated settlements to tackle them.

Strike!

In recent months the media has been full of reports on disputes such as the Royal Mail, refuse collectors and British Airways Cabin crew. These are conflicts where skills in negotiation are essential. In a recession, when relations between employers and employees become strained, it is critical that sides understand how not to become polarised and entrenched, thus avoiding the difficulties and hardships that are created by industrial action. Yet research by CEDR (May 2006) found that only 37% of managers feel trained to cope with conflict in the workplace.

Everyone who remembers the “Winter of Discontent” in 1979, which took place during a recession, will know that when communication breaks down the chances of resolution become more difficult. It is imperative that those conducting negotiations give talks the best possible chance of success by using proven methods of overcoming deadlock and drawing on the assistance of independent dispute resolution professionals.

Parties in disputes need to focus on common causes and identify opportunities where they can both be winners rather than losers. The workplace is not about war and fighting to destroy the opponent - it is about negotiating and navigating to mutual benefit through the hard reality that change often brings. Ongoing dialogue, which is confidential to the parties, is very important even if, at times, agreement appears to be impossible.

Follow the Code or take the lead?

It is still early days but there are many positive aspects to the new ACAS Code - it goes back to working with principled guidelines rather than rigid process rules; and encourages, through the use of mediation, the restoration of common sense in trying to find a resolution to workplace grievances.

We should welcome its pragmatic approach, yet recognise that for many organisations workplace conflict reflects ingrained cultural habits rather than a simple absence of due process. The real benefit therefore will be achieved - for employers and employees alike - if the application of the Code moves organisations away from grievance-orientated cultures and closer towards the effective dialogue approaches (across all areas of activity) that established mediation usage can engender.

There will always be workplace grievances, most of which get resolved by successful dialogue, usually informally and not always satisfactorily. Undoubtedly the Code can help, as adopting its approach into procedures should not be a problem for many organisations and HR professionals, not least because employees' representatives know their position will be protected if they follow these procedures. Mediation is now familiar to many - the CIPD Workplace Mediation Survey (2008) found that almost half of organisations use mediation more than they did three years ago (with a fifth having started during this period). There is some way to go as the research also found that, whilst many organisations incorporate mediation into procedures, very few include it within their standard employment contracts even though this is an area that could have the greatest impact. This is why in 2009 CEDR began offering free draft contract clauses and policies to assist the HR community.

Resolving the intractable

Organisations need to create a cultural shift so it becomes more natural to mediate than to fight. Crucially this aspect of organisational culture is what will affect the number of grievances being satisfactorily resolved, and not the Code in isolation. We can expect that, over time, more progressive organisations will come to appreciate that mediation is an asset, that can successfully both restore and end difficult relationships, and they will therefore use it to build on what is already working within their existing policies.

The keys to gaining the benefits of mediation and successfully embedding it within a culture are to understand how to customise the process and to become familiar with it. Mediation fits well into a grievance procedure because it is an adaptable process, therefore it is important not to impose too tight a structure onto its use as this might restrict scope for creative solutions.

Using mediation successfully is also about understanding the choices available in making it fit the needs of each dispute. Do you know if you want to train mediators internally (E.On and GE both do this successfully at an international level) or would it be more effective to use external independent expertise (we work with a major consultancy and a high street bank to do exactly this)? Or maybe use a combination of the two in a tiered process? Organisations like CEDR, ACAS and the CIPD can offer training and advice.

What of 2010?

Despite the events of 2009, the playing field may not have changed (yet) when it comes to dealing with conflict but the opportunity to capitalise on the advantages of a cultural introduction of mediation is the challenge which the ultimate winners will have already started to address.

Employment and workplace

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