When the whole is greater than the sum of the parts

Gill Dix was previously Head of Workplace Policy for Acas, leading Acas’s conflict management research programme for several years. She now works in research development at Warwick Institute for Employment Research.

Gill Dix, Warwick Institute for Employment Research (formerly Head of Workplace Policy for Acas)

It’s a fact that not everything goes smoothly at work. Whether the concern be personal or organisational, issues crop up that need attention. Some conflicts may be minor, others major, but a growing body of evidence suggests that the earlier we turn to addressing matters, the more effective the outcome will be – from an efficiency and employment relations perspective. The evidence of the cost of poorly handled conflict is especially compelling, with 2021 analysis from Acas estimating the annual cost of conflict to UK business as being just shy of £30 billion.

If we know about the costs, how much do we know about the solutions? One of the best ways of plugging this gap is to look inside organisations to first understand how different conflict is perceived, and second consider the solutions organisations are exploring, germane to their own particular circumstances. This is why in recent years Acas has been using a case study approach to explore how organisations manage conflict, and in particular to consider the strategies they are using to address conflict early, and in the most impactful and fair ways.

East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust

Acas’s latest report in a series of studies looks at a conflict management programme introduced by East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust. Researchers from the University of Westminster and the University of Central Lancashire undertook a series of interviews with key gatekeepers, stakeholders and staff at the Trust, as well as documentary and statistical analysis.

Employing over 8,000 staff, it’s easy to imagine how the natural dynamics of such a large, and multi-disciplinary workforce will generate tensions, differences in opinion and the potential for conflict.

In their efforts to seek timely, more compassionate, and less adversarial approaches, the Trust has embarked on a new journey, using a multifaceted solution to address what the researchers describe as having been ‘an ingrained dynamic of claim and counter-claim which destroyed employment relationships’.

The report builds on earlier research for Acas, including a 2011 case study of East Lancashire Primary Care Trust – which was subsequently merged into East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, the subject of this latest case study – where the introduction of an internal mediation service was found to have had a transformative impact on employment relations and stimulated early and informal conflict resolution.

Perhaps most notably though, the new study of East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust is reminiscent of the work in another NHS body, Northumbria Healthcare Trust – reported in ‘Towards a system of conflict management’ – where a similarly multifaceted approach was adopted. In the academic literature, seeking holistic solutions to conflict falls under the theory of ‘integrated conflict management systems’. Its origins lie in the work of Lipsky et al and their exploration of the US Fortune 100 companies. The big take-aways from integrated conflict management approaches are perhaps threefold: the importance of managing conflict being taken seriously by everyone, and especially the senior management; the potential value of holistic approaches to conflict management reflective of different issues; and finally, that in spite of the clear benefits, for many companies, the approach may be an aspiration rather than a reality.

So, what strategies have been used in East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, and can we see evidence of an organisation adopting an approach where the whole has potential to have greater impact than the sum of the parts?

The new approach

Renewed investment in, and commitment to, workplace mediation

Since a previous mediation scheme had lost momentum, a new cadre of mediators have been trained, drawn from across key stakeholder groups. Importantly, they each have dedicated time to focus on mediation, and the support of a full-time co-ordinator.
The mediation scheme has moved from the HR team to Occupational Health, in order to signal the important link between dispute resolution and wellbeing.

New ‘Early Resolution’ Policy introduced

A new Early Resolution policy has been introduced. This focuses on the benefits of alternative approaches to dealing with problems at an early stage, while keeping open the option of a more formal approach.
It actively encourages individuals, in the first instance, to raise concerns and complaints with managers, and others including union representatives, occupational health, and the NHS Freedom to Speak Up guardians.

Increased focus on developing managerial skills

It’s still early days for the scheme, but there are positive and promising signs:

Mediation is gaining traction: with an increase in referrals and a reported resolution rate of over 90 per cent.
Three-quarters of the concluded cases brought to the early referral scheme between January 2019 and Summer 2022 were resolved informally (while 22% progressed to formal procedures).
The key stakeholders have shown a commitment to emphasising the value of early resolution and a willingness to shift from the previous focus on compliance and dependency on formal procedures.
There was also evidence that the key partners are working well together to play a role in addressing conflict, in both minor and complex issues, demonstrating the new joined up approach.
More broadly: the proportion of Trust staff reporting that they ‘have personally experienced harassment, bullying or abuse at work by managers in the last 12 months’ fell from 13% in 2015 to 9% in 2021, as reported in the NHS staff survey. That cannot be neatly attributed to the new scheme based on the evidence at hand, but nonetheless augurs well.

Reflections

The report points to the value of having carefully designed individual strategies for managing conflict, reinforced by a focus on an integrated approach. This is good news for the advocates of integrated conflict management systems.

