For the past two years, we have been giving our staff Time Off Award for their dedication and hard work. This year we decided to budget for Cash Awards to be given to all staff receiving an Outstanding or Very Good Appraisal rating. As I finished calculating the awards to be issued, my supervisor walked in and asked how much were we paying out. I gave her the total, but said that I would like to increase it because we still had over half of the money left that we had set aside for the employees’ awards. She said she wanted to put the money back into the program so that we can show that our revenue was up for the year. I told her that I understood that; however, we had set aside the money for the employees and reminded her that the staff had not received a monetary award for the past two years. After going back and forth a few times, debating our viewpoints, I suggested a compromise. I agreed not to use all the money and she agreed to giving the staff over half of the money for awards.
This turned out to be a win –win situation for everyone because the staff received a pretty nice monetary award, my boss was able to put some of the money back into the program, and I was able to show the staff how much we appreciate all of their hard work and dedication over the past year. We were able to effectively solve this conflict because we used corporate strategies that benefited all parties involved. We were able to look past our individual goals and focus on a solution that would satisfied the needs of everyone. Although we were both passionate in our verbal communication about our intentions with how the money should be delegated, we did not result to violent behaviors to get our point across.
We saved more money than anticipated; therefore, we were able to give more generously to the staff and still have enough left over to show a small profit. We were able to effectively resolve this conflict because we were both willing to negotiate and compromise. It is essential that we learn effective ways in which to handle conflict. Both the 3 Rs and nonviolent strategies are helpful tools to have when faced with conflicts because they promote peaceful resolutions.
Had this lead to an unproductive conflict, what are some of the consequences do you think I would have endured?
Had this lead to an unproductive conflict, what are some of the consequences do you think I would have endured?
It is wonderful to see compromising happening at workplace. I think that is the most difficult task to overcome and perform. Awarding an employee of the month is a positive incentive to encourage team to improve and become more positive in their communication skills.
ReplyDeleteThere is no incentive at my workplace. This can appear depressing, because many of us work hard to ensure that clients are getting the services they need on a low-pay scale. This needs some improvements. Perhaps, one of these days someone will present a brilliant idea to promote positive communication skills.
You are correct that this was a win-win compromise. I believe that employees need to be rewarded for their efforts, however, the company, corporation, or agency is also an "entity" needing financial reward. In your position, I would have needed to contain my emotions to come to such an agreement.
ReplyDeleteI am happy that you and your boss were able to find common ground. So often people feel that you can speak against their boss for fear of getting fired. Expescially when it comes to finacial matters. I'm happy that you are in a work enviornment where your voice is heard and listened to.
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