Upload
faisal-hameed
View
6
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
MAYBO - SITO
Communication and Conflict Management Delegate Handbook: SIA Licence to Practice
Communication and Conflict
Management Skills
2
Communication and Conflict Management Skills
Important Notice
This document - including the techniques and guidance contained within
it -is the physical and intellectual property of Maybo Limited and can
only be reproduced, in part or whole, with the express written permission
of Maybo Limited. The SAFER Model and OPEN PALMS are
Trademarks of Maybo Limited.
Trainers can only reproduce and distribute the content if they satisfy all of
the following conditions:
The trainer delivering the material has successfully completed
the relevant SITO Part 3 Communication & Conflict
Management Trainer Programme with Maybo Limited.
The content may only be reproduced and distributed to
delegates undertaking the training requirement of the Security
Industry Authority Licence to Practice through an SIA approved
awarding body.
The material and content cannot be used, in part or in whole, for any
other purpose.
Trainers participating in this programme recognise that the guidance contained is intended to represent
current good practice rather than hard and fast rules as in reality every set of circumstances is different.
Trainers undertake to make this clear to delegates that they train and to remind them that they are
accountable for their actions. Maybo Limited and SITO cannot accept responsibility for the operational
application of these techniques and guidance, which are presented as a good practice guide.
3
Communication and Conflict Management Skills
INTRODUCTION
Conflict management is the application of strategies to
resolve incompatible objectives in a positive manner.
Traditionally, conflict was seen as negative. "In recent
years, however," as observed by Borisoff and Victor, "we
have come to recognize and to acknowledge the benefits
dealing with conflict affords. Because of our differences,
we communicate, we are challenged, we are driven to
find creative solutions to problems."
THE DEVELOPMENT OF CONFLICT
MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES
Until the early 1960s, virtually all conflict was perceived as negative. Resolution of conflict had one basic strategy: a win or lose scenario. Since the loser in this scenario inevitably felt resentment, the typical managerial technique for dealing with conflict was to avoid it. Avoidance, in turn, tended to make the avoided parties feel neglected. Moreover, avoidance rarely resolved the underlying incompatible objectives at the heart of the conflict so that the source of the conflict remained, surfacing with the next problematic situation. Thus, these strategies did not prove particularly valuable in interpersonal work settings.
In the early 1960s, R.R. Blake and J.S. Mouton developed a managerial grid for identifying conflict; these included "handling strategies." The grid illustrated how strategies for handling conflict fell into differing levels ofassertiveness and cooperation.
4
Communication and Conflict Management Skills
Blake and Mouton identified five modes of handling conflict. These were
labeled
1: Smoothing
2: Forcing
3: Withdrawal
4: Compromising
5: Problem solving
Smoothing
Smoothing involved the loser of the win-lose configuration and
represented high cooperation with the needs of others along with low
assertiveness of one's own needs.
Forcing
The winner of the win-lose model undertook forcing, which included low
cooperation and high assertiveness.
withdrawal
Traditional conflict avoidance (withdrawal) was seen as low in both
assertiveness and cooperation.
Compromising
Compromise was seen as the center of the grid; that is, moderate in both
assertiveness and cooperation. Compromise was simultaneously winning
and losing, a situation in which neither party was completely satisfied or
dissatisfied.
Problem solving
5
Communication and Conflict Management Skills
In their last mode, problem-solving, Blake and Mouton suggested a new
approach altogether. Problem-solving created a win-win option
combining both high assertiveness of ones own needs coupled with high
cooperation in solving the needs of others.
Developing Communication & Conflict Management Skills
Avoiding Conflict & Assessing Risk
In this section you will be looking at ways in which you can reduce the
risks of being involved in conflict through:
Effectively assessing a situation
Being more aware of how people may react in threatening
situations
Providing good customer service.
Defusing Conflict
In this section you will look at ways in which you can defuse a conflict
situation by:
Understanding how to overcome blocks to communication
Using effective communication to signal non-aggression and
calm down a potentially violent situation.
