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BUSINESSKeeping the peace: Can't we all just get along?Managing conflict between employees is not an enviable task, but understanding your employees' personalities and motivations can help you diffuse any budding crises.By Mike Norbut, AMNews staff. Aug. 1, 2005. It's never easy to know what's going to make a staff member upset. It could be that the billing person didn't say hello. Or maybe paperwork was left out from the night before. Or maybe there's a personal issue, like the kids being sick at home. It's not likely that everyone in the office is going to sport a smile all day. And when people are grumpy, the possibility for conflict arises. Managing conflict is an activity most busy physicians would rather avoid, but unchecked battles between staff members can lead to decreased efficiency and mistakes in the office, which can contribute to lost or missed revenue. As tempting as it is to take a hockey referee's approach -- let the two combatants slug it out and step in only when one appears to be winning -- it's more prudent to make a proactive effort in keeping conflict out of the office, experts say. If a conflict does occur, a little organizational behavior knowledge can diffuse the crisis. There are plenty of ways to keep the peace in your office, but the best strategies to deal with conflict involve open communication, clear job descriptions and a culture of teamwork, consultants said. "Most conflict happens because people see things differently," said Jill Miller, a business development consultant in Wichita, Kan. "The biggest thing is putting energy into it instead of just ignoring it." Understanding your employees' personality traits, how they act and think, and what motivates them, can help you blend their talents into a cohesive office structure. It doesn't always work to just tell an employee to stop complaining and do the assigned job, or to order two employees to solve their own differences. [...]Full text of AMNews content is available to AMA members and paid subscribers.
Copyright 2005 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
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