Let's Work it Out - How to Work Through Confrontations - Webinar by TrainHR November 15, 2012

Overview : This workshop will identify what creates conflict. Help to understand basic behavioral styles, how they can create and resolve conflict. Learn how to develop appropriate communication and listening skills to resolve misunderstandings. Finally, the workshop will cover how to be an effective third-party facilitator for solutions to disagreements.

Employee conflict in the workplace is a common occurrence, resulting from the differences in employees' personalities and values. Dealing with employee conflict in a timely manner is important to maintaining a healthy work environment. Believing that a conflict will simply disappear is an inaccurate assumption to make because simple conflicts can grow into major problems if not dealt with appropriately. This webinar will identify how values, individual goals, emotions, lack of listening, resources, accountability and unclear expectations can all lead to workplace conflict.

Behavioral styles are at the root of communication style and greatly impact how "happy" and effective we are in any role. Adapting to a role that isn't a natural fit causes us stress. Within teams different behavioral styles can lead to conflicts because communication styles can be like opposite magnetic poles repelling, instead of attracting.

During the best of times, when stress is not too high and things are generally running smoothly, our style differences don't cause major issues. Co-workers can go about business, relying on their comfortable ways of getting things done. In fact, differences in behavior styles are hardly noticed.

However, as stress mounts, especially when we have to work closely with others, our styles become more noticeable and more apt to enhance conflict. This workshop will review the five behavioral styles of: competition, accommodation, avoidance, compromise and collaboration. When a tense situation arises or an interaction becomes uncomfortable, people will rely even more on their preferred style of behavior to solve the problem at hand. If both parties are focused on their needs and not the other person's needs, tension will grow. How to use different behavior styles to remove personal behavioral preferences from a situation to move the conflict from personal wants to mutually agreed to resolutions will be discussed.

Listening is one of the most important skills you can have. How well you listen has a major impact on the quality of your relationships with others. In fact most of us are not good listeners. In fact, research suggests that we remember between 25 percent and 50 percent of what we hear. That means that when you talk to your boss, colleagues or customers for 10 minutes, they pay attention to less than half of the conversation.

Turn it around and it reveals that when you are receiving directions or being presented with information, you aren't hearing the whole message either. What if the most important parts of what your are communicating are not captured in your 25-50 percent to others? Clearly, listening is a skill that we can all benefit from improving. By becoming a better listener, you will improve your ability to influence, persuade and negotiate. What's more, you'll avoid conflict and misunderstandings. All of these are necessary for workplace success. This workshop will cover the art of "active listening" – how well you listen is just as important to how well you communicate. This is especially true with conflict resolution.

Most people do not have very good conflict resolution skills. They tend to get defensive and too personal and do not know how to come to a win/win solution. This workshop will end on how to bring two parties together that have tried but unsuccessfully resolved their differences. A step-by-step procedure will be discussed regarding prior meeting planning, setting ground rules, problem solving and follow up.

Why should you attend : Internal conflicts can be detrimental to your company morale and business results. Having the skills to resolve internal conflicts effectively is one of the biggest challenges in today's business world and is vital to success.

Imagine this: it looks like you have an easy day ahead of you at work. Your schedule is not overbooked and things seem to be running according to plan. Upon arrival at work, however, you discover your department's budget has been reduced and you are expected to do more with less. Your subordinates are complaining and other departments appear to be working against you. To make matters worse, a report you need within three hours will not be available until the last minute. How should you handle this situation?

According to Wikipedia, workplace conflict is a specific type of conflict that occurs in workplaces. The conflicts that arise in workplaces may be shaped by the unique aspects of this environment, including the long hours many people spend at their workplace, the hierarchical structure of the organization, and the difficulties (e.g. financial consequences) that may be involved in switching to a different workplace. In this respect, workplaces share much in common with schools, especially pre-college educational institutions in which students are less autonomous.

Reynolds and Kalish (2002), organizational consultants in mediation, collaboration and conflict resolution, note that managers spend at least 25 percent of their time resolving workplace conflicts. This obviously affects the productivity of both managers and employees and can have a far-reaching impact on organizational performance.

This workshop will help you in understanding conflict, how it can be used for effective resolution strategies, and enhance communication and productivity in the workplace.

Areas Covered in the Session
Identify what creates conflict
Understand behavioral styles and how they impact relationships
How to develop active listening skills
How to resolve conflicts
How to be an effective third-party facilitator for solutions
Who Will Benefit:
Managers
Supervisors
Employees
Human Resources

Kathy Coughlin is co-founder and president of Team HR, a consulting firm specializing in providing solutions to organizations’ human resources challenges. Ms. Coughlin has over twenty-five years of human resources management experience and has held positions of VP Human Resources and Director of Human Resources for med size organizations of 400 employees to large organizations of over 3000 employees.

Official Website: http://bit.ly/PS9NSw