Recognising and dealing safely with high risk situations
Resolving Conflict
In this section you will look at ways in which you can help to resolve the
problems that cause conflict by being able to:
Recognise the customer’s point of view
Resolve the issue
Seek a win win solution
6
Communication and Conflict Management Skills
Learning from Conflict
In the final section you will look at things you need to consider after an
incident including ways you can:
Support colleagues
Report and record incidents
Learn from the incident
Share good practice
INTRODUCTION
Workplace Violence
The Health and Safety Executive defines workplace violence as:
Any incident in which a person is:
Abused,
Threatened or
Assaulted
in circumstances relating to their work
Responsibilities of employers and employees
The main legislation is Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work Act
1974 which covers work related violence and other risks:
“It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, as far as
reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work
of all his employees”
In simple terms, your employer must carry out an assessment of
the risks that you may face whilst doing you are doing your job.
This involves gathering information and an understanding of the
7
Communication and Conflict Management Skills
types of situations, incidents and scenarios that you are likely to
face and making an assessment of the risks involved in those
situations.
Once the risks have been identified, your employer must
provide ‘risk reduction measures’ which will eliminate or reduce
the risks identified. These will include things like guidance
about how deal with difficult situations, safe working practices
and training.
Employees also have a duty of care towards themselves and
others who may be affected by their acts or omissions at work
8
Communication and Conflict Management Skills
AVOIDING CONFLICT
Assessing Risk
Dynamic risk assessment
Dynamic risk assessment is a way of continuously assessing a situation as
you are dealing with it to ensure that risks of violence are quickly
recognised, assessed and responded to.
The SAFER Approach
The S.A.F.E.R model helps us to carry out dynamic risk assessment
S = Step Back
Don’t rush in
Physically step back, if possible - you see more and have a
better chance of assessing correctly
Mentally and emotionally step back - think clearly and
rationally.
A = Assess Threat
Identify potential dangers by consciously assessing with ‘POP’
(described below)
F = Find Help
Consider what help is needed, or who can be communicated
with. Don’t deal with an incident on your own if there is any
potential for you to be hurt – even unintentionally.
9
Communication and Conflict Management Skills
E = Evaluate Options
Decide what options are available and select the one most likely to work.
There are generally three main options available:
To deal with the person yourself - and selecting an appropriate
safe approach
To exit – if the situation meets the ‘high risk’ criteria discussed
later in this handbook
To pass the control of the incident to another person if you
aren’t able to deal with it successfully
R = Respond
You must now respond using the best course of action selected from your
evaluation of the options.
Threat assessment ‘POP’
The emergency services use a simple but effective system for assessing
the threat - POP. Using this system makes threat assessment a conscious
process and that in turn makes it more reliable. It involves breaking
threats down into three categories or types.
P = Person
Continually assess people to judge whether you may be at risk. If you
have met the person before, what do you know about them?
Do they have a history of anger or aggression? Are they a
known criminal?
How do they appear? Are they suffering the effects of drink or
drugs?
10
Communication and Conflict Management Skills
Are they bigger, fitter, younger or stronger than you?
O = Object
Assess the situation with regard to the risk presented by any objects
Moving vehicles
Knives and other edged weapons
‘Apparently’ innocent articles - scissors, syringes, screwdrivers,
bottles or cans glasses etc
P = Place
Staircases and dance floors
Remote areas - away from observation of others or safe refuge
Routes to or from work
Exits that are blocked
Levels of threat
There are two types of threat:
High risk or Unknown risk
We are often safer when an obvious threat is presented as we prepare
ourselves to deal with the situation. For example, when going on a walk:
Coastal path = perceived low risk = unprepared
Mountains = perceived high risk= prepared
Conclusions
Assessment should be conscious and continuous
Be alert, scanning the environment (but not paranoid)
11
Communication and Conflict Management Skills
By being aware we are better able to respond
Beware complacency – after an incident we are more alert to the risks and take precautions.
Over time awareness can reduce making us more vulnerable through complacency.
Self-awareness
Responses to threat
People have two mindsets or ways of dealing with a situation -
the Emotional (the one that feels), and the Rational (the one that
thinks).
When you are particularly upset or when you feel threatened,
the emotional side quickly takes over. This means that you lose
much of your ability to rationalise and think clearly.
Fight and Flight
If you are seriously threatened your body prepares you to either
stay or fight the threat or to take flight and run away from the
danger.
Within seconds of sensing danger, you can run faster, hit harder,
see better, hear more acutely, think faster, and jump higher than
you could only seconds earlier. This is often referred to as the
‘Fight or Flight’ response. This flight or fight reaction is a
natural basic instinct.
Triggers and inhibitors
Triggers are often small things that when combined with other problems,
spark off aggression. So if a person is already feeling frustrated by long
waits, poor service, or personal circumstances, there are many triggers
12
Communication and Conflict Management Skills
that will spark off a sharp reaction! You may never know what someone
has been through just before their encounter with you.
