Conflict Management Interview Questions
Use the below-given Conflict Management interview questions to check how candidates resolve issues at the workplace and if they can handle the complaints proficiently.
Why do you need to assess a candidate’s conflict management skills?
Employees with conflict management skills work through differences, complaints, and arguments skillfully. These professionals can:
- Resolve differences of opinions among team members easily
- Address complaints from clients
- Build healthy work relations
- Discuss problems in a professional way
It is important to test candidates’ conflict-resolution skills, especially for:
- Senior positions, where your prospective employee will manage teams
- Sales positions, where your prospective employee will contact clients regularly.
Conflict management interview questions
- Share about a time you disagreed with a coworker’s idea while working on the same project. How did you express your thoughts and what happened?
- How do you respond to constructive criticism?
- What is your approach when it comes to handling conflicts in your team?
- How do you deal with furious clients who complain about your services/products?
- How do you deal with team members who keep raising objections on projects?
- How would you resolve a conflict between team members working on the same project?
- Do you face a conflict of interest during a cross-departmental project? How do you manage?
- You find that a team member is arrogant or aggressive toward the rest of the team, what would you do?
- How do you respond to false accusations?
Tips to assess candidates’ conflict management skills in interviews
- Ask candidates about their approach to dealing with disagreements and explain any previous experience. Look for candidates who analyze the situation and issue before confronting a colleague.
- Good listeners and empathizers are great at solving conflicts professionally. These people can be a great addition to your team, as they keep their coworkers calm.
- Strong communication abilities and good conflict management skills go hand-in-hand. Candidates who express their views clearly and know how to have a healthy discussion are more likely to resolve issues that occur at work.
- Ask behavioral questions to know how candidates interact in team environments. Look for people who are good team players and maintain harmony in the team.
- If the position involves communication with customers, consider adding a role-playing activity in the interview. This will allow you to test candidates’ abilities to resolve issues.
- Even if candidates share a negative experience, it is essential to see what lessons they have learned. Look for candidates who don’t take things personally and know the importance of being patient.
Red Flags
- They can’t let go of minor disagreements: If your candidates show that they turn each disagreement into a fight, they might have difficulty listening to others opinions.
- They create issues: If the reason behind conflicts is your candidates’ poor collaboration or communication skills, that is a sign that they are not good team players.
- They look uncomfortable: Some roles, like sales executives, often have to face conflicts at work. Candidates who get tensed while explaining such situations might not be an ideal match for such roles.
- They give generic answers: Answers like “Yes/No” don’t tell much about candidates’ conflict management skills.
- They are unprofessional: Candidates who blame team members and their seniors lack professionalism and may not be the most apt prospective employees.
- They avoid conflicts completely: Problems increase when conflicts are ignored completely. Candidates should be confident to express their views and thoughts when required.
