Despite using the best video conferencing platforms and software programs, your company will still experience conflict between some team members.
Conflicts in Remote Teams Always Happen
People simply have different ideas, and no tool changes that. Conflict in the workplace damages relationships and drags on productivity. It is unhealthy, and it can even escalate into a full-blown problem. Therefore, you need to learn how to spot it immediately and fix it.
Workplace conflict happens because of personalities. Humans require "chemistry" for a relationship to thrive. At first, there is no conflict since everyone is still assessing the people they just met.
Over time, people get used to each other. Boundaries go away, and ideas clash. Some talk bluntly, and some speak their minds without being sensitive to others.
How to spot conflict in remote teams
Spotting conflict in a remote working environment can be a bit harder to do. In a regular office, you would easily sense tension between coworkers because some might stop talking to each other or make a quick smirk when a certain person’s name comes up in conversation.
Here are some signs to watch out for:
- Conflicts between people often happen when someone dismisses or criticizes another person’s ideas.
- Communication gaps happen when coworkers stop talking to each other and avoid direct conversation.
- Sabotage happens when an employee intentionally tries to harm or obstruct the work of another colleague.
- Absenteeism happens when some employees skip meetings with others or keep coming up with many excuses not to attend.
People are deeply emotional and multifaceted, and this list covers only a small part of that complexity. Watch for unease and underperformance in a remote team, though, and you can usually trace it back to whatever is really causing the conflict. If the teams are in different places, you can use virtual conference platforms to communicate and watch them.
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6 Ways to manage conflicts in virtual teams
Speak to the team members
The first step to take when addressing a conflict is to speak to the parties involved. Do not do this as a group yet. Hold a one-on-one session with each person affected. This is standard HR practice for good reason.
If you do it as a group, you will only end up with at least two people arguing with each other because they will both try to talk over one another and justify their own point of view. Before you realize it, the situation will grow worse instead of being solved.
Speak to a team member in private. One key aspect of getting it done right is to listen. Do not make assumptions. Understand the emotions that the person is going through. Write down what you heard, then check it back with them to be sure you have it right.
Do not forget to empathize. Make the person feel that you understand what they are going through. Do not be judgmental. Instead, correct wrong behaviors by discussing the possible negative consequences of such actions.
Do it with the other party involved. Then, you have a clear picture of what happened, what behaviors need correction, and what actions to take.
The final step is to bring both parties into one meeting. Set out what you know, then tell them what you want to see happen. Ask for their commitment to building a positive working environment and relationship.
Create expectations moving forward
A conflict is an opportunity to learn. Now that you know how these things can potentially ruin your team, you must set expectations not only with the parties involved but with everyone.
There is no need to announce the conflict, which helps nobody. Build processes instead, ones that leave the team better off.
For example, creating an escalation process or protocol is perhaps a good idea if a conflict occurs between two departments. For example, let us say that a person from the art department cannot give commands to someone at the same level in the programming department.
Instead, the graphic artist raises the issue with their supervisor, and the art supervisor speaks to the programming supervisor. Some problems are better handled a level up.
Of course, this does not come without a price. It can stifle communication, but it is necessary if your situation calls for it.
You can also set aside dedicated meetings for team building or project planning, separate from the ones where work gets decided.
In your meetings and planning, lay out the roles and tasks for each person on a project, because most remote team disagreements start with overlapping obligations.
Use project management tools and communication tools to spell out roles, improve communication, build better workflow, and synergize your team. Make it a regular activity, and you will see your team members begin to have more patience and understanding with each other.
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Set up weekly individual meetings
In most companies, they call it coaching or one-on-one. It is where you talk to an employee about their performance, and where you take the temperature on how they are doing.
As a leader it is your job to do this individually. Set a time with each employee, hear them out, and understand what they are up against.
You should also take the time to recognize your employees for their efforts. In addition, talk directly with anyone whose actions are creating conflict, and do so privately without involving others.
During this time, you tell the employee what values you expect or how you want them to deal with other employees in the office.
This session has the aim of building trust between you and the employee. Therefore, never make it a grilling session. Instead, ensure the employee feels empowered every time the session is over.
A one-on-one should be something the employee looks forward to. It is about them, not about you. More importantly, it must be a session of encouragement, not a warning.
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Understand the root cause of the issue
To manage conflict in remote teams, you need to dig deep. Some leaders only focus on behaviors, but you can do better than this. It would help if you also looked for the cause of that behavior.
