Ten ways to sabotage dispute management: read between the lines to learn what it takes to run a successful program

HR Magazine, Sept, 2004 by F. Peter Phillips

No. 5: Don't Ask Employees--Tell 'Em!

Is this a business or an encounter group? We're talking here about a program whose purpose is to provide employees a safe and effective way to resolve their problems outside of court. Why on earth would you want to get their input on how it should be designed? Just design it yourself so it is as easy as possible to administer, and then announce it. It'll be fine.

No. 4: Don't Measure

You know where you're starting from--it's where you are now. Why would you need to measure that? This whole business about "benchmarking" is a waste of time and resources.

You don't need to measure the program's results. Nobody cares whether you have been successful in reducing the number of employment discrimination claims, the cost of outside counsel or the time HR professionals spend in handling complaints. No one will be interested in knowing whether the program has reduced turnover, increased company morale or attracted employees from competitors.

This goes for measuring the ongoing effectiveness of the program, too. What's the point? There's certainly no need to "tweak" the program down the line. If there were a way to make it better, you'd do that right now.

And don't worry about having to justify the program at budget time--this sort of thing never gets cut.

No. 3: Don't Waste Money on Training

This isn't rocket science. We're talking about an off-color joke at the water cooler, a gripe about an unfair supervisor, a policy that someone claims wasn't applied consistently. The people doing the complaining don't need to be trained to express themselves effectively, and the people doing the listening already have ears and don't need to learn to use them.

We all know intuitively how to deal productively with an indignant, irate and disrespectful person, whether that person is our boss or our subordinate. (I, personally, have never been misunderstood by any subordinate, and I've always had excellent communications with every boss I've ever worked for. Haven't you?) So don't waste time and money training people who will participate in this system.

No. 2: Once You've Done It, Just Run It

If it makes no sense to train people in preparation for the program's success, then it certainly makes no sense to monitor employee reactions to the program.

The last thing you want to do is waste valuable resources finding out whether employees are satisfied with the program, whether they trust it and whether they would recommend it to other workers. What do they think--that it's their program? Forget that stuff--just get them back to work. If they're not happy, you'll find out soon enough.

In short, don't seek feedback, don't keep your ears open for rumors of retribution by managers and, by all means, don't find out whether employees tend to leave dispute resolution sessions angrier than when they started.

Oscar Wilde had the right idea when he wrote: "Ignorance is like a delicate, exotic fruit: Touch it, and the bloom is gone." Don't let the facts get in the way of your evaluations. When people ask you how it's going, just keep smiling. After all, you're well respected, right?