Many IT professionals find it hard to talk to their colleagues when things heat up. This can make occasional altercations devolve into a protracted conflict affecting the team’s productivity. What are the best ways of managing disputes in the IT department, and in any other department of a company for that matter?
Communicating during conflict makes many IT specialists pretty stressed out, which only exacerbates the problem. But if you follow certain rules, any situation can be resolved quickly and painlessly for the parties. Let’s analyze a few effective ways out of conflict situations.
Motivating openness
It is important to explain to staff that in case of conflicts, department managers and HR executives should be involved in resolving them. Steps include clearly formulating the problem, clarifying why a situation is seen as a problem, how it affects the team, along with potential solutions and a timeline. It should be noted who is affected by the problem, what processes and boundaries it breaches, especially during off hours. Solutions should be proposed.
Experience shows that many IT professionals find it difficult to voice complaints or notify their manager personally or the HR department about a conflict. Many are wary of their own emotions and are not ready to face an open confrontation. In this case, one may try describing the problem in writing and suggesting a way out. It is important to communicate this option to professionals who want to express discontent.
Putting any problem or conflict into words is helpful at any rate. Writing it down helps to structure the whole picture, identify nuances and arrive at solutions. One can also return to the note later and extend it. This sort of reflection and reasoning are difficult to achieve verbally.
A question showing the root cause
When an HR executive gets involved in solving the issue, the job is to hear both parties and moderate their communication. It is essential to get to the bottom of what happened and uncover the root causes of the situation.
A special conversation technique used by an HR interlocutor will help. The goal is to answer the following question: which aspects of the current job an employee would be unwilling to transfer to a new job if they were looking for one. Usually people immediately start voicing things that shine light on the core of the problem.
Solving a vertical conflict
If a conflict involves a department manager, it is particularly important to start settling the conflict by going to the HR. The essential part is working through the factual side of a complaint by bringing along more than emotions and providing arguments and specific proposals.
If a manager has complaints against an employee, it is advisable to try other solutions before resorting to an open confrontation. It is critical to state ideas, priorities and decisions in writing. If a team member forgets or mixes things up (by accident or intentionally) after a verbal agreement, only writing things down in a chat or an email with specifics will stimulate them to follow through.
This approach is particularly effective in general chats, where key points from meetings, calls, or briefings are clearly documented afterward. This method encourages employee discipline and provides managers with a solid foundation for negotiations, backed by documented data and facts.
Resolving online misunderstandings offline
Since school, many people have been hesitant to ask questions. A common mindset is: if everyone else is silent, I’ll stay silent too. In active group chats, instructions can sometimes be unclear, but employees may hesitate to seek clarification or ask about task priorities, leading to miscommunication and misunderstandings.
Another typical scenario for remote teams is when a work conflict begins in a chat. Someone may respond emotionally or misinterpret a written message (a common occurrence), and others then join in, escalating the conflict.
It’s essential to encourage colleagues to adopt this approach: if it seems like tensions are rising, it’s best to pause for a few minutes, process the emotions, calm down, and, if possible, respond without letting emotions take over.
Not everyone remembers to stay calm in the heat of the moment. That’s why, if one or more employees start escalating a situation in a chat, the team leader should step in. They should reach out to each participant individually to redirect the conversation into a more constructive direction. This is particularly important for women, who may often read into the tone or intent behind a message. It’s much more effective to clarify and discuss all the details in a personal conversation and then close the chat discussion with clear, objective instructions outlining what needs to be done and by whom.
Establish expectations early
Lately, IT companies have increasingly focused on evaluating soft skills during interviews for senior positions. Rather than delving into an applicant’s previous work experience or specific tasks, the conversation centers around life situations involving team dynamics. Candidates are asked to suggest solutions to various conflicts. The way an applicant responds to these questions and how they propose to handle unusual situations are key factors in determining whether they will be a good fit for the team.
Additionally, experienced HR executives recommend asking IT job candidates personal questions regarding cultural, ethical, religious and other rules that they consider essential and that fit in at their new job, such as their attitude towards the use of foul language. For instance, programmers are often known to let off steam at the workplace in tense moments, and particularly following difficult negotiations with customers. If the job candidate deems such behavior unacceptable, they are unlikely to fit into the team and achieve their potential, regardless of their level of professionalism. HR professionals should learn such things in advance and talk with the potential employee or look for another one.
Collecting feedback
Traditionally, many IT employees are known to lack empathy; they may find it hard to see into the causes of repeating patterns of miscommunication and misunderstandings. In this case, asking for feedback after the situation has been resolved and communication restored could be helpful; the other party could mention certain interaction issues that the employee was simply unaware of.
A request for constructive feedback is a powerful tool for professional and career development, and an efficient one for both newly hired employees and those on probation. In any case, even with no questions and misunderstandings, it is always helpful to approach the manager and ask for feedback on communication at the end of the probationary period. Normally, such initiative is appreciated, with effective comments provided on the work and aspects of communication.
In large companies, newly hired employees and heads of department fill out an adaptation questionnaire while on probation, which helps emphasize any existing problems. The process is usually supervised by HR specialists, who also provide assistance in handling difficulties.
The 360-degree personnel assessment method is a good alternative to direct feedback. It provides feedback from all possible angles, offering a holistic picture of the employee’s performance from their management, subordinates, and peers. The survey is conducted among those who work with a certain specialist on a constant basis and can provide extensive feedback.
HR specialist and the team leader act preventively through teaching employees behavior techniques to handle conflict situations; they are also actively involved in resolving a conflict if one occurs. Their stance and ability to build communication in the workplace largely affect the team’s emotional environment and performance.
By Polina Kondakova, Head of Recruitment, iFellow