Most likely, your organisation has policies to address dispute resolution. This means resolving any disputes and issues within the workplace or the organisation needs to follow the processes as stated in these policies. The policies may also provide penalties and sanctions when disputes are subject to disciplinary action.
These policies prevent major disputes from occurring and provide an orderly method to process dispute resolution. Therefore, as part of your project and organisational management, you should apply these dispute resolution processes, following your organisation's policies.
Organisational policies and procedures
A policy pertains to a set of guidelines or course of actions to be enforced and should be followed in the workplace and organisation. On the other hand, a procedure is a specific guideline or process done to follow and comply with a policy.
Policies and procedures vary widely depending on the organisation (organisations have different policies) and the nature of the policy (dispute resolution policy differs from work health and safety policy). In this context, a dispute resolution policy of your organisation contains several procedures to properly address and resolve disputes and other related issues.
Therefore, before you apply dispute resolution processes and procedures, you need to familiarise yourself with your organisation’s policies. Being informed of the policies will help you apply the relevant processes and procedures to your workplace and your workers.
Applying dispute resolution process
To apply dispute resolution processes, you need to apply them under the policies of the organisation. To do this, you need to:
Inform your workers on the policy and procedures
You should create awareness of your organisation's dispute resolution policy and procedures and your project as a first step of applying them into your workplace. You may conduct a short meeting to discuss the policy and procedure. You can provide a time for questions on the policy so that you are also aware of what they do and do not understand. You can also send an e-mail for a link or copy of the policy so that your workers can read it and provide contact on who to report suspected disputes.
Consult with your workers on any disputes in the workplace
You can talk to your workers one on one to ask if they are or know someone who is in any dispute with other workers. This is to proactively identify if there are disputes that need early resolution. Take note, though, that you need to follow organisational policies, if any, on consulting your staff to ensure compliance.
Follow the policy and its procedures when handling disputes
Of course, you need to follow organisational policies on disputes resolutions when handling cases of disputes. Although this is fairly obvious, it is still important to mention as this promotes professionalism and consistency for your team, your project, and your organisation. You also become a role model that other workers and members of the organisation can follow and comply with the policy and its procedures.
Keep records of details on disputes and resolutions
A part of the dispute resolution policy and procedures is the documentation of dispute cases and their resolutions. This is important because it lets you:
- identify if there is a trend of disputes and conflict in the workplace
- assess if current policies are effective
- gather information and resolution that can be useful for future disputes and issues
Therefore, you need to document and keep copies of details regarding the dispute cases your organisation has handled. Follow the procedures your organisation’s policy provides and the template and format of the relevant dispute resolution documents.
Complaints in the workplace should be a serious matter as this will affect the construction project and your organisation. To not further complicate issues and conflicts in the workplace, you need to address complaints immediately, consult with the complainant, and resolve the issue with the best solution for all as quickly as possible. In doing so, you will maintain good business or work relationship with others in the project and organisation and not jeopardise the project.
In addressing complaints and consulting the complainant, clear and open communication is the key so that complaints can be resolved where both parties will benefit. This is evident in the following actions step you should take.
Step 1: Make it clear what the complaint is about
The goal in this step is that both parties are aware and agree on what the complaint or disagreement is. You need to consult the other party (complainant) to discuss what needs are not being met by both sides of the complaint. Obtain information on these issues from the other side’s standpoint by listening intently to the other parties. This will help gain a mutual understanding of the problem which is needed to resolve it.
Step 2: Establish a common goal with other complainants
Once all those concerned with the complaint or issue have a clear understanding of the problem, you should take time to set a goal and the outcome that all parties will agree on. If all parties agree upon a shared objective, they are more likely to participate and cooperate to reach the objective. And the goal can be as simple as ‘all sides want to resolve and end the issue together’. To do this, each side of the complaint should voice out their solution outcome to the problem and then find common ground to help define the common goal or outcome.
Step 3: Plan on how to meet the common goal
When you all have agreed upon a common goal, you need to plan out how to achieve the goal without encountering further issues. Part of planning is to:
- Brainstorm together: All parties concerned should participate in planning the steps to meet the goal and resolve the issue.
- Determine the barriers: You and the other parties need to acknowledge what brought all of you into the issue and accept other factors that may hinder your success in meeting your goal. These will help you avoid further disagreements and narrow down the solutions to the issue at hand.
- Agree on the best solution for all: You need to agree on the best solution to achieve the goal. The solution should benefit all parties concerned for a good workplace relationship to be restored; otherwise, it may result in another complaint or conflict. Use commonalities found during planning on how to meet the goals to create the best solution for all.
- Assign responsibilities of each party: Since all parties are affected, all sides should need to acknowledge and own their responsibilities with the solution explicitly. This will help all sides work towards the same goal and solution to resolve the issue. If necessary, a written agreement will help further cement these obligations.
Step 4: Follow through with the agreed plan and solution
When you and the other parties have determined and agreed on the best plan and solution to your issue, you need to follow what you have agreed upon. Fulfil the responsibilities assigned to you and help the other party as well. This creates a suitable environment for you and the other parties to resolve the issue, especially when the plan benefits all parties concerned.
Step 5: Communicate and monitor progress with one another
Communication is a key factor in resolve issues and complaints. You need to have open and clear communication with one another to resolve the issue at hand. Make sure to regularly monitor and update one another on the status and progress of the plan. Inform other parties if there are hindrances or difficulties encountered to create alternative steps to resolve the issue.
With these action steps, you have a high chance of resolving the issue while maintaining a good workplace relationship with the concerned parties. Take note that the goal is to resolve the matter and not to find out who is at fault, as this may result in additional issues and complaints. If these steps proved successful, you can now focus back on your project and help recover lost time and progress to achieve project objectives.
Disputes within the company must be documented faithfully to ensure that legal processes and policies are followed throughout and that the facts are maintained. It also serves as a record to recognise a recurrence of issues in disputes and how they were resolved. Documentation can also be evidence of the need for internal policy changes to prevent the same issues from being repeated in the future.
For reference to subcontractors, dispute documentation can be used as pointers if they were the ones who made the error.
Documenting disputes
Here are some tips you can follow to be able to document disputes appropriately:
- Record the facts of the incident. If the dispute can be classified as a nuisance that prevents you from working effectively and involves harassment or discrimination, this may also be recorded.
- Note the date, exact time, and describe the incident, particularly if this is a regular occurrence. Shown to the management, they will understand your daily tasks and the danger the harassment poses.
- Describe the incidents completely and write clearly. Stick to the facts.
- Ask co-workers or other people who witnessed the event/s to sign your report supporting the evidence you wrote. However, do not force their involvement.
- Essential to the documentation is your name, position, department, and contact information (email address and phone number). You should, as much as possible, be as explicit with the information you provide.
- Include your signature in your statement and the date. If you can, have this notarised.
- Make several copies of your report and give a copy to your manager or immediate supervisor and one to the human resources department. You should also keep extra copies for yourself.
