EMPR
Storyboard Text
- The Next Day
- Good morning Liz and Tim. I feel as though it could be beneficial to discuss any issues either of you may be having with the other, as I feel as though this conflict is affecting workflow. I want the both of you to feel comfortable opening up in this environment and expressing how you feel. Liz, why don’t you begin with how you are feeling and then we can open the floor to Tim.
- Thanks Sam. I have mainly been frustrated with the constant demands that I have been getting from Tim. I understand that he was able to prepare the orders on time with the manual inventory system, however, many of our newer employees are not used to completing inventory manually. I feel as though being given an extra day to complete orders would mitigate the delay in orders being processed. I have expressed these thoughts to Tim, however, he does not seem to care nor listen, and does not respect the needs of our warehouse team. Recently, I have been limiting my communication with Tim as I feel that he has been speaking to me rather harshly.
- Thank you Liz. Now, Tim, I will let you express the reasons why you have been frustrated.
- Thank you Sam. I can agree that I have been harsher than usual with Liz, but it has been due to my growing frustrations regarding warehouse delays. My main concern is that Liz often seems too laid-back and I feel as though orders could be prepared more quickly than they have been. I also feel as though when I give her feedback she shrugs it off and does not seem to care. However, I see now that this may be in response to my harsh tone.
- Thank you both for sharing. I feel as though this problem can be solved quite easily. Liz, what do you feel would help in resolving this issue?
- With our newer staff members and the surplus of orders coming in, an additional day to complete these orders would be very beneficial. And while I really appreciate the feedback Tim has been giving the warehouse team, it would be better received if communicated in a more respectful manner.
- Thank you for sharing your insights Liz. I can try to communicate my feedback in a more respectful manner. I have been frustrated as I feel I have not been listened to recently, however, I see it has mostly been due to miscommunication.
- This has been a great conversation and I feel as though we have really gotten somewhere today. Liz, I think it would definitely be a good idea to communicate your frustrations to Tim in the future rather than limiting communication. And Tim, try your best to give constructive feedback rather than criticism.
- This sounds good to me. I will try my best not to put as much pressure on the warehouse team, as I understand now that it has been causing tension between our teams. I am hopeful that we can resolve this.
- Yes, I completely agree. I appreciate the extra day that you are willing to give, and I will do my best to communicate more.
- In addition to what we have discussed today, I will look into updating our inventory system to a digitized system. However, this is not a change that can happen overnight due to both costs and training required. We need both teams to work together until this new system can be implemented.
- That sounds great to me as well.
- That would be fantastic. I will do my best in the meantime.
- Hey John! Thank you so much for the advice to use internal mediation, it went really well. Both Liz and Tim were able to openly express how they have been feeling, and I think communication should greatly improve moving forward. I’m going to monitor them closely for the next couple of weeks.
- No problem Sam. Internal mediation is an incredible conflict resolution strategy, especially in situations such as these. If the conflict is not resolved, another mediation session with the goal of a new resolution strategy may be needed. Let me know how it goes!
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