Speaker 1: Hey guys, I'm Nicola Dunn. I'm a Certified Lifestyle Coach and a 20 plus year Human Resources Veteran. I love HR Basics and one of the topics that I want to talk about today is how to handle employee conflict as an HR professional. HR individuals are really lucky. They never know what's going to shadow their door. And some days are tougher than others. So when you have an employee that knocks on your door and says, I've got an issue. I've got a problem and I need you to listen. That's the number one tip is you must create the space and the time to listen. Seeking to understand is the number one priority when an individual comes into your office and is bringing you an issue. So first and foremost, I want you to listen very carefully. Don't try to solve their problem and don't assume anything, but listening and taking notes. Because sometimes what may appear to be a bigger issue is simply a small conflict that you can help address quickly. But no matter what the conflict is, it's important for you to ensure that you truly understand where this individual is coming from. The other tip here is to validate their feelings. You know, I get a lot of feedback from clients that they don't even trust HR. I don't want to go to HR. They don't hear me. They don't understand me. Be the HR professional that changes that stigma. And the way you do that is by validating the individual. It doesn't mean you have to agree with them. You have to stop trying to solve it before they've finished venting. They need to feel heard and seen. So validate the emotions that they're sharing with you. Third tip, ask them what it is that they need. What do they want from you in this situation? Sometimes we come up with all of these solutions and all the individual wanted was for you to role play how they might handle the conflict they're experiencing with their manager, as an example. Once you understand what they need, then it's important that you get all the facts. And lastly, after you've captured all of the information from them, let them know what you're going to do with the information. So if they ask you to do a follow-up, it's important for you to say, Thank you for sharing. I'm glad that you came into my office and that you were able to trust me to share your situation. I have captured everything that you've said. I understand what you want. And here are the next steps. You may have to say, I will not be able to share with you how I handle this conflict with the employee that you've referenced. But I want you to be reassured that we will follow the process and we will handle it. Just like I can't talk about your situation with other employees and how we might handle a conflict with you, I want to respect that confidentiality. But you can trust me that we will follow through. It's important to tell employees what is going to happen. This way they feel in control and they don't think that their topic or their concern has gone into a giant black hole. Last but not least, after you've dealt with the conflict that was brought to your attention, it's important to do a follow-up with the individual that brought you the issue in the first place. Again, you don't have to give them the details, but it is important to make a quick phone call. I encourage that over the text or email or go to their office, meet them where they are and say, I wanted to let you know that we appreciate you bringing that to our attention and we have dealt with it. If anything else comes up and you need our support, please come back and see me. They need to know that it is an open door and that they have access to you and that they can trust you to follow through on what you've committed to. Thank you for watching. Please subscribe to my channel and go visit NekoaDunn.com for more coaching and HR basics.