Common triggers
People tend to be ‘triggered’ into an angry reaction if they feel:
Embarrassed
Loss of face
Insulted
Afraid
That people are laughing at them
Inhibitors prevent aggression
Inhibitors are things that prevent people from completely losing their
temper. You know that not everybody gets violent when they become
angry. This is because you have inhibitions based on:
Self control – most people have built in control which prevents
them from turning to violent behaviour
Personal values – the way we have been brought up, the values
and beliefs that we have learned
Fear that the other person will fight back – most of us don’t
want to be hurt and realise a fight will risk this
Social or legal consequences – these include being charged with
an assault, losing one’s job or licence
Stimulus and response
13
Communication and Conflict Management Skills
Animals tend to respond automatically, fight or flight, when something
happens. If you pull a dog’s tail it is very likely that it will bite you. This
is the dog’s automatic reaction.
Animal ‘reaction’ to stimulus
Humans are however, different. People have a choice about how they
respond to a threatening situation. At first the emotional side kicks in.
your bodies prepare a fight or flight response. As the rational side catches
up, you can then start to analyse the situation and respond more
appropriately.
Human Response to stimulus
The wrong choice can escalate the problem
Your choice is important because every choice has a
consequence. Even when you have passed the ‘flight or fight’
stage you still have a choice between escalating or de-escalating
the situation.
When you are feeling angry, emotional or tense, you might
easily do something or say something that will make things
worse. A smart comment or a pointing or poking finger could
trigger an escalation.
14
Stimulu
s
Stimulu
s
Respons
e
Respons
e
Stimulu
s
ENCOD
ES
Stimulu
s
ENCOD
ES
Respons
e
Respons
e
CHOIC
E
CHOIC
E
Communication and Conflict Management Skills
You need to consciously choose to deal with the incident so that
no one loses face or gets more wound up or frustrated.
15
Communication and Conflict Management Skills
16
De -
escalates
De -
escalates
Stimulu
s
ENCO
DES
Sti
ulus
Stimulus
ENCO
DES
Sti
ulus
Stimulu
s
ENCO
DES
Sti
ulus
Stimulus
ENCO
DES
Sti
ulus
CHOICE
CHOICE
CHOICE
CHOICE
Listening
Helpful
Concern
Calm
Stimulus
Helpful
Concern
Calm
Stimulus
Unhelpful
Smart
Remark
Aggressive
Officious
Calm
Stimulus
Smart
Remark
Aggressive
Officious
Calm
Stimulus
Escalat
es
Escalat
es
RESPONSE
B
Response
B
Communication and Conflict Management Skills
Pro-active service delivery
First contact – managing customer expectations
Sometimes organisations and staff can create or worsen the
environment within which a conflict develops and increase the
risk of violence by the way they deliver services or approach
their work.
There is a build up to the majority of violent incidents, and
often the most significant action that can be taken to reduce
violence is to provide a high quality service.
Providing information in good time may be all that is needed to
placate and calm agitated customers.
The first impression begins with your appearance, facial
expression and the way you are standing.
Behaviour breeds behaviour
It is extremely unlikely that you will have a positive attitude towards
everyone you meet in the course of your work. If you are dealing with
someone you feel negative towards, you are likely to show those negative
feelings in the way that you behave towards the other person.
Your negative behaviour makes a situation worse
When the other person recognises this negative behaviour from you, this
will in turn affect their attitude towards you. A negative attitude will
come out in their behaviour towards you. Their negative behaviour is
then likely to make the negative feelings you had in the first place even
more negative. 17
Communication and Conflict Management Skills
This is shown in the Attitude and Behaviour Cycle:
It is very difficult to change your attitude towards someone. It
is however possible to change the way you behave towards
them. You can learn to behave so that your negative feelings do
not show, so that your behaviour doesn’t reflect your negative
feelings. This breaks the cycle and stops it getting worse.
DEFUSING CONFLICT
Blocks to communication
A number of things can get in the way of good communication – these are
termed: ‘blocks’. A block is anything that can cause the communication
between two people to break down or become difficult.
The Environment
The environment in which you are communicating can contain things that
will have an effect upon the success of the communication. They are
18
My Attitude
My Behaviour
Your Attitude
Your Behaviour
Affec
ts
Affec
ts
Affec
ts
Affec
ts
Communication and Conflict Management Skills
usually obvious - although you don’t always recognise the effect they are
having –and include:
Loud noise
Lots of people crowding together
Physical discomfort - feeling very hot or cold, being hungry or
tired.
