Our great friend and colleague Carrie Birmingham will be making a very welcome return to deliver her latest session, this time on the thorny issue of resolving staff conflict. This FREE online forum will take place on Thursday 4th June at 12.30 pm.
As the world evolves, we are facing increasingly complex and messy problems. The research is clear: complex problems require different viewpoints. But harnessing different viewpoints calls for difficult conversations and this is where conflict arises.
Unfortunately, many colleagues don’t have conflict resolution skills and organisational processes are not designed to catch problems early or resolve them informally. As a result, the total cost of conflict to UK organisations was £28.5 billion** – the equivalent of more than £1,000 for each employee. Which is why CIPD’s survey of employees* shows that just over a third (35%) have experienced some form of interpersonal conflict at work over the last year.
The grievance procedure was designed as the “go to” solution to resolve conflict within organisations. But in truth, a grievance process typically results in a settlement agreement or two disgruntled employees, neither of whom walked away with what they really wanted: which was a “public flogging”. This is disruptive for all involved.
So Carrie wants to talk about how we can transform conflict into a constructive force that both resolves conflict early and also drives the resolution of complex and messy problems. And remember, the grievance procedure doesn’t solve the conflict!
For those of you who don’t yet know Carrie, she partners with organisations who have a complex and difficult people problem they want to resolve. This specialism was inspired by Carrie’s previous role as HR Director for The Sun newspaper, when, at one time, 34 employees were arrested. Her background means she can combine change and psychology with real world experience
This often translates to supporting individuals who are in conflict, helping teams that are stuck or tackling a culture that feels toxic. Carrie is currently writing a book about ‘Co-Founder Conflict’.
Carrie is an experienced HR Director, OD consultant, facilitator and accredited executive coach. She has a Master’s in organisation and people change, is a qualified coach, Gestalt, and somatic practitioner. She is qualified to use diagnostic tools and an NLP business practitioner. Clients describe her as insightful, deep and able to move at speed. She brings a depth of expertise that goes beyond traditional HR consulting, Crisis Communications and Employment Law.
Carrie is also a proud mother of two dogs (not three dragons!) and an avid Yogi. She is a straight, white neuro-typical woman and naturally her experience of the world is shaped by this.
As always, this online forum is FREE to join and will commence at 12.30 pm and last for approximately one hour. If you would like to attend, please contact the Liberty Recruitment team by calling 023 9387 6666 or by email via hello@libertyrecruitment.group and we will provide you with our joining instructions!
* CIPD’s Managing Conflict in the Modern Workplace (2020)
** Estimating the Costs of Workplace Conflict, ACAS (2021)