Avoid Conflicts With Preparation

When a problem erupts between employees, how can you turn a difficult situation around quickly? A close friend, owner of a large and successful chain of furniture stores, recently faced that same challenge.

A couple of years ago his company had written a manual outlining specific procedures for dealing with communication problems, whether between the management and staff or among the employees. The manual spelled out numerous situations and the exact paths of communication and steps to take. Everyone in the company was familiar with these procedures, had been told about them in meetings. They supposedly understood what to do if any of these occurred.

Recently, there was a serious communication problem in his company. Although a number of people knew about the situation, months went by before it finally came to light. He was surprised and irritated to find that everyone acted as if they had never heard of, or even read the manual!

He'd learned an important lesson: "You have to keep reminding people regularly, keep training them. You can't assume that they'll remember after (just one) training." He had discovered that procedures have to be second nature *before* something happens.

Every business periodically experiences internal difficulties, when communications break down. How do they manage this? Have they planned ahead, designed the steps to take that resolve conflicts? Or do they "wing it", hoping that 1) it won't happen very often, or 2) if it happens, they'll get through it and move on.

Relying on either of these methods can spell catastrophe by the time a problem comes to your attention. As the old saying goes, "time is money". Because were usually swamped with things to do, we don't think about how what we do effects others. This can create real problems that, if not resolved quickly, can cause trouble for those around us, including our customers!

When was the last time you looked at your company's procedures for dealing with communication problems? Are they written down, or just passed along by word of mouth? And, if there's a manual that's handed out to new-hires describing these procedures, when was the last time your staff looked at it? If you're like most businesses, probably not since you first gave it to them!

Communication breaks down when a manager doesn't take an employee seriously or a problem develops and a manager doesn't take action. Often others just hope things will go away by themselves. But waiting only intensifies problems. By taking effective action quickly, you can ensure that the situation doesn't get worse.

"Experience is not what happens to you, it is what you do with what happens to you." --Author Unknown

As my friend learned, the best way to deal with a problem is before something happens -- by planning for it. Create a written document, a manual with procedures that shows employees what steps to take. Then train everyone in these and conduct refresher sessions. You might even make these part of regular staff or sales meetings. Repetition creates new habits and they need to be in place before any difficult situation arises.

When people don't communicate well -- be it a clash of personalities or management styles it won't just work itself out. Find out all the facts ("just the facts, ma'am") on both sides of the picture. Then you can decide what actions to take that will untangle things completely.

There's a Chinese proverb that says, "observers can see a chess game more clearly than the players." When someone is holding on to their point of view, they just can't see or hear anything else. Why not get a neutral third party to work with them and mediate a workable solution? That way everyone agrees to the actions to be taken and are more likely to work together to move things forward.

Planning ahead for problems, especially when it comes to communication between people, is a sound strategy. You can count on it -- things will happen. Be prepared by writing out procedures ahead of time and by make sure they're second nature to your staff through regular review. This will help avert even larger problems. Taking effective steps now will save you a lot of time and keep your company running more smoothly in the future! And time is money, isn't it?