Emotion and feelings
When you are angry, frustrated or unhappy, the emotions generated will
have a direct impact upon your ability to communicate successfully. You
find it difficult to hear and correctly interpret words and tend to rely
much more on the tone and body language to understand.
Alcohol and Drugs
Alcohol is has a depressant effect, which results in slower reactions to
normal stimulus. It tends to reduce people’s inhibitions and can make
them unreasonable and unpredictable.
When you are communicating with a person who is under the
influence of alcohol:
Talk slowly and calmly
Adopt a non-aggressive stance
Maintain space between them and you.
There are many different drugs available and each can have a different
effect on the person who has taken them. The effects can range from
those similar to alcohol, across to high stimulant effects and even
hallucinations. The greatest communication difficulty is the
unpredictability that can arise in people who have taken drugs and the
19
Communication and Conflict Management Skills
fact that their world may be very distorted. The same points should be
borne in mind as with alcohol but with the greater emphasis on the need
to demonstrate a non-aggressive stance and to maintain space between
you and the other person. Remember, drugs and alcohol are often mixed
and their effects can be difficult to predict.
Different cultures communicate differently
Different cultures hold different values and attitudes to define the way
they live and interact with others. There are no ‘rights’ and ‘wrongs’
where culture is concerned – one culture isn’t better than another - just
different!
Some of this difference may be in things like body language; hand signs
in one culture can mean something very different in another, or the
difference in space between people when communicating. There are often
differences in values, which are difficult to accept.
If you want to communicate well with someone who is clearly from a
different cultural or ethnic background to yourself then it is important to
respect the values of that culture and try to communicate in a way that
embraces those values as much as possible.
Mental health problems
A person may behave in a certain way because of mental health
problems. Mental illness can take many forms.
The person may be aggressive for any of the following reasons:
Fear - (e.g. of noise or of people) leading to desperation and the
feeling that “the only way out is to fight”
Paranoia - (feelings of being persecuted) may be directed
towards certain groups in society, for example police or doctors, 20
Communication and Conflict Management Skills
and could have been caused by bad experiences with them in the
past
Anger - at being provoked by other people
When dealing with people who have a mental illness:
Give him or her plenty of space
Talk clearly and calmly to ensure he or she understands you
Make sure he or she knows you mean no harm
Be reassuring. Tell him or her what you are doing and why
Keep your hands open and in view
Reduce distractions that will alarm or confuse
If you are with a colleague only one of you should talk to the
person.
Channels of communication
In conversation the message is passed from one person to the other
through three channels:
Words - the actual words spoken
Tone - the way the words are spoken
Non-verbal - the stance, gestures and expressions
The receiver gains the meaning of a message as follows:
Method % of
21
Communication and Conflict Management Skills
meaning
Words 7
Tone 38
Non Verbal 55
Match body language and tone to words.
Remember:
Your body language and tone of voice will make a big impact
It’s not so much what you say – it’s how you say it
If you try to understand the other person’s point it will help
communication between you.
Signalling non-aggression
22
Communication and Conflict Management Skills
This is one of the most important areas to understand when defusing a
situation where people are becoming aggressive. The more emotional
someone is becoming the less they can hear and rationalise what is being
said to them. However, they will instinctively respond to body language
and tone of voice.
Non-verbal communication – Open PALMS
Maybo has developed the Open PALMS model to signal non-aggression.
It helps you to show another person that you do not want to fight him or
her
Open PALMS – I don’t want to fight you.
P - Position – allow exit routes, don’t block in
A - Attitude – display positive and helpful
attitude
L - Look and listen – normal eye contact,
active listening
M - Make space – maintain a comfortable
distance
23
Communication and Conflict Management Skills
S - Stance – shoulders relaxed and turned
away to the side
High-risk conflict
Recognising escalation
A high-risk conflict is one where there is an immediate risk that the
person dealing with the situation is going to be physically assaulted.
You need to recognise when a situation is escalating and respond
appropriately.
