Resolving conflict in the workplace is paramount when fostering a successful business. The process is even more important when the people working alongside each other are not only colleagues, but also relatives.

At 1 p.m. EST on Jan. 27, The Family Business Consulting Group is hosting a Webinar called “Conflict Resolution: When Do We Negotiate, Mediate or Celebrate?” The discussion will focus on resolution as it relates to family-run businesses.

Dr. Kent Rhodes and Penny Webb, FBCG associates, will share with participants processes for developing effective communication.

Carol Ryan, vice president of FBCG and the Webinar’s moderator, says it can be more difficult to resolve a conflict when the co-workers are relatives, because the “source of the conflict is often rooted in the roles an individual family member might have had in their family.”

“The history is deeper. In addition, family conflict can stem from unresolved conflicts" of childhood, "and these are often internalized with an individual according to [the person's] perception of a situation at the time,” Ryan says. “They are deeper, and the relationships are closer and more important than those of colleagues.”

In addition, settling workplace issues is imperative because related co-workers often spend time together outside business hours.

“A[n unrelated] colleague doesn’t join you for Thanksgiving dinner and birthdays, so an unresolved conflict there would not have the same impact on an individual. Hence, the potential greater desire to resolve it in families,” Ryan says.

The Family Business Consulting Group consists of consultants and advisers committed to helping family businesses prosper across generations. The Webinar will give participants the tools to successfully negotiate to mutual benefit; learn to engage an outside facilitator; effectively communicate opposing ideas; change conflict from win/lose to win/win; and learn fun ways to celebrate family victories.

Conflict is a part of life, which is why the consulting group has offered similar Webinars. Tackling problems in the workplace, the group says, is essential in creating a “multigenerational firm” that will be successful for years to come.

Sometimes, however, those involved in conflict don’t want to deal with the issue. But avoidance, Ryan says, will likely lead to bigger problems.

“Conflict, when addressed, usually produces change, and more often than not a needed change,” she says. “In addition, by not addressing conflict, old hurts, misunderstandings, misperceptions, et cetera, are allowed to perpetuate, and in any system, will tend to keep the system ‘stuck.’ ”

The fee for the conflict-resolution Webinar is $159 per dial-in site per session, with unlimited attendance per dial-in site. Participants can attend the Webinar through computer or telephone.

For more information about The Family Business Consulting Group and its services, contact Ken Bosshart at 770-421-0110, extension 223, or visit www.efamilybusiness.com.