Building better workplaces through issue-based problem-solving

Building Better Workplaces Through Issue-Based Problem-Solving

While good intentions help, they aren't enough to settle differences in the workplace. It's also important to have a clear plan and directions for dealing with disputes. That's what this publication offers.

We call it issue-based problem-solving. That mouthful describes a method that can help resolve workplace disputes between employees and management or among co-workers, groups or departments within an organization. The method is based on conflict settlement methods originally developed at Harvard University. Since then, it has been modified by various individuals and organizations.

Issue-based problem-solving offers a proven approach that has worked for others and can help you in your workplace. It's not a quick fix but a new way of talking about and solving conflicts. By moving beyond the outdated idea of having winners and losers, issue-based problem-solving can make everyone-employees, employers and those they serve-winners

Issue-Based Problem – Solving Steps

The following steps will help you prepare for using issue-based problem-solving.

1. Get Ready

Most of us don't like being taken by surprise. If you have a work-related issue you want to talk about or a conflict in the workplace, let the other person(s) involved know what you want to discuss. This helps ensure your discussions get off to a good start. For issue-based problem-solving to work properly, participants must show trust and respect for others involved in the process. Building trust and respect means those involved must keep the content of the discussions confidential until it is agreed the information can be shared with others.

Request a meeting and, if possible, suggest:

• The purpose. Briefly state the general reason for the meeting. For example, I have some questions relating to overtime pay. Could we meet to discuss? Ask the other persons involved if there is something they want to discuss
• The time. Agree on a suitable time to meet and how long the meeting will last.
• The place. Determine a convenient location (on the work site, in an office, in a common area, boardroom or other meeting area or at a neutral off-site location). Consider confidentiality, privacy, noise levels and visibility.

2. Get Set

Before a meeting where you plan to use issue-based problem-solving, look at the issue through your own eyes as well as the other person's. It's not just your issue. It will take two people (and perhaps more) to resolve a dispute.

3. Go!

The basic preparation outlined above will help when you start talking and working through the following six-step problem-solving ( conflict resolution ) methods

Step # 1 Exploring issues
Step # 2 Understanding interests
Step # 3 Developing options
Step # 4 Choosing a solution
Step # 5 Implementing the solution
Step # 6 Evaluating outcomes

Let's look at each of these steps more carefully

Step #1 Exploring Issues

What Is an Issue?

An issue is the topic or subject you need to talk about. It is a problem that needs to be solved. An issue is whatever situation you or others want to resolve. You can probably think of various issues that have cropped up in your workplace. Maybe they had to do with work rules or dress code. Perhaps the problem had something to do with handling of benefits or overtime. Maybe conflicts arose over co-coordinating leave or holidays. Possibly someone offended others by what was said or not said. Someone may be upset about when meetings were scheduled or how they were run. Try to state the issue in a way that makes both of you willing and open to discuss it.

How Do You Explore Issues?

When you are exploring issues, there are three things to keep in mind.

1. Separate the People From the Problem

Perhaps you get along better with certain employees, supervisors and co-workers than with others. There could be many reasons. It could be that a particular co-worker is co-operative, has similar interests and hobbies or shares your sense of humor. Issue-based problem-solving requires you to set aside judgments about people and their personalities. Forget about your opinion that Ayele is always griping about something. Alternatively, don't be tempted to play favorites: Chaltu, she's on my softball team, so I'd like to help her out. The fact is that Ayele may have a workplace issue that's every bit as legitimate as Chaltu's. Consider what Ayele has to say, not what you think of him.

2. Identify the Issues By Using Concrete Examples

Sara has complained to Mulu, her supervisor in a shipping and receiving department. Sara is concerned about having to cover-including answering phone calls-for her co-worker Tolessa who is allowed to slip out early from work before the shift ends at 4:30. Sara has been known in the past to complain about working conditions and doesn‘t always get along with some co-workers, including Tolessa.

Mulu asks Sara to provide, on a confidential basis, some specific examples of who has left early, including when and how often. Mulu also makes the rounds toward the end of several shifts and checks for absenteeism. She keeps track of what she sees. Now she has some concrete examples to bring to the discussion.

3. Take Time to Explore the Issues

Ask questions like:

• Do we agree on what we need to talk about?
• What do we talk about first? the table?
• Do we all understand how these issues affect others? (Ask at the end of the discussion.)

Mulu meets separately with each employee she supervises and explains that concerns have been raised about some employees leaving early. She asks whether this is an issue that needs to be dealt with. She also asks whether the employees understand how leaving work early might affect others, including co-workers and customers.