Signs of escalation to watch out for include:
Angry non-verbal signals – face reddening, intense eye contact
Abuse which is focused on you personally
Increasingly vulgar, abusive or threatening language
Your personal space is being invaded
Square on posture, head and chin thrust forward
Fist clenching, finger pointing - leading to physical contact
The four ‘A’s model
When you are dealing with high risk conflict situations it will help you to
remember the 4 A’s:
Don’t get Angry
Manage Abuse
Maintain a positive Attitude
Be Assertive – not aggressive
24
Communication and Conflict Management Skills
Defusing and calming
In a high-risk conflict – the other person is in a very agitated and
emotional state and the signals are telling you that you are in immediate
danger of being physically assaulted. If it is appropriate – you should
remove yourself from that danger.
This is often easier said than done - particularly when it is obvious you
are in a position of authority and other customers are around who may be
left to deal with the situation. Sometimes, you are not in a position where
you can leave easily and safely. Where this is the case, you need to be
able to defuse the situation and calm the person down so that he or she
becomes less of a risk.
There are four basic steps which help to calm a person who is in a high
level of agitation and emotion:
Signal non aggression
Catch his or her attention
Actively listen and empathise
Win his or her trust
Signal non-aggression
When someone is in a high state of emotion and anger, there is little point
in trying to appeal to their rational side. The most important thing to
signal is non-aggression – remember Open PALMS.
Catch his or her attention
If someone has really ‘lost it’ then it may be necessary to match his or her
level of energy in order to gain his or her attention. ‘Matching’ energy
level is a delicate balance and needs to be carefully monitored – you need
25
Communication and Conflict Management Skills
to put yourself in a position where you can gain direct eye contact with
the other person and raise your energy and voice to an appropriate level.
Use words like “Whoa, just a sec!” or “Excuse me, can I help?” As soon
as you have clearly got his or her attention – the level needs to drop back
to normal and you should maintain the Open PALMS stance.
Show empathy and actively listen
It is quite difficult to stay really angry for a long time and people who are
angry respond quickly to anything that sounds like and apology. If you
demonstrate empathy with their situation it will help to diffuse their
anger. This isn’t the same as agreeing with his or her complaint or point
of view – but it acknowledges their right to hold it. You can demonstrate
empathy by the use of phrases like:
“I’m sorry this has happened to you.”
“I’m sorry you’ve had to queue for so long”
“I can see that this has made you very angry”
“I can understand why this has made you angry”.
Win his or her Trust
Winning trust is getting the person to the point where he or she is calm
enough to be able to deal with the situation in a rational manner. He or
she has to have confidence that you are ‘on their side’, want to resolve the
problem and have some power to be able to resolve the situation.
Confronting unacceptable behaviour
It is important to realise that to confront a person who is already very
angry and emotional is likely to escalate the situation and increase the
26
Communication and Conflict Management Skills
risk – no matter how skilled you are in doing it. It is sometimes a difficult
choice and it can be hard not to react to some types of abuse –
particularly if it is very personal or perhaps racially motivated.
Remember that you can confront someone about ‘unacceptable
behaviour’ when it is safer to do so, such as when they are calmer or you
are in a safer area.
If you feel you have to confront, then make sure you are assertive – rather
than aggressive. A good assertive statement will usually:
State clearly what the unacceptable behaviour is that you want
to stop,
What the consequences of continuing will be, and
An acknowledgement of the other person’s point of view.
An example of a good assertive statement is:
“I appreciate you are angry, but if you continue to shout and swear, you
leave me no option but to ask you to leave – which I don’t want to have
to do”.
It is important to make sure your body language gives a similar message
– you can make a good assertive statement but make it aggressive by
squaring on or pointing. Remember Open PALMS.
Exit strategies
When you are in a situation, which you recognize as high risk, it may be
necessary for you to exit from the situation. This is to take yourself out of
immediate danger and to allow you to think rationally about how to deal
with the incident. People often find it difficult to get out of such
situations without ‘losing face’ and therefore stay longer than it is safe to
27
Communication and Conflict Management Skills
do so. An ‘exit strategy’ is a pre-prepared way of getting yourself away
from a difficult situation.
Have a ready-made reason to exit. An ‘exit strategy’ is quite simply a
sensible reason for leaving the situation you are in. You need to have a
reason ready so that it comes to mind quickly. It needs to be something
that will not make the situation worse.
It will be something like:
“I’m afraid I can’t make that decision – I’ll have to go and speak with the
manager about it.”
The law regarding self-defence
The law relating to self-defence is reasonably clear and unambiguous.
However, people often confuse retaliation with self-defence. The law
does not allow us to retaliate – only to defend others or ourselves from
attack.
