This Acas-funded project built on (and complemented) Skilled Managers – Productive Workplaces and focused on managers within micro and small businesses. It explored whether the Skilled Managers online intervention could help managers develop more effective approaches to conflict management and have positive impacts on staff engagement and performance.

The project specifically supported Acas in widening its reach and access, by providing training for managers who may not otherwise access interventions in conflict resolution.

As a relatively light touch, online intervention, Skilled Managers has the potential to extend reach across large numbers of UK managers. The focus on micro and small enterprises allowed the research team to work with Acas colleagues, to better
understand how reach can be extended to those areas of the economy.

The research found that those managers who completed the training intervention developed more collaborative and less avoidant conflict management styles. In addition, there were statistically significant improvement in key indicators of employee engagement at the level of the organisation.