What can HR managers do to minimize workplace conflict? What steps should be taken to convert tension into innovation?

put clear policy

fair and judge with all

Thanks

First of all we need to recognize why conflict happen, there are many reasons for conflict inside organization e.g.( unfair commission , unfair policy , unfair evaluation , unfair salaries & promotion , unfair target,... ) and many others unfair treatment and procedures.

*How to avoid conflict by HR:-

That needs communication with other department's managers and reviewing the organization policy, as you noticed all elements above related to HR , but these elements not necessarily put by HR manager and\\\\or HR department , it is the organization culture , so a clever HR manager can make a review and push more efforts to change this culture step by step.

But,  currently he - she needs to do the following to avoid conflicts:

• Gather the employees(on behalf of their department's managers) and give them an awareness session as an HR manager clearing why they should be patient until change unfair policies.
• Gather the managers (on behalf of Top management) and inform them how they can change policies toward more productivity policies which lead to employees satisfactions and decrease conflicts together.
• Meet the top management, Stock holders , Chairman , Head , CEO ( on behalf of the other employees and managers) and inform him-her what are the disadvantages of conflicts caused by organization culture and policy , and how they can change it together toward hitting targets and achieving more profits.

It is an hard mission , but if he-she wants to minimize or end the conflicts, he-she should follows this path.

Fingers Crossed

Thanks Mr Abdallah for  invitation

 I totally agree with mr Omar Saad must first know the causes of conflict and resolve those after

Empower the employees in the work place where conflict is evident to come up with creative idea to resolve the conflict and reward for the best creative/innovative idea that can lead to mutual win-win situation

as HR professional, folowing steps can be taken to minimise conflict at work place:

encourage clear lines of communication , many a times conflicts are a result of poor communication , misunderstandings or no communication at all

another step can be to create a platform where employees can place their point of view/opinions in a non-judgemental environment.

use such platforms/forums as problem solving opportunity, attach recognition or reward to employees bringing in creative solutions to persisting conflicts.

hope this helps.

Thanks for the invite ............................ understand the topic well and resolve the issue of reform

First do not think of conflict as a bad thing because most of the time it is not. Conflict is simply people challenging each others ideas. Lack of facilitation is the fault in the situation and not the conflict itself. When you have 2 educated trained employees arguing over a situation you will never find a more productive opportunity to review the product or practices. Ensuring the discussion is appropriately faciliated by someone who can participate and take notes and control outbursts is the key to whether or its a good or bad situation. Conflict and discussions are also an integral part of creating an innovative culture. There has to be a safe to learn environment where people do feel they are allowed to put forward ideas and have them challenged otherwise you will miss out on many valuable contributions.

I apologize for the answer I leave the answer to the experts, specialists in this field that's not my area.

Mr.Omar Saad and Ms.Amirah aboutaleb explained it perfectly and nothing to add. 

Situation 1: Jeff and Maria are co-workers at a company that lets employees set their own hours. Jeff usually saunters into the office about 10 a.m., while Maria is there promptly at 9 a.m. She often has to take care of Jeff's customers due to his lateness. He rationalizes that all is OK because he stays until 6 p.m. to "make up his time." However, his clients usually stop calling at 5 p.m. Maria is angry with Jeff and becomes irritable and frustrated with him. She takes it out on him in daily interactions and sometimes even in staff meetings. Clearly, their conflict is an issue.

Situation 2: Allen and Leo are both managers. In almost every staff meeting, they bicker. They try to cut each other off, they criticize each other's comments, and they waste time that could be devoted to essential business matters.

In both of these situations, conflict results in a waste of time, energy and productivity. Are business situations like these rare? Or is this kind of conflict exclusive to large companies?

Hardly. Conflict is all around us, and it occurs in every office to varying degrees and with almost every employee.

So what is conflict?

If you ask the average person, the responses could range from a negative situation to an extreme dislike for another person. At the same time, others could define it as anger, distrust, antagonism or simply something they dislike. These are all negative views, and I find them too narrow.

I suggest that conflict does not need to be characterized as just negative. In fact, it can be neutral or even positive. Conflict can simply be defined as tension.

Tension can be good, bad or neutral. Just because two people disagree doesn't mean their disagreement is negative or poisonous; it can simply be a difference of opinion. However, left unaddressed and allowed to fester or grow, that neutral tension can become negative and possibly harmful. Then everyone, including the organization, suffers.

Whatever definition is used, we can agree that most people don't like conflict. Indeed, they go out of their way to avoid it. In many cases, people view conflict in terms of arguments, anger, hurt feelings or being yelled at. And no one likes those situations. As a result, when conflict arises, most people will steer clear of it or pretend it doesn't exist. Nonetheless, it is real, and it may become problematic.

So how should you deal with conflict in your workplace?

1. Address It Directly. When conflict arises, you need to raise the issue with the parties involved. You want to emphasize the need for your employees to address it. At that time, you can explain that negative feelings and thoughts can be handled in an appropriate manner that can actually make them positive and productive.
2. Listen to Both Sides. Speak with each party separately to gain their perspective on what the tension is all about. Make sure that along with any emotional information, you discuss specific facts or events that led up to or inflamed the situation.
3. Bring Both (All) Parties Together. Allow them to share their version of the events or issue. Often, this step will elicit issues or facts that the other party was unaware of.
4. Find Common Ground. This is very important, because often each side has some concern the other party can agree with, and this will become the foundation that enables you to bridge the gap that separates the parties involved.
5. Encourage Compromise. For the sake of working together, each person must be willing to give in a little. This step may take a while because the sides are already firmly entrenched in their own viewpoint or version of what should happen to resolve the issue. When this is accomplished, everyone will feel a little better.
6. Confront Negative Feelings. The feelings and thoughts that arose during the conflict stage have to be worked out. Unless this happens to everyone's satisfaction, the problem may go away for the moment, but the hard feelings or thoughts will persist, and then a repeat conflict might occur.
7. Be Positive. Resolve to address future conflicts in a positive manner. The model, of course, would be similar to how this one is being resolved.

Based on the experience the employees just practiced, they should now have the skills and a process in place to turn negative conflict into positive tension that propels them to deal with future problems.

Shi best done by a human resources manager to reduce conflict in the workplace switch places for employees who hate each other