Use of Force - Any use of force on another person is an assault
Authority for the use of force comes from both Common Law and Statute
Law. Often it is against the law to use force on another person.
Sometimes, however, when justified an assault can be lawful. It is
recognising such circumstances that is important. Criteria most relevant
in relation to violence at work are:
Defending oneself or others against unlawful violence
Saving life
Preventing crime, making a lawful arrest and protecting
property
28
Communication and Conflict Management Skills
Common Law Authority
Any person may use such force as is reasonable in the circumstances in
defence of themselves or others and, in certain circumstances, in defence
of property.
The force used must be reasonable and no more than is necessary to repel
the attack. You must be able to show an honestly held belief that
immediate unlawful personal violence was occurring or about to occur
and your actions were necessary to prevent such conduct.
In some cases it maybe necessary, and lawful, to act or strike first to
defend yourself or another person. You must be able to show compelling
justification for such action. The law states that some attempt should be
made at retreat where practicable.
Reasonable force can also be used in order to save life.
Human Rights Act
Use of force must be reasonable and proportionate – which means you
must not over-react.
29
Communication and Conflict Management Skills
RESOLVING CONFLICT
Problem solving
Recognising the customer’s point of view
Empathy is basically about being able to see another person’s point of
view – even if you don’t agree with it. It is best understood as a piece of
cheese! Person A sees a square, person B sees a triangle - both very
different shapes but the same thing – a wedge of cheese.
If you have empathy, it means you recognize that the other person has a
different view of the world but – to them – it is equally as valid as your
own view. The critical element is to understand that all involved believe
that they are right. The key to unlocking this problem is for one person to
seek to listen and understand the other’s point of view. Listening and
positively seeking to understand provides the following benefits:
As you are not resisting or arguing the conflict can diminish
Listening to the other person shows that you are interested and
care
You may discover that the facts, or perceived facts, are different
to your initial thoughts
30
A
B
Communication and Conflict Management Skills
Resolving the issue
It is important to try and remove the cause of the problem that has led to
the conflict. This can only be achieved when the ‘heat’ is out of the
situation and everyone is thinking rationally. Remember that the
customer will have a different point of view to you – otherwise the
conflict would not have started in the first place.
Building rapport
If you are to go further and resolve a situation, you first need to build a
rapport, a sense of trust with the other individual(s). You can achieve this
through the same techniques you have already applied to defusing the
emotion:
Active listening (nods of the head, say “Yes, Yes” or “I see”
etc)
Active looking (maintain normal eye contact and don’t be
distracted)
Paraphrase (use expressions like “Let me check I’ve
understood…”, then summarise what they have said)
Be friendly (even if you don’t feel like it); disarm them by not
living up to their low expectations of you.
Seeking a win-win outcome
To successfully resolve a situation you need to think ‘win–win’:
A ‘win-win’ situation is where both sides of a confrontation come out of
the encounter situation feeling satisfied with the outcome. It is not always
possible to meet everyone’s ideal result, but if partly reached, people are
more likely to be satisfied with their treatment. A simple explanation may
be enough. 31
Communication and Conflict Management Skills
Your win situation
Minimal aggravation and stress
Doing a professional job
Finding a successful solution
Leaving others satisfied that you have done your best
A customer’s win situation
Saving face
Getting what they are asked for
Being listened to and taken seriously
Being treated fairly and professionally
Receiving a helpful explanation
Delivering a gift
This strategy can be used to bring a discussion that is going nowhere to
an end. It allows the customer to leave and you to return to work, while
hopefully leaving them with the impression that you have worked hard to
try and resolve their problem. Examples include:
Providing the use of a phone
Free coffee and refreshments whilst they wait
An invitation to return on a different occasion when they could be made
extra welcome
Calling a taxi or providing a card for a reliable taxi firm
An invitation to come back to you, personally, if there is any further
difficulty.
32
Communication and Conflict Management Skills
LEARNING FROM CONFLICT
Post Incident Considerations
Support for Victims
Perhaps the most important thing to recognise is that everyone has a
different way of responding to and dealing with the aftermath of a violent
or aggressive incident. There is no right or wrong way to react and people
must be allowed to deal with it in their own way.
Colleagues can help by ‘looking out’ for someone who has been
subjected to an assault. It is important to watch for changes in behaviour
from what you would expect for this person. In the short term, it is quite
normal for a person to have a range of reactions from shock, confusion
and disbelief through to anger, embarrassment or a feeling of violation.