Step #2 Understanding Interests

What's an Interest?

An interest is a concern about an issue. It is why you care about the issue. Before going further, let's examine what we mean by an interest. You have an interest in an issue if you have a real concern about a matter or if it affects you. It helps if you understand why you and others care about an issue. An issue or parts of it may identify needs, fears, wants or concerns to you as an employee, supervisor, or as a customer or supplier. These interests cause us to take stands or motivate us to act in certain ways.

Here's an example sometimes used to show the difference between an interest and a position. Two cooks, Abera and Anisa, want the last available orange in the kitchen. Abera needs the peel to make marmalade. Anisa wants to squeeze the pulp of the orange to make juice. At first, both Abera and Anisa take the position that each of them needs the whole orange. But their interests differ, as does what they really want. When they talk about why they want the orange and what they will use it for, they learn that they want different parts for different reasons. By talking it over and understanding each other‘s interests, the cooks find a solution that allows both to get what they require from the orange. Often you‘ll find that focusing on interests rather than positions is the way to resolve conflicts in your workplace.

The Right Solution Will Satisfy the Most Interests

Let's return to the shipping and receiving department and check out some of the interests behind the issue. Sara, who first raised the issue of people leaving early, has an interest in having co-workers stay until the end of their shift. That way, she doesn't have to pick up the slack for absent workers. She also has an interest in not having to stay beyond her shift to deal with customers because the department is short-staffed. She values her personal time and also wants her co-workers to respect her time.

Mulu, the supervisor, has an interest in making sure that there are enough employees on hand to handle calls and customers. She also has an interest in reducing tension among employees. Mulu wants to be fair to employees like Sara and must answer to her own supervisors and senior management if customers complain about delays and poor service. The employer has an interest in meeting customer demands. Those who, like Tolessa, have been leaving early have an interest in not being fired. Tolessa also might have another interest in leaving early beyond just wanting "to get out of here." We are looking for the right solution that will satisfy most of these interests.

How Do You Understand Interests?

In order to understand other people's interest you should listen for what people need (interest) not what they say they want (positions).

Mulu may understand her own interests, but how well does she understand the needs and interests of other people involved? She would like to discover the other peoples' interests but these may not always be clear. People may not always come right out and explain their interest. Sometimes people justify actions or claims by taking a position. Tolessa took a position: "I‘m entitled to leave early." Then he went on to say: "Most of the shipments had arrived already or had been delivered by the time I left at 4:15. Lots of people in other departments often leave early. Besides, I‘ve often covered for other people in the past and I‘ve never claimed overtime." The last three statements really are negative expressions of Tolessa‘s interests: fair treatment with other employees, recognition and compensation for past overtime

Write Everything Down. All ideas are valid until you've had a chance to take a closer look.

That may be Tolessa‘s position, but does it really explain why he‘s interested in leaving early? Rather than dwell on Tolessa‘s position or what he‘s actually saying, Mei tries to direct the conversation back to his interests: Why is it important for to leave Tolessa early? Mei does so by asking open-ended questions such as: "Tolessa, can you give some examples of what other demands you might have on your time these days "

Tolessa admits some things in his life have changed. His wife has a new job and he is now responsible for picking up their three-year-old daughter from day care. His wife uses the family‘s only car and the bus that stops outside work at the end of Tolessa‘s shift doesn‘t get to the day-care centre by 5 o‘clock. Tolessa has an interest in taking care of his child. Suddenly, his interest in leaving early seems more understandable than his initial position. Tolessa and others would have been better off by stating their real interests right away.

Focus on Interests By

• Asking open-ended questions - What is important about the issue? - Why does the other person take a particular position?
• Communicating your own interests - What is important to you and why?
• Probing further to understand fears or concerns
• Looking at what you need, not at what you have
• Emphasizing areas of common ground (without losing sight of different, separate or opposing interests).

Mulu tells Tolessa she understands that it is important for him to get to the day-care centre in time to pick up his daughter. Mulu asks Tolessa whether he sees any problems with leaving early and what interest he sees that others-herself, Sara, other employees, the employer and customers- might have in him staying until the end of his shift.

Step #3 Developing Options

What Is an Option?

An option is a possible solution that satisfies both the shared and separate interests of the people involved in a conflict.

