The September 2024 CIPD Report “How employers are tackling bullying and harassment at work” reveals a troubling gap between how employers perceive their conflict resolution efforts and how employees experience those processes. For many employers, there is a belief that effective procedures are in place to manage workplace disputes. Unfortunately, employees often report a starkly different reality. This disconnect can lead to unresolved issues, ongoing workplace tension, and diminished employee morale.
In the CIPD’s 2024 report, it was found that 70% of employers were confident they had effective procedures for dealing with interpersonal conflict. However, just 36% of employees who experienced conflict reported that it had been fully resolved. This significant disparity highlights a key challenge facing many organisations today: the systems designed to resolve conflict may not be as effective in practice as they appear on paper.
The Importance of Early Conflict Resolution
One of the best ways to bridge this gap is by implementing early conflict resolution processes, particularly workplace mediation. In many cases, conflicts are left to fester until they escalate into more serious issues that require formal grievance procedures or disciplinary actions. These formal processes are often adversarial, time-consuming, and can exacerbate tension between the parties involved.
Early conflict resolution focuses on addressing disputes before they escalate. It aims to create an environment where open dialogue and understanding are fostered, allowing for informal solutions to be reached that satisfy all parties. One of the most effective tools for early conflict resolution is workplace mediation, where an independent third party helps employees to find a mutually acceptable resolution.
What is Workplace Mediation?
Workplace mediation is a voluntary, confidential process that enables employees to resolve disputes with the help of a trained mediator. Unlike formal processes, which tend to focus on identifying fault, mediation seeks to repair relationships, encourage empathy, and find collaborative solutions.
The Advantages of Early Mediation
- Preserving Relationships: Mediation encourages open communication and understanding, which can be remarkably effective in repairing and preserving working relationships and defusing negative and adversarial environments.
- Successful and sustainable outcomes: Workplace mediation has extremely high success rates and produces sustainable and enduring outcomes with an array of other benefits such as improving productivity and employee retention rates.
- Cost-Effective: By addressing issues early, mediation can prevent conflicts from escalating into formal grievances or legal disputes, saving both time and resources. The cost of a mediation, even using external mediators will be a fraction of the cost of an internal grievance or disciplinary process.
- Employee Empowerment: Mediation gives employees the opportunity to voice their concerns and actively participate in finding a solution, fostering a sense of ownership and empowerment. This in turn can lead to very positive harnessing of contrary opinions to stimulate debate and innovation.
- Improving Workplace Climate: A well-handled mediation can have positive ripple effects throughout an organisation. It sets a precedent for resolving issues constructively and can contribute to a more inclusive and respectful workplace culture.
The Disconnect Between Employer Confidence and Employee Experience
As highlighted in the CIPD report, there is a significant mismatch between employer confidence in conflict resolution processes and the lived experiences of employees. While 81% of employers believe they are doing enough to manage bullying and harassment at work, 25% of employees have reported experiencing conflict or abuse in the last 12 months. Even more concerning, almost half of the employees who experienced conflict chose to “let it go” without pursuing resolution through formal channels. Allowing unresolved conflict to persist in an organisation brings with it many negative effects, including poor engagement, decreased morale, decreased productivity and poor employee retention.
This disconnect underscores the need for organisations to take a deeper look at how their policies and procedures are being implemented and perceived by employees. Often, employers are confident in their processes because they have policies in place and provide training to managers. However, employees may feel reluctant to engage with these processes due to a lack of trust, fear of retaliation, or simply feeling that their concerns won’t be taken seriously.
The Role of Line Managers in Conflict
Line managers play a critical role in conflict resolution, and the confidence employers have in their managers is high. According to the CIPD report, 77% of employers believe their managers are well-equipped to handle interpersonal disputes. However, this confidence does not always translate into positive outcomes for employees. In fact, 32% of employees felt that their line manager made conflict situations worse.
This suggests that while employers may be investing in manager training, it may not be sufficient or effective in practice. More needs to be done to ensure that line managers are not only aware of conflict resolution policies but are also trained in using early intervention strategies like mediation to prevent conflicts from escalating.
The Case for External Mediators
While internal mediation can be an effective tool for resolving conflicts, there are distinct advantages to bringing in external mediators. External mediators bring impartiality and a fresh perspective to the table, which can help foster trust among employees who might be wary of bias from internal HR teams or managers.
The Benefits of External Mediation
- Impartiality: External mediators do not have a stake in the outcome of the conflict and are not influenced by organisational politics or relationships, which can create a greater sense of fairness and trust in the process.
- Expertise: External mediators are often highly trained professionals with extensive experience in conflict resolution. They bring a wealth of knowledge and best practices that can enhance the mediation process.
- Co-Mediation Opportunities: In some cases, an external mediator can co-mediate alongside an internal mediator. This hybrid approach allows organisations to benefit from both the insider knowledge of the internal mediator and the impartial perspective of the external mediator.
- Confidentiality and Trust: Employees may feel more comfortable engaging with an external mediator, especially in sensitive or high-stakes conflicts. External mediators can ensure confidentiality and protect the privacy of all parties involved, which can encourage more honest and open dialogue.
Recommendations for Employers
To address the disconnect between employer confidence and employee experiences in conflict resolution, organisations should consider implementing the following strategies:
- Invest in Early Conflict Resolution Training: Equip line managers and HR professionals with the skills to address conflicts early, before they escalate into more serious issues. This training should include techniques for mediation, active listening, and emotional intelligence.
- Utilise Workplace Mediation: Introduce formal mediation processes that are available to employees at all levels. Encourage the use of mediation as an alternative to formal grievance procedures.
- Engage External Mediators: Consider bringing in external mediators, particularly for high-stakes or sensitive conflicts. External mediators can offer impartiality and expertise that may be lacking in internal processes.
- Foster a Culture of Open Dialogue: Create a workplace culture where employees feel safe and encouraged to speak up about conflicts. This includes providing clear reporting mechanisms, ensuring confidentiality, and promoting a non-punitive approach to conflict resolution.
- Monitor and Evaluate Conflict Resolution Processes: Regularly assess the effectiveness of your conflict resolution processes through employee surveys, feedback, and reviews. Make adjustments as needed to ensure that these processes are meeting the needs of your employees.