Strategies to Reduce Conflict in the Virtual Workplace

© 2019 NetSpeed Learning Solutions. All rights reserved. 1
Strategies to Reduce Conflict
in the Virtual Workplace
July 2019

Webinar Objectives
• Describe the negative impact of unresolved
conflict
• Capitalize on four principles that support
mutual effort toward common goals
• Adopt practices that drive a high-performance
virtual work environment
• Bring the Managing Workplace Conflict
blended, online learning program to your
organization

About Cynthia Clay
• 25+ years of experience
• An expert in collaborative,
engaging virtual learning
• Committed to helping
organizations build high-impact
virtual workplaces
• Chief architect of Virtual Leader™
and Managing Workplace
Conflict™

Tweet
#conflict
#NSLSlive

Purpose
What got you here today?

Unresolved Conflict
What are the consequences of
unresolved workplace conflict?

Consequences
Which of these consequences have you observed
in your own organization?
Wasted time
Low morale
Reduced quality
Missed deadlines
Need for increased supervision
Higher stress
Reduced collaboration
Decreased customer satisfaction
Lower trust
Higher turnover (of skilled employees)
Absenteeism or presenteeism

Impact on Teamwork
85% of US employees surveyed
experienced conflict at work.
Source: CPP Global, Human Capital Report

Impact on Teamwork
76% went out of their way to avoid the
colleague with whom they were in
disagreement.

Presence of Conflict
36% of US employees deal with conflict
always or frequently.

Effects of Conflict

Workplace Impact
Chronic unresolved conflict is a primary
factor in employee turnover.

Impact of Conflict
• Reduced productivity
• Cost to mediate conflict
• Cost to terminate
• Inability to retain talent
• Cost to recruit and train
replacement talent

Poll
How many hours per week, on average, do US
employees spend dealing with conflict at work?
< 1 hour
1.2 hours
2.8 hours
3.5 hours
> 4 hours

Effects of Conflict
• Lower team morale
• Reduced productivity
• Increased supervision
• Reduced management
credibility
• Weak collaboration
• Missed opportunities

Annual Cost
What is the annual cost in paid hours of the
time spent dealing with conflict?
$103 billion
$225 billion
$309 billion
$359 billion

Cost of Conflict
2.8 hours on
average per week
$359 billion

Effects of Conflict
• Lost customers
• Reduced revenue
• Loss of managerial talent
• Cost of time spent in
conflict
• Culture of mistrust

Importance of this Issue
How important is the issue of
conflict in your organization?
5 – Very important
4 – Somewhat important
3 – Neutral
2 – Somewhat unimportant
1 – Not at all important

Effects of Conflict
• Poor reputation
• Negative social media
• Inability to compete
• Customer defections

Conclusions
21

Conclusions
22
• 25 – 40% of a manager’s time is
spent resolving conflict.
• Largest reducible cost in many
businesses.
• Training increase skills and
confidence.
• ROI =10 times the cost of training.

Four Principles

Be Real
• Share your views and goals.
• Acknowledge reality.
How did Carmen apply these
practices?

Four Principles

Take Responsibility
• Be responsible for your
experience.
• Communicate with others.
How did Stan apply these
practices?

Four Principles

Extend Respect
• Listen, listen, listen.
• Allow others to solve their own
problems.
How did Helen apply these
practices?

Four Principles

Build Relationships
• Get input.
• Seek solutions that benefit all.
How did Bill apply these practices?

Five Conflict Strategies

Nine Challenging Coworkers
Common Behavior
Patterns

Virtual Conflict
What creates conflict in the virtual workplace?

Collaborative Awareness*
Activity Availability Process Perspective Environment
* Model from Virtual Leader™ program

Conflict Clues
Complaints
about
workload
distribution
Frustration
due to lack
of availability
or slow
response
time
Confusion
about shared
processes
(who does
what when)
Working at
cross
purposes
Lack of
contingency
plans (leads
to blaming)

Collaborative Awareness*
What can a virtual leader do to improve
collaborative awareness (and, as a result,
reduce conflict)?

Amplify Virtual Presence
• Reduced ambiguity
• Increased connection
• Reduced conflict
• Decreased multi-tasking

Classroom and Virtual
Managing Workplace Conflict™
Six modules for maximum flexibility

1
2
3
5
4
The Power of
Web Conferencing
Running Effective
Virtual Meetings
The Power of Connection
Building Virtual Relationships
The Power of Calibration
Building Accountability
on a Virtual Team
The Power of
Collaboration
Harnessing Individual
and Team Strengths
The Power of Celebration
Recognizing Individual
and Team Results
The Roadmap

Both Programs
• Interactive and collaborative
• Practical skill-building
• Fully customizable
• Includes online reinforcement

Train-the-Trainer Model
• License the complete
programs
• Certify your internal
trainers or deliver with our
trainers
• Face-to-face and virtual
options

44© 2019 NetSpeed Learning Solutions. All rights reserved.
• Download our ebook: Peer Patterns
• Receive links to slides and recording
• Schedule a virtual cup of coffee to discuss your
training needs
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Strategies to Reduce Conflict in the Virtual Workplace

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