Adkins & Associates provides the following services:

1. •  Mediation
   

                A&A can provide mediators to address any issue. Our professional mediators work between the parties in a dispute to address the problem at hand and to help repair relationships. We mediate issues between individuals, among teams, boards and departments, and labor management.
 

1. •  Arbitration
   

                Our company provides binding arbitration services that by contract or law require a neutral hearing examiner to make a finding on matters in dispute.

1. •  Facilitation
   

                We often provide facilitators to assist groups who are experiencing conflict or discord. Facilitation can be custom designed around the client's unique needs.
 

1. •  Workplace Investigations
           Independent unbiased investigations
   

2. •  Training
           We provide training for all employees on core competencies for resolving workplace
           conflicts themselves. Self-Mediation for all employees including supervisors.
           Managerial-Mediation for managers, supervisors, human resource professionals,
           ombudsmen and others who are responsible for the productivity of others. 
   

Workplace Conflict Resolution and Mediation Services Save Time and Money

Are any of these happening where you work? . . .

1. •Individuals withdraw and stop participating or communicating
   

2. •People spend time at work complaining, pointing the finger and blaming others for problems
   

3. •People are reluctant to work with others and restructuring has had to occur to separate them
   

4. •Communication problems, withholding of information, or sabotage is occurring
   

5. •You lose good people because they just can’t get along with others
   

6. •Backstabbing behaviors, gossip or cliques being formed
   

7. •Employee lawsuits or grievances are occurring
   

8. •         Managers and HR personnel spend time dealing with employee complaints.
   

9. •         People can ruin your day just by “showing up”
   

10. 
    

         . . . If so, workplace conflict is affecting productivity and profitability

 

How Hidden Conflict Hurts Productivity, and How to Manage It 

 

Productivity is an Issue in Every Organization.
 

Symptoms of low productivity include high turnover, absenteeism, poor teamwork, a stressful work environment, and low morale, not to mention reduced revenues and increased expenses.

All organizations want to improve productivity but few know where to start.

High Productivity is Not Only Possible, It Can Be the Norm.

High productivity can be the norm. But first you need to understand the primary source of poor productivity and address it directly.

 Have you employed any of the following to improve productivity?

•Workflow analysis

•Measuring and tracking performance

•Compensation and incentive programs

•Enhancing leadership skills

•Team building programs

These interventions can be very beneficial if the primary source of poor productivity has first been addressed. Otherwise, these programs often end up being a waste of time and resources.

What Is the Primary Source of Poor Productivity?

Usually the primary source of poor productivity is workplace conflict between one or more people in interdependent relationships. When we talk about conflict, we usually think of people yelling at each other, workplace violence, and a high level of tension and stress. But most conflict that erodes productivity is more subtle and insidious than that. It is a hidden, but a high and measurable, cost.

Most organizations inadequately equip their staff to communicate effectively with each other during stressful times and employee conflict becomes commonplace.

Workplace conflicts can be costly in several ways:

1. •    Decisions made under conditions of conflict are always inferior to decisions made when
   

      cooperation prevails.

1. •    Studies reveal a direct correlation between prevalence of employee conflict and the amount of
   

     sabotage and theft of inventory and equipment.

1. •    Most employees experience erosion of job motivation due to the stress of trying to get along with 
         a difficult person.
   

2. •    Absenteeism has been shown to correlate with job stress, especially the stress associated with
        anger toward coworkers.
   

3. •    Illnesses and injuries requiring medical attention are partially psychogenic, with conflict the
        underlying cause.
   

1. Organizations harbor a variety of interpersonal workplace conflicts. Invariably, conflict saps the health and vitality of the organization.
   

2. 
   

If Conflict is the Problem, What's the Solution?

Effective management of employee conflict results in improved organizational productivity, profitability, and quality of work life by:

Improving interpersonal relationships

Reducing unproductive time of supervisors dealing with employee conflict

Reducing unsatisfactory job performance

Dramatically reducing formal redress, mediation, and litigation costs

Typical Results of an Effective Conflict Management Program Include:

1. •    The financial cost of conflict will decline by 50%.
   

2. •    The frequency of conflicts in the organization will decline by 50%
   

3. •    Conflicts that do occur will be satisfactorily resolved 80% of the time without involvement
                     by the supervisor or manager or redress system.
   

4. •    Employee satisfaction with the workplace will increase by 30%.
   

5. 
   

Clearly, tremendous benefits accrue to organizations that successfully implement effective conflict management strategies.

 What Do Experts Say?

Management studies document the negative impact of conflict on organizational productivity. The report, “The Costs of Organizational Conflict” (Organization Development Journal), indicates that over 65% of performance problems in the workplace result from strained relationships between employees — not from defects in individual employee skill or motivation. Other studies highlight the lost time due to conflict. "A Survey of Managerial Interests with Respect to Conflict" (Academy of Management Journal) revealed that up to 30% of a typical manager's time is spent dealing with conflict. A study of practicing managers ("Managers as Negotiators", Leadership Quarterly, 7(1), 1996) showed that 42% of their time is spent resolving conflicts.

Still other studies show that conflict is often responsible for the costly loss of skilled employees. Exit interviews reveal that chronic unresolved conflict is a decisive factor in at least 50% of all such departures. Conflict also accounts for up to 90% of involuntary departures, excluding staff reductions due to downsizing and restructuring. A Raytheon Corporation study determined that the cost of replacing a skilled employee was 150% of the employee’s annual compensation. The results of these studies and the current pervasiveness of the problem suggest that unmanaged employee conflict is perhaps the largest reducible cost in organizations today — and probably the least recognized.

