When Should I Seek Help in Resolving Conflicts Between my Employees?
There are some circumstances in which you really should seek help. For example, if there is a threat of violence, if you’ve tried to mediate and failed, or if a major corporate issue is involved.
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If you are to resolve conflicts between your employees, you need to have the trust of the parties involved. If that trust is lacking, it is unlikely that mediation will work. No matter how you promise to be flexible in working with the disputants to find a mutually acceptable solution, they will go into the mediation process with doubts about your neutrality.
Can you remain neutral? That is the question you need to ask yourself. Here are some other questions to ask. If the answer is yes even to a single question, then you should consider going to Human Resources or seeking another third party to mediate the conflict:
Do I have preconceived views about the people I have been asked to help?
Do I have preconceived ideas about the type of situation I have been asked to help with?
Is a close friend or relative involved?
Does my job make it difficult for me to remain neutral?
Is there no way to deal with these relationships so that everyone feels I can still be of help?
Do I feel I need to stick up for the underdog?
Is corporate policy involved, and if so will I have to defend that policy?
If the individuals involved have ideas that I think are wrong, will I speak up?
If I think the plan won’t work or won’t last, will I say so?
Does any group I belong to make it hard for me to look neutral?
What if a party in the conflict becomes angry enough to threaten violence, will I speak up?