Dealing with Workplace Conflict

Conflict offers a wonderful opportunity for reflection and growth if handled well. HR professionals who can sit in the hostile fire of strong emotions and clashing perspectives that support both the opportunity for conflict resolution and mediation that enhances the organization performance levels is a required HR competency today. This seminar focus is on traditional conflict resolution and facilitative mediation processes as it relates to human resources professionals. This seminar will discuss conflict sources and styles, mediation process and procedures, case development, communication skills, consensus building, issue framing, how to surface different perspectives about the conflict, how to clarify underlying interests, how to generate options, and help parties move toward the resolution of their differences and develop a mediation agreement. Finally, participants will practice mediating simple disputes. Upon completion of this seminar, students will be able to: 1. Describe mediation as a conflict management option 2. Define conflict, and articulate how it differs from a dispute 3. Describe role and procedural approaches for an effective mediation 4. Navigate the ethical issues of neutrality, self-determination, and confidentiality 5. Demonstrate the fundamentals of interest based negotiation 6. Summarize using key communication skills 7. Reframe negative communication 8. Deal with assumptions and cultural differences 9. Manage strong emotions (anger, fear, sadness, contempt) 10. Deal with power imbalances and impasse 11. Avoid cognitive traps 12. Mediate interpersonal and organizational disputes in both the workplace and the family.