CONFLICT IN THE HR CONTRIBUTION

One of the questions HR practitioners sometimes have to ask themselves is, ‘Who is the client – the company or the employee?’ HR professionals may have to walk a fine line between serving the company that pays their salary and serving individual employees. They may be involved in counselling employees over work problems. This can only be carried out successfully if the employee trusts the HR practitioner to maintain confidentiality. But something might be revealed which is of interest to management and that places the counsellor in a dilemma – to betray or not to betray the trust? There is no pat answer to this question, but the existence of a code of professional conduct, a set of values and a company ethical code can provide guidance.

HR specialists, as Thurley (1981) put it, often ‘work against the grain’. Their values may be different from those of line managers and this is a potential cause of conflict. But conflict is inevitable in organizations that are pluralistic societies, the members of which have different frames of reference and interests, particularly self-interest. Management may have their own priorities: ‘Increase shareholder value’, ‘Keep the City happy’, ‘Innovate’, ‘Get the work done’. Employees might have a completely different set: ‘Pay me well and equitably’, ‘Give me security’, ‘Provide good working conditions’, ‘Treat me fairly’. HR specialists, as noted above, may find themselves somewhere in the middle.

Conflicts in the HR contribution can arise in the following ways:

● A clash of values – line managers may simply regard their workers as factors of production to be used, exploited and dispensed with in accordance with organizational imperatives.

● Different priorities – management’s priority may be to add value – make more out of less – and if this involves getting rid of people, that’s too bad. HR people may recognize the need to add value but not at the expense of employees. 

● Freedom versus control– line managers may want the freedom to get on with things their own way, interpreting company policies to meet their needs; the thrust for devolution has encouraged such feelings. But HR specialists will be concerned about the achievement of a consistent and equitable approach to managing people and implementing HR policies. They will also be concerned with the attainment of a proper degree of compliance to employment and health and safety law. They may be given the responsibility for exercising control, and conflict is likely if they use this authority too rigidly. 

● Disputes – if unions are recognized, HR specialists may be involved in conflict during the process of resolution. Even when there are no unions, there may be conflict with individuals or groups of employees about the settlement of grievances.

As Follett (1924) wrote, there is the possibility that conflict can be creative if an integrative approach is used to settle it. This means clarifying priorities, policies and roles, using agreed procedures to deal with grievances and disputes, bringing differences of interpretation out into the open and achieving consensus through a solution that recognizes the interests of both parties – a win-win process. Resolving conflict by the sheer exercise of power (win-lose) will only lead to further conflict. Resolving conflict by compromise may lead to both parties being dissatisfied (lose-lose).