Which Skills Does Negotiation and Conflict Management Training Give a Manager?

Negotiation and Conflict Management

Negotiation appears in a manager's calendar every day. A budget meeting, a supplier contract, resource sharing and differences of opinion within the team are different areas of application of the same skill. Negotiation and conflict management training gives a manager the ability to run these conversations in a prepared, calm and result-oriented way. Human resources plans the training according to need and follows its result. Senior management sees the gain in the quality of agreements, in decision speed and in cooperation between units. This article covers the need the training answers, the skills it gives a manager and HR's planning steps.

Which Need Does Negotiation and Conflict Management Training Answer?

In organisations, a difference of opinion is a natural part of work. Sales and production carry different priorities on delivery dates, finance and marketing on the budget, and two managers on the use of the same resource. In organisations where these differences are discussed openly and tied to an agreement, decisions come out on time and the workflow moves without interruption.

HR reads the training need from several sources. Feedback under the heading of cross-unit cooperation in performance reviews is the first source. Project closing evaluations, the duration of approval processes and the manager communication questions in the employee engagement survey also make the need visible. Newly appointed managers, roles with intensive external meetings such as purchasing and sales, and team leaders working in a matrix structure are the priority participants of the training.

Kaan Böke Management Consulting answers this need with the Masterful Negotiation and Conflict Management programme. The programme treats negotiation and conflict management as two skills that complete each other, because in most conversations a manager both seeks an agreement and protects the relationship.

The training covers two types of conversation. The first is external negotiation conducted with suppliers, customers and business partners. The second is internal conversations such as budget, headcount, priority and role sharing. A significant part of a manager's time goes to the second type, so HR gives weight to internal examples in the training content. Participants use the same preparation method in both types, and the skill spreads to every area of daily work.

The Skills the Training Gives a Manager

The training focuses on six skills a manager uses before, during and after a conversation.

•      Preparation. Before the conversation, the manager sets in writing the goal, the limit they will accept and the path to follow when an agreement is not reached.

•      Separating interest from position. The manager uses questions to reveal the need behind the other party's request and finds the common interest of both sides.

•      Listening and asking questions. The manager balances speaking time, summarises what was heard and clarifies the point that remains uncertain.

•      Managing emotion. When tension rises, the manager takes a break, separates the issue from the person and returns the conversation to the agenda.

•      Recognising the source of conflict. The manager distinguishes whether the difference of opinion stems from goals, resources, roles or communication and chooses the approach accordingly.

•      Recording the agreement. The manager writes down the result reached, the person responsible and the date, and plans the follow-up meeting.

In the training design, HR gives wide space to case studies and role play. Participants prepare and practise a conversation from their own agenda. The training thus becomes direct preparation for a real conversation the manager will hold in the near term. During practice, the participant receives feedback from the trainer and the group and sees their strength and development area.

These skills form a flow that follows one another. Preparation sets the frame of the conversation. Listening and asking questions reveal the need of the other party. Managing emotion keeps the conversation on the agenda. Recording carries the result into implementation. When a manager applies this flow in several conversations, the method becomes a habit and preparation time shortens. Team members also observe the manager's conversation routine and act with similar preparation in their own conversations.

An agreement reached in negotiation sometimes includes difficult feedback. We cover the flow and record structure of these conversations in Corporate Preparation for Difficult Conversations.

How Does HR Plan and Follow the Training?

Human resources designs the training in three stages. Before the training, it defines the participant group according to the sources of need and asks each participant to choose a conversation they will hold in the near term. The participant's line manager approves this conversation and the expected result. This step ties the training to daily work.

The size of the participant group determines the practice time. HR chooses a group size that allows each participant to run a conversation once and to be an observer once. It places the training calendar before periods when negotiation intensifies, such as the budget period, annual contract renewals and performance reviews. The participant then applies what was learned in a real conversation within a short time.

During the training, HR ensures that the content is adapted to the real situations of the organisation. Examples taken from the organisation, such as a supplier meeting, budget sharing or role division within the team, are used as cases. Groups are formed from different units, and participants get to know each other's priorities. This familiarity makes cross-unit conversations after the training easier.

After the training, HR follows the transfer of the skill into practice. The participant holds the chosen conversation and shares the result in a short form. HR holds a follow-up meeting with the participant and their manager after thirty and ninety days. If the source of the difference of opinion rests on an unclear process or role, HR passes this finding to the owner of the related process. The article Structured Problem Solving explains how the root cause is separated. All headings that include the programme are on the Leadership & Development Programs page.

Gains and Indicators for Senior Management

For C-level executives, the value of this training is measured under three headings. The first is time. A prepared conversation reaches a result in a short time and approval processes speed up. The second is the quality of the agreement. A manager who clarifies the interest protects the organisation's priority in supplier and customer meetings and maintains the relationship. The third is the team climate. In teams that openly discuss differences of opinion, information sharing increases and decisions are owned.

In roles such as purchasing and sales, the gain is reflected directly in contract terms. In internal conversations, the gain is seen in the planned use of shared resources and in adherence to project timelines.

HR reports this gain to senior management with indicators. The cross-unit approval time, the number of disagreements escalated to senior management and the results of the cooperation questions in the engagement survey are the headings followed. As the number of issues escalated to senior management falls, the time the management team gives to the strategic agenda increases.

The permanence of the training is strengthened by the attitude of senior management. A general manager who supports the open expression of different views in management meetings opens space in the organisation for the skill gained in the training. To make this support visible, HR invites a senior executive to the opening of the training and shares the follow-up results in the management meeting.

In the budget decision, HR presents senior management with a clear framework. The framework includes the participant group, the training duration, the calendar of follow-up meetings and the indicators to be followed. Senior management assesses the return on the investment through the indicators at the end of the first follow-up period and decides with this data on extending the programme to other manager groups.

Kaan Böke Management Consulting designs negotiation and conflict management training according to the real agenda of the organisation, from needs assessment to follow-up of practice. With 35+ years of corporate experience and a 25+ year C-level leadership perspective, we deliver strategic and practical solutions. You can contact us to strengthen the negotiation skill of your management team.