SANTA CRUZ — What are you going to do for me now?
That’s the sentiment Anthony Marin deals with when things don’t go quite right for a customer at Big Creek Lumber, where Marin works as a salesman and buyer at the Pleasure Point yard. And that’s where Marin’s training in conflict-management skills through the Conflict Resolution Center of Santa Cruz County in Soquel comes into play.
"With my co-workers, if someone is disorganized or drops the ball on a customer, I try to make it seem (to the customer) like, ‘OK what can I do for you to help you out?’ " he said, "and also communicate it to (the co-worker) in a way that’s not attacking them or offending them."
Workplace conflict can involve disputes among co-workers, friction between employees and supervisors and other situations that can quickly escalate, leading to expensive legal costs, decreased productivity, high turnover and other drains on a company’s efficiency. Bad morale and lack of motivation because of the conflict can spill over into poor customer service, exacerbating the problem or damaging the business.
The price of conflict for a company is high, according to research by conflict-resolution Web site Mediate.com:
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Over the past four years, the center has helped 260 local businesses, nonprofits and government agencies with conflict-resolution issues, said Heischman.
The number of businesses seeking help has grown, she said. That’s illustrated by the increase in clients who have found the center through its Web site, she said, meaning they’ve been actively looking for a resource without knowing about the center specifically.
‘Transformational’ For Soquel business owner Karen Calcagno, president of Calcagno Properties and Advantage Coaching and Family Business Center, not only did conflict-management training work, "it was transformational."
Calcagno, who has attended mediation training at the Conflict Resolution Center, uses the skills she learned in her various businesses.
In one case a few years ago, a conflict over noise in one of her property company’s condos grew to the point where one tenant was requesting a restraining order on the other.
"Eventually we got them to go to mediation, and they became great friends and she even visited him in the hospital when he got sick later," said Calcagno.
In every business, "you have customers who show up having a bad day and want to share it," said Calcagno. "And you can take it personally and get into a lot of trouble."
With the training, said Calcagno, "you learn to kind of sit back and be cool for a minute and then deal with it."
Businesses that come to the Conflict Resolution Center for help tend to be small and have working relationships that are face-to-face, said Heischman. Most of the discord arises between a supervisor and an employee, a situation that is difficult to deal with internally, she said.
"In a workplace environment, conflict tends to escalate pretty quickly," said Heischman. "Sometimes it gets to that point, and a manager says, ‘This has to stop, it’s getting toxic.’ "
Or a manager sees conflict between valuable employees but doesn’t have the time or skill to deal with it.
Conflict mediators bring the parties together for mediation, seeking to identify problems, clarify perspectives and concerns, develop viable options and reach mutually satisfying agreements.
Ingrained avoidance Many people learn to avoid conflict at the family level while being raised, said Dave Renkens, chief financial officer of Big Creek Lumber.
"It’s pretty much avoid conflict at any cost, and when you go into adulthood, there’s inherent conflict in just being alive, and we don’t have the skill sets to deal with that," he said. "At the workplace, you need those skills, and you’ll just have to muddle through if you don’t have that."
Big Creek Lumber, which employs 235 people in Davenport, Santa Cruz, Paso Robles, Watsonville and Half Moon Bay, asked the Conflict Resolution Center to hold a Conflict Management Tools & Skills workshop at its Watsonville site as part of an employee enrichment program. Renkens subsequently joined the center’s board of directors.
One big thing for many people is getting to stop or neutral, so when something comes up they can figure out what the issues are, said Renkens.
"That’s a triggering event, and we’re programmed to respond a certain way," he said. "If you can get to neutral and go through the additional steps of the training, you have a fighting chance of hearing the other person’s opinions and getting yours expressed in a nonpersonal way and hopefully going through collaboration."
In partnership with Santa Cruz County, the Conflict Resolution Center offers the Small Claims Mediation Program, providing mediation of small-claims lawsuits at the courthouse. Also, its Victim-Offender Dialogue Program facilitates meetings between juvenile offenders and the victims of their crimes.
"Industrywide statistics say 85 to 90 percent of cases that go to mediation come to agreement, and that’s our experience, too," said Heischman.
When there’s a mediated agreement in small-claims court, there’s only a 5 percent default rate, said Heischman. When the solution is court-ordered, the default rate rises to 30 percent.
The center offers businesses public seminars or onsite workshops tailored for specific business needs. It also offers mediation services, which is a facilitated dialogue between individual employees or teams.
To businesswoman Calcagno’s mind, every business owner should do training through the center.
"The stress of having discontent in your workplace, because of employees, customers, you or all of the above, really makes stress for everyone," she said. "When you have the mediation mindset, you have the confidence that things can be resolved."
Contact Gwen Mickelson at gmickelson@santacruzsentinel.com.
Conflict Resolution Center of Santa Cruz County WHAT: Nonprofit formed in 1986 that helps residents, businesses and organizations find solutions to difficult problems.LEADERSHIP: Nancy Heischman, director.
LOCATION: 3065 Porter St., Soquel.
PROGRAMS: Community Mediation, Workplace Mediation and Training, Small Claims Mediation, Conflict Resolution and Diversity Lifeskills, Schools, Victim-Offender Dialogue.
UPCOMING PUBLIC WORKSHOPS: Dealing With ‘Difficult’ People, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 4; Conflict Management Tools & Skills, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 2. Workshops held at various sites around the county.
WORKSHOP TUITION: $85.
GENERAL FEE: $85 per hour. A typical business conflict mediation between two employees generally costs about $400 total, said Heischman.
INFORMATION: 475-6117; www.crcsantacruz.org.
