Conflict Resolution Consulting Services

You were hoping it would blow over or clear up on its own.

But now it’s gone from bad to worse.

People are calling in sick, going on LTD, or threatening to quit. (Good people may have already left.)

Relationships are deteriorating. Production is down. Absenteeism is up.

People are complaining and/or filing grievances.

So much of your time is being taken up “dealing with people issues” that you don’t have any time left to perform your regular work.

(Or maybe it’s not that bad yet, but you can see the writing on the wall.)

Conflict won’t go away on its own

Once relationships start to deteriorate, they tend to get worse, not better. It’s important to intervene (the earlier, the better) in order to restore a good working environment.

Left unchecked, conflict can lead to

• Loss of your best workers
• A reputation as an undesirable place to work and inability to attract new talent
• Even more complaints, cynicism, absenteeism and staff turnover

In the worst cases, you may even be looking at human rights complaints, a civil suit for a hostile work environment or your employees requesting a union intervention (or forming a union).

It’s not too late to make your company a good place to work

With some help, we can turn everything around and you can look forward to:

• Improved working relationships
• Better communication – including a willingness to address issues, resolve conflicts and talk about “the elephant in the room.”
• Happier staff – people who are re-engaged and re-energized about their work.
• Fewer absences, less turnover of staff, better retention, and increased productivity – because people want to be there.

Your time will be freed up so you can get back to doing your job instead of putting out fires.

“It’s human nature to avoid situations that are uncomfortable – and that’s what the managers were doing.

Deborah taught us to be honest.”

~ Sheila Page, Director of Human Resources, University of Northern British Columbia

I’ve been resolving workplace conflict for over 20 years

I think I’ve seen it all: throwing things, yelling…even spitting. Toxic work environments and virtual sweatshops. Clever manipulators and borderline sociopaths.

I’ve helped these companies address the problems and completely change their work environment.

And yes, sometimes this means that people who need to move on get clarity that they’re “not where they want to be.” Or disciplinary measures need to be taken.

But conflict resolution is primarily about communication. Listening. Empathy. Hearing each other out and coming up with agreements that everyone can live with.

We’ll talk about the elephant in the room. When we do, tension will drop and there will be a shift in the norm of “conflict avoidance.”

With the right interventions and/or skills training, people will become more comfortable and confident about addressing issues, rather than pretending they don’t exist. Healthy conflict is actually a good thing!

It all starts with a confidential fact finding interview

We’ll get together and sketch out the problem: What’s happening? Who are the players? What are the power dynamics?

After that, I’ll conduct additional interviews with management and key players. The change begins here, because as I gather information, I’ll provide coaching and counselling as required.

Then, depending on the situation, I’ll make some recommendations. These may include:

• 1:1 Coaching
• Mediating
• Group Facilitation
• Training
• Referrals to other resources

If classes are required, content and materials will be customized to your company and situation.

You will be kept in the loop for the entire process.

Ready to take the first step towards a healthy, productive work environment?

Call me at 604.515.7541 and we’ll talk.

We hired Deborah to train our employees and they walked away with the tools they needed to manage conflict.

Deborah is great to work with. She’s open, frank and a delight to be around. She gets results.

~ Mitch Riabko, Great Works Consulting