 How Much is Conflict Costing Your Organization?

It is many times a hidden cost . . . and it can be significant. To find out how much unresolved conflict may be costing your organization, request "Measuring the Cost of Organizational Conflict," a tool provided by Dana Mediation Institute, with whom Mr. Adkins is associated. We use the Dana Measure of the Financial Cost of Organizational Conflict to establish a cost justification for interventions to improve the management of organizational conflict.  

Productivity Tools for Today’s Workplace

Ben Adkins is a "one-stop shop" for the prevention, resolution and strategic management of workplace conflict. Ben is associated with MTI (Mediation Training Institute International) and a global network of Certified Trainers who provide core skills for managers and staff at every level to resolve conflicts before they escalate. The content of this training is based upon innovative workplace communication tools developed and field tested over 20 years. The result is all employees gain proficiency in using practical communication tools to change behavior from adversarial to cooperative so workplace problems can be solved. For maximum benefit, training should be incorporated into a coherent approach to the strategic management of organizational conflict.

Strategic Management of Workplace Conflict

A comprehensive, flexible approach to cutting the hidden costs and business risks of preventable conflict. It is a "cafeteria plan" of optional components that allows organizations to receive exactly what they need . . . and nothing more.

Step 1: Benchmark — Assess current conflict, its forms, and its costs

•Establish baseline measures of conflict in your organization.

Step 2: Train — Establish the core competencies for managing workplace conflict
 Foundation Course: All employees, including managers and supervisors, attend training to learn how to recognize and resolve workplace conflicts.

Managers' Course: The Manager-as-Mediator Seminar: How to mediate conflict between employees. All managers, supervisors, HR and others in leadership positions attend.

Employees' Course: The Self-as-Mediator Seminar: How to resolve conflict with others. For all employees. It is recommended that managers and supervisors attend also.

Option: In-house train-the-trainer to prepare your training consultants to conduct courses for other employees.

Step 3: Coach — Support the learning

·         Each learner receives three outcome-targeted, 30-minute, telephonic coaching sessions following training. Training plus coaching increases performance 88%.

Step 4: Enable — Remove the obstacles

·         Identify the blockages imbedded in your organization's structure and culture that prevent effective application of the core competencies. Create and implement an action plan to remove those obstacles, enabling learners to fully apply their conflict resolution competencies, and allowing the organization to realize full value from its investment in training.

Step 5: Expertise — Train an in-house panel of expert mediators

·         Host a customized in-house 40-hour (five days) Mediator Certification Course to create a panel of expert mediators. Thereafter, your in-house experts will be capable of mediating the most challenging and complex disputes.

Step 6: Systematize — Establish a comprehensive dispute resolution system

·         Design, establish, and fully document an interest-based conflict management system containing procedures for handling disputes of all kinds, including employee grievances, EEOC complaints, wrongful termination challenges, vendor disputes, and other conflicts that may otherwise unnecessarily escalate to litigation.

Step 7: Reassess — Compare to benchmarks

·         Re-administer the benchmarking instruments. Measure the progress toward becoming a "Mediating Organization" by comparing aggregate costs of conflicts and index scores of conflict management strategies. Examine results for indication of appropriate next steps, if any.

For more information or to schedule an Executive Workshop Overview with Ben Adkins, contact us. 

•65% of performance problems are caused by bad relationships, not by bad employees.

•Chronic unresolved conflict is a decisive factor in 50% of voluntary terminations.

•Organizations that do not strategically manage conflict inevitably suffer unnecessary
                  productivity loss.

•Typically, an effective Conflict Management Program reduces the financial cost of conflict
                  by 50%.

•All of the training and development programs you implement can be a waste of time and
                 money if the primary source of poor productivity has not been addressed.  Usually the
                 primary source of poor productivity is workplace conflict.

•Effective management of employee conflict dramatically reduces costs and increases
                 productivity.

Conflict that causes business problems can be between individuals - peer to peer, boss to subordinate, subordinate to boss - or between and among groups or teams.

Some of the costs of conflict include wasted time, bad decisions, lost employees, unnecessary restructuring, sabotage, theft, damage, lowered job motivation, lost work time, and health costs.

There is a solution that is guaranteed to overcome the problems created by organizational conflict:

Conflict Resolution and Mediation Services

Ben Adkins is a conflict resolution specialist who can show you how to eliminate destructive conflict in your organization. He has been successful in facilitating resolution with both individual conflicts and team conflicts.

Ben can come into your organization and meet with the parties in conflict and help them resolve their differences too - even if the conflict is deep-seated, long term, and the obstacles to resolution seem impossible!

Training others to resolve conflict

Better yet - we can train your people to resolve conflicts themselves, so that in the future they have the tools they need to work out the differences that evolve into conflict.

This information about the Manager-as-Mediator SeminarTM (and/or the Self-as-Mediator SeminarTM) appears here with permission of the developer, Dana Mediation Institute, Inc.

How to Resolve Conflict With Others (For all employees)

The benefits are many:

Saves money – Reduces, and in most cases eliminates, costs involved with organizational conflict

Preventive – Is effective in resolving issues before they escalate to lawsuits or EEOC complaints

Life skills – Teaches powerful communication skills that can be applied to all facets of life

To find out how much unresolved conflict may be costing your organization, request "Measuring the Cost of Organizational Conflict,"

Contact Adkins & Associates today to resolve conflicts in your organization and to teach others how to resolve conflicts in the future!

Bibliographies in Conflict Management and Mediation
Great resource materials