You can provide help and support just by listening and reinforcing that is
quite normal to have these reactions to an incident involving violence.
Reporting and recording
Accounting for your actions
You may be asked to account for your actions, or inaction, by your
manager, and may well be called before a civil or criminal court months
after the event. It is therefore very important to write a clear, detailed
incident report immediately after an incident.
When writing your report, remember the ordinary person who was not
present at the time of the incident but who may be sitting on a jury in
court. Ensure you provide enough detail for a third party to conclude that
your actions were reasonable in the circumstances.
33
Communication and Conflict Management Skills
Help others to see the incident as it was and to understand how it felt
being there. Give a true, accurate and full picture of what happened that
would help others understand why you took the action that you did.
When completing your incident report remember to include:
Facts about yourself and the other party
Background information
Description of behaviour
Level of force used
Simply stating that a person became ‘abusive’ or ‘violent’ is not
satisfactory – state exactly what the person said, and what they did.
Reporting
Reporting all incidents is essential in order for an organisation to protect
staff against risk. The organisation relies upon quality information to
establish effective strategies and training. Reporting incidents of
workplace violence is a duty under Health and Safety legislation.
Learning from what happened
As a professional, you should continuously be recognising the things that
you do well in situations of conflict and looking for things that you might
be able to do better in a similar incident. You should review how you
approached the incident using this simple process:
What happened?
Why did I happen to react that way?
How can I improve things if this happens again?
In some organisations, the line manager will debrief the incident. In a
serious incident there will be an investigation aimed at finding out what
happened and what can be learned from it. It is good practice to get into
34
Communication and Conflict Management Skills
the habit of going through this process for your self – if nothing else; it
helps you not to make the same mistake twice!
BENEFITS OF IMPROVING COMMUNICATION AND CREATING
CONFLICT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
Conflict is usually a result of either a lack of or breakdown in communication. The best way to deal with conflict is to improve communication at all levels. By establishing a system that opens the channels of communication and addresses problems before they escalate, the relationship between the participants will improve, and so will productivity and efficiency. In order to accomplish this, you should:
Raise awareness of conflict; early recognition minimizes the harmful
effect.
Provide a safe and unbiased place for participants to discuss candidly the
issues, whether in large or small groups. Adopt a complaint/conflict
system that encourages participation by all employees.
Set up internal procedures and processes for recognizing and managing
conflict whenever and wherever it occurs, and make sure that all people
involved understand how the system works and its importance.
Retain qualified neutral professionals to set up a formal training program
for all people and encourage open communication.
Retain a neutral third party to intervene early in the conflict cycle to
gather information relating to the conflict. Use that person as an impartial
mediator to address the problems and seek resolutions.
Work collaboratively to improve communication and have faith in the
process itself to assure an environment where all parties are personally
invested in managing conflict.
35
Communication and Conflict Management Skills
The Value of Managing Conflict Effectively
Posted on January 4th, 2012 by Craig Runde
Organizations want to know what kind of return on investment can come from improving their managers’ and employees’ ability to handle conflict effectively. It is a similar question to those asked about other types of training. In the case of conflict, the answer is easier to give.
Cost Savings
The Dana Mediation Institute’s Organizational Cost of Conflict Measure provides an excellent tool for analyzing the out of pocket costs of conflict (www.mediationworks.com/ ). It categorizes a number of cost factors related to conflict and provides a means of estimating these costs for an organization. Some of the key costs include managerial time spent on conflict, employee retention, absenteeism, and legal costs.
The Dana measure helps organizations quantify this cost by asking about the amount of time typically spent by managers on conflict, average manager salary and benefits, and the number of managers in an organization. Even using conservative figures, most organizations find that the costs are very substantial. A number of studies over the past thirty years have asked managers about the percentage of their time they spend dealing with conflict. The numbers consistently fall in the 20-40% range. Improved conflict management skills won’t completely eliminate this number but it can certainly reduce it.
One of the most significant reasons for employees leaving a job is ongoing conflict with a supervisor or with colleagues. When factoring in the costs of finding a
36
Communication and Conflict Management Skills
replacement and bringing the new person up to speed, such turnover can be expensive.
When employees experience distressing conflict at work, some will respond by staying away. This avoiding behavior can take the form of absenteeism which hurts overall productivity. Perhaps even more problematic is presenteeism, where the employee comes to work but isn’t effectively because they are obsessing about the problems, talking with colleagues about it, and avoiding interactions with those with whom they are having the conflict.
