Westminster research leads to launch of conflict management short course in partnership with Acas

Workplace conflict costs UK organisations about £30bn every year, and 56% of  workers affected experience an impact on their mental health as a result. Manager behaviour is one of the main sources of conflict, which can be helped by quality training.

Developed by leading experts in the fields of employment relations and conflict management, this course helps develop the skills line managers need to build strong relationships with their team and prevent difficult workplace issues from escalating.

The course has been informed by the Skilled Managers Productive Workplace study undertaken by colleagues from the University of Sheffield and Westminster’s Professor Peter Urwin, Professor of Applied Economics and Director of the Centre for Employment Research, and Professor Richard Saundry, Principal Research Fellow and leading academic authority on the management of discipline, grievance and workplace conflict. The study investigated the impact on managers and employees of an online training designed to help managers prevent, contain and resolve workplace conflict. 

Seventy different organisations and more than 1,000 managers took part in the light-touch online training which included bite-size videos, scenarios and simulations. It could be completed in around three hours at a pace and time that suited participants. Through observing how the training course impacted the managers, the team revealed that this format of training boosted conflict confidence and shaped the way conflict was managed, particularly for managers who find training hard to access. 

As a result of the training, 47% of managers in the study, which was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), were less likely to avoid conflict, while 71% of managers who took part adopted a more problem-solving approach to conflict.

Along with this study, Acas carried out a sub-study that gave participants from smaller organisations the chance to take part in the training.

With the success of the research, the study team have now collaborated with Acas to release the conflict management training to employers more widely as a flexible online learning and toolkit. 

The course offers practical tools to improve workplace relationships by focusing on effective communication, handling difficult conversations, early intervention and conflict resolution. The course is flexible and self-paced and includes video lectures, expert insights, podcasts and conversation simulations. 

The course is taught online at flexible hours during any day of the week and primarily targets first-line managers. The skills can be applied at all levels of management – from supervisors seeking career advancement to senior managers looking to refresh and reinforce their existing knowledge.

Participants can learn to understand and utilise the key questioning and listening skills needed to conduct high quality conversations with members of their team and prepare and conduct difficult conversations using a collaborative approach to move towards a positive outcome. They will also learn to assess a range of responses to conflict situations and understand the importance of early intervention. The course is split into four modules. The first explores effective communication and aims to develop the questioning and listening skills managers need to help build trust and identify problems at an early stage. The second focuses on feedback and difficult conversations. This module explores how managers can approach difficult conversations and look for positive outcomes through collaborative problem solving. The third looks at how managers can respond to a range of challenging scenarios effectively and the fourth explores conflict resolution. In this module managers will be provided with skills, based on workplace mediation, that they can use to get to the root cause of problems and develop sustainable resolutions.  

Professor Urwin said: “We know that building managerial capability is crucial in creating more productive workplaces, but many managers don’t have the time and space to access conventional training. Therefore, we developed a light touch and flexible intervention focussed on key core skills. Tests involving more than 1,000 managers found that those completing the training developed more collaborative styles and, in most organisations, managers were more likely to address conflict in a proactive way.”

This course and collaboration directly contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 4: Quality Education, 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth and 17: Partnership for Goals.  Since 2019, the University of Westminster has used the SDGs holistically to frame strategic decisions to help students and colleagues fulfil their potential and contribute to a more sustainable, equitable and healthier society.  

Find out more about the Conflict Management Skills for Line Managers course at the University of Westminster.