You see, people want to do their jobs right. However, there are some processes and physical limitations at work. All these things can make an employee feel suppressed. If a person cannot do his job right for some reason, it causes a lack of fulfillment.
Say an employee wants to finish their work but depends on a colleague, so they have to wait for Employee #2 to finish first.
This problem, as you know by now, is procedural. At first glance, people may easily blame Employee #2, saying that the delay is coming from his end.
However, this is not always entirely the case. Employee #2 is probably doing the job perfectly well. It is the scheduling that is wrong.
Look at process problems like this, and you will begin to understand that the conflict arises from policies and processes, not the people. But, unfortunately, the people are disappointed and vent it out to other team members, so you have conflicts.
Acknowledge the rights and the wrongs
When dealing with conflict in the workplace, you must praise people in public and then discipline them in private. Sometimes, you cannot help but have employees who commit violations.
In such cases, you must have an employee disciplinary action system. It is a company policy that must be in your company handbook.
The handbook must stipulate which behaviors merit termination of contract or employment. It must also have specific rules on how many written warnings employees must receive before being fired.
As a coach, you must document your coaching sessions and the expectations. Do not be afraid to write warnings and give them to erring employees.
The last thing you want is an embarrassment when you discipline, so keep it private. You do not want people to access these documents except the employee, HR, and immediate supervisor.
If there is no policy in the office, make one. If the error is new or the conflict is something the employee handbook does not cover, create a new policy and release the memo.
Make sure everybody acknowledges the announcement. Do it with a digital signature. Or have them print, sign, scan, and send it back to you digitally.
Create a plan and follow through
Planning and follow-through are the last tips for managing conflict in a remote environment. Make a plan for how you will prevent this kind of conflict from happening again, and make sure that plan happens.
For example, it is possible that two employees cannot work together. One thing you can do is plan how to move them to different departments. Then, execute the plan and make a follow-through.
You must follow up after coaching if there is no need to move the employee. A week after you resolve the conflict, talk to the same parties involved and ask how they are. Find out if they have settled their differences and provide support if needed.
From these follow-up sessions, you will get a vibe about the situation. Sometimes, there is no way to fix the chemistry of people. If this is the case, you must deal with the situation differently.
How to resolve conflict in remote work
To resolve conflict in a remote work environment, you must make sure that you keep your channels open for communication. It is just as important to address the issue the moment you realise a conflict exists.
Try not to be biased, as this can send the wrong signals. Instead, focus on the values that you want your team to have. Understand the problems, and do not make them personal.
Manage conflict by addressing the behavior, not the person. People make mistakes all the time. The worst thing that you can do is to rub it in.
Instead, address the issue and its consequences, not the person. Practice fairness and equality, and you will be able to resolve the conflict between your team members.
Key takeaways on conflict management in remote teams
Conflicts will always happen. You can head some of them off, but it matters just as much to have the skills to resolve the rest. Conflict is also how people grow, because without it nobody is ever challenged.
As a leader, your job is to create an environment people can work in, whatever the size of the group. Left alone, conflict causes real psychological and emotional distress, and it follows people out of work and into the rest of their lives.
MyOwnConference gives you a solid place to hold those conversations.
FAQ
What are common signs that conflict is developing in a remote team?
You may notice interpersonal clashes where team members put down other people’s ideas, communication gaps where colleagues barely speak with each other, sabotage attempts where one person undermines another, and increased absenteeism when someone avoids meetings or gives many excuses.
Why should initial conversations about conflict be held one-on-one rather than in a group?
Because when you bring everyone together too early you risk escalating the issue as people try to talk over each other and defend their sides; starting with private sessions helps you listen, understand emotions, and avoid making assumptions.
How can setting expectations moving forward help prevent recurring conflicts?
By establishing clear roles, responsibilities and escalation protocols you help everyone understand how to behave and how issues should be raised rather than letting ambiguous boundaries lead to misunderstandings and clashes.
Why is it important to dig into root causes instead of focusing only on behaviors in a conflict?
Often what you can see on the surface is just a sign of deeper procedural or structural issues, such as dependencies, unclear workflows, or frustrating delays. When you work on fixing the real underlying causes, you can stop the conflict right where it begins.
What steps should a leader take after a conflict is resolved to ensure it stays resolved?
After resolution the leader should follow up individually with the involved parties, ask how they are doing, provide support if needed, monitor whether the relationship has improved, and adapt the plan if necessary to prevent future issues.
