In my experience, the root cause of grievances and disputes in the workplace is always leadership - but it isn't usually the fault of line managers.
Most of us know that leading people is the hardest part of any manager's role. People are unpredictable, they're inconsistent and let's face it sometimes they're an absolute pain in the backside!
This is what I see in so many organisations:-
👎 Managers are appointed for technical rather than leadership skills
👎 They're told it will be them "in the dock" if they get things wrong
👎 People skills aren't developed, so they lack confidence
👎 Issues are avoided (ostrich management!)
👎 Grievances arise and are passed to HR
👎 Issues aren't resolved informally so grievances go formal
👎 Formal grievances don't resolve issues, they make things worse
👎 More time, cost and stress is wasted in grievances
👎 Culture declines
When managers attend our training with a highly skilled and experienced mediator, they learn the skills and techniques we use to help people to actually resolve issues.
Most importantly, they receive lots of coaching through practical discussions about the challenges they actually face every day in your organisation.
These skills give them the confidence to have those 'difficult' conversations they used to avoid - whether it be about performance, absence, conduct or issues within their team.
Most issues start small and when managers have the confidence to nip issues in the bud HR don't even need to know about it!
I've seen this cultural change so many times and I love hearing from our clients about what a difference it makes when managers gain the confidence to sort out the issues which used to become grievance or disciplinary issues.
If you recognise this for your organisation and you want to change the culture email us or feel free to schedule a meeting.