Many times the most visible signs of conflict come in the form of grievances or lawsuits. These more formal responses to conflict often occur after a time of build up where issues could have been addressed more easily. Once the more formal mechanisms are used, the costs of resolving the conflict goes up dramatically.
Improving Outcomes
While people usually think about cost savings first, the bigger benefits of effective conflict management come from improved creativity, enhanced decision quality, and superior implementation. While these elements are harder to quantify, they are so fundamental to organizational success that they provide even larger benefits than just cost savings.
When people are able to robustly debate issues, one idea can lead to another and generate new understandings that would otherwise have been missed. Research has shown that improve creativity and innovation can be linked to effective us e of conflict at least in situations involve novel, non-routine issues.
Decision quality is improved when ideas are rigorously vetted and
challenges. Flaws that might have been missed If people avoid debating
issue are found and optimal solutions are developed. When people have
taken part in this debate, they are more likely to support implementation
of a particular solution even though it might not be their preferred one.
This is because they have felt that their ideas have been considered and
that they have been involved in seeking a solution.
37
Communication and Conflict Management Skills
LEARNING OUTCOMES
AVOIDING CONFLICT
Assessing & Reducing Risk
CONTENT AREA
Key Legislation and Policy
The SAFER approach
POP threat assessment
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Appreciate Violence and Health and Safety Responsibilities
Apply the SAFER approach to dynamic risk assessment
Assess a situation using the POP model
Understand the levels of threat
Self Awareness
CONTENT AREA
Responses to Threat
Emotional v Rational Fight and flight
Triggers and Inhibitors Stimulus and Response
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Understand the fight/flight response
Recognise human responses to threatening situations
Identify the conditions and behaviour that triggers or inhibits an angry
response in people
Choose the most appropriate responses to a situation involving potential
conflict
Proactive Service Delivery
CONTENT AREA
First Contact – managing expectations
Positive Communication
Common Flashpoints
Attitude and Behaviour Cycle
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Understand the importance of adopting an appropriate initial response
Demonstrate an understanding of the importance of positive communication to
avoid conflict
Identify the most common situations where there is a risk of escalation into
violence
Identify ways in which the expectations of the customer are managed towards
a realistic understanding of the situation
Demonstrate an understanding of the attitude/behaviour cycle
38
Communication and Conflict Management Skills
DEFUSING CONFLICT
Blocks to Communication
CONTENT AREA
Communication – the basics
Blocks to communication
Channels of communication
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Understand the basic elements of communication
Identify the blocks to communication and understand how to overcome them
Recognise the importance of non verbal communication in emotionally
charged situations
Signalling non-aggression
CONTENT AREA
OPEN Palms
Appropriate eye contact
Safer stance
Controlling and maintaining space
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Understand how to use the Open PALMS model to signal non-aggression
Understand how to use appropriate eye contact in conflict situations
Understand how to adopt a safer stance when dealing with an aggressive
individual
Understand how to control space and maintain safe and appropriate distance in
conflict situations
High Risk Conflict
CONTENT AREA
Signs of escalation
The 4 ‘A’s Model
Defusing and calming
Confronting unacceptable behaviour
Lead and support
Exit strategies
The law relating to self defence
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Explain the 4A’s model
Understand how to defuse and calm
Understand how to apply the lead and support system to high risk situations
Understand how to remove himself/herself from a high risk situation
Recognise the difference between assertion and aggression
Choose appropriate assertive behaviour for confronting unacceptable
behaviour
39
Communication and Conflict Management Skills
RESOLVING CONFLICT
Problem solving
CONTENT AREA
Building rapport
Empathy – recognising the customers point of view
Resolving the issue and the ‘win–win’ approach
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Understand how to build a sense of trust with an individual
Understand what empathy is and how to use it to recognise the customer’s
view of the situation
Understand how problem solving can lead to an acceptable resolution to a
problem or issue
Recognise a ‘win–win’ approach to dealing with conflict situations
Recognise value of ‘delivering a gift’
LEARNING FROM CONFLICT
Post Incident Considerations
CONTENT AREA
Support for Victims
Reporting and recording
Learning from what happened
Sharing good practice
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Understand how to provide support for victims
Understand the need for recording incidents
Explain the importance of reflecting and learning from the experience of
conflict
Understand the importance of sharing good practice contributing to long term
solutions to re-occurring problems and issues
40