How to manage conflict

By Jaimy Ford, Intuit Small Business Blog

Employee “turf wars” occur in organizations of nearly every size. They can be especially prevalent in small businesses where employees play numerous roles and have overlapping job responsibilities, which makes it easy to step on one another’s toes.

Here’s how to prevent turf wars from escalating into morale-damaging and productivity-killing conflicts.

1. Emphasize teamwork. Convey the following message to your entire staff frequently: “We are a team here, and everyone needs to pitch in to do whatever it takes to help this business succeed. That means sharing information and handling tasks as needed.” Reinforce the importance of collaboration by rewarding team players and by making teamwork a quality you evaluate during performance reviews.
2. Write job descriptions. Yes, you need employees to be flexible and take on different duties. But you should also define each person’s core responsibilities. Grant individuals ownership of specific tasks, and hold them accountable for seeing that those tasks are completed properly and on time. Employees who are focused on their own duties will be less likely to interfere with their co-workers’ assignments.
3. Establish a hierarchy. You will likely need a second in command to fill in for you from time to time, so assign a person that role. Be specific about who should take directions or orders from whom. If you fail to do this, an “alpha” employee may force himself into a leadership position and treat co-workers as subordinates. This creates hostility and resentment among staffers who see themselves as equals to their bossy colleague.

See the last three tips here.