Workplaces are not competitive sports arenas. You're not looking for a winner and a loser. As we saw with the two cooks and the single orange, it's possible to satisfy various interests without having a loser. Our cooks Abera and Anisa had several options. They included:

• handing Abera the whole orange so he could use the skin for marmalade and throw away the pulp
• handing Anisa the whole orange so she could throw away the peel and use the pulp for juice
• cutting the orange in half so that each cook had half of what they needed, while throwing away half the peel and half the pulp
• giving all the peel to Abera and all the pulp to Anisa.

You can probably think of situations where options were developed in your workplace. For instance, in a manufacturing plant that keeps receiving more orders than it can fill, the options might include hiring more employees, adding shifts, investing in more equipment or subcontracting some production.

How Do You Develop Options?

You should generate as many options as you can by brainstorming with people in the room. Often those who are closest to the issue and who are involved in a dispute are in the best position to suggest options.

There is no such thing as a silly idea or a suggestion that is off base at the brainstorming stage. Write everything down. At this point, all ideas are valid until you've had a chance to take a Here are some options that resulted from their brainstorming:

1. Introduce some flextime by letting Tolessa report for work 15 minutes early and leave 15 minutes early.
   
2. Reduce Tolessa‘s work hours (and pay) and bring in a part-time worker.
   
3. Tolessa buys a second car.
   
4. Tolessa carpools with another employee who has a child at the same day-care centre.
   
5. Start a day-care centre at the workplace.
   
6. Have Tolessa find a different day-care centre closer to the workplace.
   
7. Fire Tolessa .
   
8. Have Tolessa ride the company shuttle to catch another bus that reaches the day-care centre before it closes.
   
9. Move the workplace.
   
10. Have the city change the bus routes.
    

To generate as many potential options as possible:

• Brainstorm.
• Ask for ideas.
• Don't judge any option until you run out of ideas.
• Relate each option to the issue–make sure it could be a real solution and identify other options.
• Merge similar or related options.

Step #4 Choosing a Solution

What's a Solution?

A solution is an option that resolves the issue by meeting the stated interests of those concerned. The solution should provide a simple, efficient, affordable, credible, acceptable, flexible and legal answer to the problem.

A solution that creates other problems or disagreements isn't a good solution. Nor are you further ahead if the solution is inflexible or is seen to be unfair. You need some way of choosing a solution and of judging and comparing these options. You need a way to sift through the options and a means to decide which ones are likely to work.

How Do You Choose a Solution?

In order to choose a solution you should use a process that lets you measure or compare the options. Use the comparison process on all the options. Try not to jump to conclusions.

The following three-cut process can help you compare the options. It will help you decide whether the solution meets the concerns of everyone with interests in the issue, whether the means are available to carry out a certain option and whether those with an interest can be sold on the solution that results from applying that option.

First Cut-interests: Does this option meet everyone's interests?

Second Cut-resources: Are the resources available for this option?

Third Cut-saleability: Can we sell this option to those not involved in the process? Who needs to buy in?

Step #5 Implementing the Solution

How Do You Implement a Solution?

The process of implementing a solution requires preparing a plan and acting. That include deciding what will be done, who will do it, how they will do it, when will it begin, when will it be completed and if any special steps or checkpoints need to be included along the way.

Finding a solution in Tolessa‘s case was fairly simple and straightforward. The same is true for implementing the solution. Mulu, the supervisor, agreed to check out whether the other employee would carpool as well as confirm departure times of the shuttle and reserve a spot for Tolessa, who agreed to use the new transportation as soon as these arrangements were made

Consider Feedback Mechanisms

Gather feedback from suggestion boxes or during regular performance appraisals

Step #6 Evaluating the Outcomes

Why Evaluate the Success of the Outcome?

Measuring the success of what you've implemented will let you know if the solution was the right choice.

Questions to ask about measuring success:

• What will you measure?
• Who will measure?
• Who will know about the success?
• If the solution is not a success, what will you do to remedy the situation?

Admittedly, the dispute in the shipping and receiving department might appear pretty simple. It was agreed Mulu would check back in a couple of weeks with Sara and Tolessa to see how the new arrangement was working. Other workplace disputes may be more complex and may require more detailed follow-up or more specific benchmarks of success. You might want to consider different ways to chart your progress, or use newsletters, one-on-one or group meetings to evaluate how things are going. Consider other possible feedback mechanisms, including suggestion boxes (possibly online), or gather feedback as part of regular performance appraisals.

A Matter of Respect

By now you've probably realized that there's really nothing mysterious about six-step issue-based problem-solving. Essentially, it's a process that depends on listening to and respecting others, treating them as you.