Event Details

Session Title: 6 Questions to Ask to Diffuse Any Conflict and Save Your Staff

Presentation Summary:

HR professionals know better than anyone that every employee deserves to feel safe and supported to do their job in a culture of respect. However, personality conflicts preoccupy them, slow them down, and even stop them dead in our tracks. Despite the best efforts, workplace bullying and harassment exist in far too many work environments making them toxic. The stress level is off the charts and staff can feel like they have no options.  We don’t want our high performers to quit. There is another way to stop this snowball from growing. The reality is that many employees feel that it is easier to quit than to confront difficult situations with HR, a manager or with fellow staff. That’s a lose/lose/lose situation. Asking key questions could save potentially great people and great jobs.

Participants will be introduced to six powerful questions that can transform tense situations into opportunities for clearer understanding and diffused conflicts, leading to productive collaboration, not to mention fewer letters of resignation and sleepless nights. By the end of this session, you will have a toolkit of questions that can be applied in various contexts to diffuse conflicts and preserve your peace of mind.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the negative impacts of workplace bullying, harassment, and unresolved personality conflicts on employee morale, performance, and retention.
• Explain the benefits of using targeted, open-ended questions to diffuse tension, clarify misunderstandings, and foster respectful communication.
• Apply six specific, informed questions to real-world scenarios to transform conflict situations into opportunities for collaboration and understanding.
• Demonstrate increased confidence in addressing workplace conflicts by practicing question-based techniques that support a stable, respectful, and productive culture.

SHRM BASK: Leadership & Navigation, Relationship Management, Conflict Management, Employee Engagement & Retention, Employee & Labor Relations

HRCI Functional Area: Leadership & Strategy, Workforce Planning and Talent Acquisition, Talent Management

Presenter Bio:

Bonnie Low-Kramen is coming to us from her home in Florida to talk with us as an insider about resolving conflict and some truly simple ways to do it better. She is one of the most respected advocates for executive and personal assistants in the world having taught in 14 countries. Bonnie worked for 25 years as a celebrity assistant to Oscar winning actress Olympia Dukakis and is the author of two books, Staff Matters, People-Focused Solutions for the Ultimate New Workplace and Be the Ultimate Assistant. She was named as one of the Top 100 HR Influencers of 2024 and by MSN as a Speaker to Follow.

Bonnie is a TEDx speaker (“The Real Reasons People Quit”), she has been published in Harvard Business Review, and her work was profiled in Forbes. Most importantly, she is here with us to share the secret sauce of asking questions that actually make things better and can reduce the dash for the exit.