Research Projects
There is growing evidence that line managers lack the skills needed to manage people effectively and to resolve difficult personnel issues. Unfortunately, there has been very little robust academic research in this area, making it difficult to build a persuasive business case for investing in training line managers in key conflict management skills.
Skilled Managers – Formal Procedures
This project, funded by Acas, explores the key challenges that managers face when handling discipline and grievance issues.
Skilled Managers – Productive Workplaces
An ESRC funded project investigating the relationship between management practices, employee engagement and organisational performance.
Skilled Managers – Small Businesses
An Acas funded project aiming to determine whether a specially designed online management training intervention can have a positive impact on staff engagement within micro and small organisations.
Read more about the research behind the project
There is growing evidence that line managers lack the skills needed to manage people effectively and to identify, address and resolve difficult personnel issues. Therefore, training programmes designed to increase their basic people management skills, including the capacity to deal with conflict, could be one way of securing higher levels of employee engagement and improved productivity. Unfortunately, there has been no robust quantitative academic research in this area, making it difficult to build a persuasive business case for investment in conflict management competences.
Poor management and low productivity
There is a growing body of evidence that poor management is one of the main causes of low productivity. The UK government’s Industrial Strategy noted that our managers are on average less proficient than many competitors and it has been argued that improving basic managerial competences is therefore crucial if we are to solve the ‘productivity puzzle’.
The challenges facing line managers are becoming increasingly complex
Alongside the contemporary emphasis on more robust approaches to the management of performance, the COVID-19 pandemic has added the challenges of managing remotely and of acute job insecurity to the mix in many work settings, making it more likely that managers will find themselves having to have ‘difficult conversations’ and potentially dealing with conflict. Workplace conflict is not only widespread but arguably inhibits workplace productivity by tying up valuable organisational resources.
A CIPD survey found that over one-third of respondents had recent experience of conflict at work, and it has been estimated that employees spend an average of 1.8 hours a week dealing with conflict; an annual loss of 370 million days. At the same time, the way managers handle conflict could have a significant impact on organisational performance by influencing levels of engagement: employees are more likely to be engaged if they feel that they are treated fairly and involved in decisions that affect them.
