He resolved a strike in the 11th hour and saved his company millions. Here’s how:

“As CEO of a logistics company, I very seldom engaged directly with our work force. The operating environment in South Africa is generally very hostile and we use experienced human resource practitioners who engage on behalf of the company.

An issue between one group of workers and our principal client had been brewing for several months. The workers had given our company an ultimatum to come up with a solution or face long term industrial action in the form of a strike.

In the final week of negotiations we were going nowhere. I decided to engage our workers personally to see if I could resolve the impasse. I met with 12 representatives for 3 days and spent 2 of the 3 days making sure that they felt seen and heard, understood and appreciated. I got to know each individual by name and made sure that each person had as much time as he needed to explain his personal perspective of the situation. I took copious notes and repeated back to them what they had said to ensure that nothing was lost in interpretation. Language is often a barrier for correct interpretation especially in South Africa where there are 11 official languages.

I was taught this methodology by Jolina Karen when I was dealing with a personal family crisis. I realised that the principle of making people feel seen and heard, understood and appreciated is critical in any conflict resolution situation. I learnt to remove ‘but’ from my language and replace it with ‘it makes sense why you feel this way. To ensure that I understand you correctly….’

Over the period of 2 long days and nights the hostility in the room evaporated and I felt that a solution was in sight. We had never really understood the challenges that our workers faced and I started to agree with them that they had a valid point. I proposed an interim and permanent solution that they accepted against all odds. They had previously been in no mood to compromise in any form!

Then my biggest challenge came! How was I going to get my valued customer to pay for the solution? I followed a very similar and firmer process with them and ultimately they agreed to pay.

The change has been successfully implemented and we went from having a situation where our employees felt angry, apathetic, absent and resentful …. to being engaging, trusting and happy in the work place.

I always thought I was a good listener and negotiator but using this process has made me feel confident in resolving any resentful dispute. It has been reaffirmed in my mind that when team members can be genuinely open and honest with each other trust is built.

Thank you Jolina! I engaged you to assist me with skills to deal with a personal situation end ended up utilizing those skills very successfully in my work environment.”