The study explains how the Trust has also given meaning to what is often loosely referred to as ‘informal resolution’, codifying a series of options for people to consider. And it indicates the potential of an organisation-wide shift away from blame and compliance toward outcomes that benefit all the parties (an issue Acas is currently exploring further in a complementary study of a ‘just culture’ approach adopted in another NHS Trust, due to report later in 2023).

Evidence from the Trust also endorses the value of senior management engagement and visibility when it comes to change management, not least when it comes to introducing new ideas around culture and conflict management. This was signalled at the outset of the scheme in the CEO’s words expressing a commitment to the value of the compassion and kindness shown to service users now being mirrored in the leadership of staff:

"We are making great progress in this area and the latest development is the launch this week of our Early Resolution Policy. This takes a more positive approach to workplace issues, promoting resolution and mediation as opposed to grievance and isolation."

To this extent the Trust fulfils a core antecedent of positive conflict management, since it recognises what Teague et al refer to as acknowledging the ‘legitimacy of workplace conflict – the extent to which the norms, values and beliefs promulgated by the organisation is accepting of workplace conflicts’. The CEO’s statement is also suggestive of a more granular buy-in to the values and the principles that the Trust aspire to in their new conflict management approach.

The research identifies indicators of the progress the Trust is making moving towards early resolution, but also clarifies how the path to success is challenging and not linear. As the Trust moves towards its goal, if anything it may place a spotlight on the very different cultures and approaches that characterise different teams. It is also evident that there are still lessons to be learned about which types of issues merit what type of conflict management approach – with some cases escalating to mediation when they may have been dealt with via a line management conversation; and conversely, issues being drawn out through conversations, when they merit a formal consideration.

Assessing the longer-term effectiveness of the early resolution policy at this point is difficult, not least as progress has understandably been hampered by the burden placed on the NHS in responding to Covid-19. (The paradoxical impacts of the pandemic on the roll-out of the programme merits close reading in the report).

However, it is clear that one feature that could certainly make or undermine the sustainability of the Trust’s approach is the emphasis placed on training or in the words of the Trust, in ‘mak(ing) sure that our managers are the best managers’.

This is partly predicated on a desire to see a shift away from a previous focus in training on ‘leadership theories’ towards a type of learning that enhances skills competency, and helps managers feel ‘comfortable in their role’. There was also recognition of the need to increase the sheer volume of people trained; that application of learning and practice is key to growing skills and confidence; and that training is not a one-off, but needs to be supported by on-going learning, mentoring and support.

This may feel a tall order and it is notable that the Trust has faced challenges in rolling out widespread training, and in achieving an appropriate level of managerial capability – a capacity that the research report concludes is ‘hard to find in most UK organisations’.

Yet it is increasingly difficult to envisage a workaround when it comes to people skills. As strategic human resource approaches have grown, so have the range and complexities of responsibilities that fall to front line managers. Simultaneously we have seen an escalation in job intensity and work-related stress. All these factors are as much part of NHS establishments as many other organisations in the economy.

Line management may not be ‘rocket science’ as they say, but equally we should not underestimate the demands it presents for a combination of technical and emotional intelligence to be managed alongside the day job. Being a manager will come more naturally to some than others – but it seems a finding universal to all our research that managing conflict requires a skills base that needs to be supported, so that individuals are enabled to ‘do the right thing’. It is pleasing that Sheffield and Westminster Universities were granted an award from the Economic and Social Research Council to work with Acas to explore the question of ‘conflict competence’ in more detail. You can find more about the tool developed to enable this, and the progress of project on the Skilled Managers website.

Wherever there is a shortfall in meaningful, carefully designed training in conflict management, this presents a possible barrier to progress and runs the risk that some of the fundamental values of managing conflict early might be undermined. It may result in an over-reliance on a procedural approach that is not merited by the cause of concern. And just as important, it can result in a feeling of inadequacy, and often fear, about tackling day-to-day concerns.

Stepping up training in the Trust, and in other organisations embarking on a similar journey, is going to be key to advancing sustainable approaches to conflict management, and fully realising the benefits of a whole, integrated approach to managing conflict at work.

The ever evolving economic and industrial climate will unavoidably give rise to challenges, and conflict, in the workplace. The onus is on Acas and those analysts and stakeholders engaged in this sphere of work to find new solutions to support conflict management, that will make a difference.

Drawing on research evidence will be fundamental to this process, as will designing and evaluating workplace interventions focussed on structures and skills to address conflict at work. It will be important to keep the programme of work live to the opportunities for a multi-disciplinary research approach; one that tackles systems for high quality knowledge to practice transfer; and is sufficiently brave to consider the antecedents of modern conflict, as well as the solutions. It has been a pleasure leading the Acas conflict management research programme across a number of years, and I look forward to continuing to engage in the future of Acas's work in this area, and that of the wider analytical community.

Follow Gill on Twitter @DixGill

Institute for Research into Organisations, Work and Employment (iROWE)
The Institute for Research into Organisations, Work and Employment (iROWE) aims to engage with stakeholders to help build a fair and equitable future of work.

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