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Interest-based problem-solving
Interest-based problem-solving is a collaborative approach to solving problems in the workplace. It can be used to deal with existing workplace disputes and to pre-empt future ones.
On this page:
How to take an interest-based approach to solving problems
Is interest-based problem-solving right for your workplace, how to get started.
The approach aims to resolve problems by focusing on interests . Traditional approaches to workplace issues focus on positions.
Positions are demands or claims for things that a party thinks will make a problem go away.
Interests are the things underlying any request or demand.
Read more about the difference between interests and positions
An interest-based approach involves the people who are affected by the problem. Collaboration between all the stakeholders allows for more perspectives and a fuller picture of the issues at hand and can lead to a more diverse set of possible solutions: overwhelmingly, this leads to better outcomes.
Learn more about the interest-based approach by completing our online learning modules on interest-based bargaining, available through our Online Learning Portal .
Interest-based problem-solving can help workplaces:
- innovate and find better and more creative solutions
- form stronger ongoing relationships between the parties, built on trust and respect
- gain a greater acceptance amongst affected parties of necessary change
- improve flexibility and problem-solving capacity in the workplace.
When a goal or issue arises:
- Gather the parties together. This includes anyone affected by the goal or issue as well as any representatives.
- Clarify and agree on the problem so that everyone is on the same page.
- Identify the interests of the stakeholders.
- Brainstorm and come up with possible solutions to the problem.
- Test the possible solutions against a set of criteria (for example, is the possible solution affordable, is it legal, is it in keeping with company values, etc).
- Finally, the parties together should choose the outcome that will best achieve the goal or solve the problem.
Watch our videos about interest-based problem-solving and individual dispute resolution conversations .
Employers and employees who have a good relationship should consider interest-based problem-solving.
The main requirements for interest-based problem-solving are creativity and teamwork. Ii involves a high level of information-sharing and genuine communication, so trust and respect between the parties is important.
Interest-based problem-solving is harder in workplaces where relationships are strained or where there is distrust between management and staff. However, it can be also be a way of improving difficult relationships.
Our interest-based problem-solving guide sets out how to adopt the approach, including our suggested model for how to work through any given issue or problem.
We also offer support through our Collaborative Approaches Program . The program is for workplaces that want to try interest-based approaches. A Commission Member will work with you to deliver training and help you facilitate the process. They will also offer guidance and advice as you make the change to using an interest-based approach. The program is free.
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Interest-Based Problem Solving (web-based)
Course description.
Interest-Based Problem Solving offers labor and management partners a method to solve problems using a non-adversarial process. This module guides the four-step interest-based problem-solving process and a simulation exercise that allows participants to practice the process.
Path to Performance
Levels 1, 2
- 30 minutes (online)
Who should attend
People engaged in problem solving at the unit-based team level up to regional Labor Management Partnership committees should attend this training, along with any union and management staff members working on issue resolution and corrective action. Job categories who can take this class are labor, management and physician members of a unit-based team, Labor Management Partnership and unit-based team consultants, improvement advisers and Union Partnership Representatives.
Starting from a place of interests rather than positions can feel like an unfamiliar way to solve problems. Use these tools to augment the training and become proficient in this process.
- Find Better Solutions
- Six Tips for Successful Interest-Based Problem Solving
- Poster: How Interest-Based Bargaining Works
- Double Scramble: The Key to Problem Solving
- All In a Day's Work: Old-Fashioned Problem Solving
Enrollment information
YourThinkingCoach.com
What is Interest-Based Problem-Solving?
It is estimated that employees spend 42% of their time engaging in or attempting to resolve conflict and 20% of Managers’ time is consumed with conflict-related issues.
Masters and Albright (2002), in The Complete Guide to Conflict Resolution in the Workplace , point out that people thrive on conflict in most areas of their lives–football games, political debates, legal disputes–yet steer clear from workplace conflicts. But conflict is actually a healthy way to challenge the existing order and essential to change in a workplace.
The real problem is not conflict per se but managing conflict.
Dana (2001), in Conflict Resolution: Mediation Tools for Everyday Work Life , argues that workplaces are changing. As interpersonal rules become looser and deadlines become tighter, conflict resolution is gaining importance as a strategic management issue.
Organisations that recognise the necessity of strategically managing internal conflict will be one step ahead in increasingly competitive business environments.
Cloke and Goldsmith (2011), in Resolving Conflicts at Work: Ten Strategies for Everyone on the Job , reveal how the inevitable disputes and divisions in the workplace are actually opportunities for greater creativity, productivity, enhanced morale, and personal growth.
Clearly, confronting and managing organisational conflicts presents a major challenge to organisations that wish to compete successfully in today’s global economy.
In order to reduce the competition and conflict over the allocation of time and money, some form of decision-making process capable of finding solutions that can meet the interests of Shareholders ( Commercial Responsibility ), Operations and CI (Consumer Value) and Workers (a safe, secure and satisfying Culture ), is required.
Interest-Based Problem-Solving meets that need.
But what is Interest-Based Problem Solving?
Interest-Based Problem-Solving is an outcome of the Harvard Negotiation Project, a group that deals with all levels of negotiation and conflict resolution, and was captured by Fisher, Ury and Patton (1981) in their book Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In .
Getting to Yes offers a proven, step-by-step strategy for coming to mutually acceptable agreements in every sort of conflict. The four key principles of Interest-Based Problem-Solving are:
- Separate the people from the problem.
- Focus on interests, not positions.
- Generate a variety of possibilities before deciding what to do.
- Insist that the result be based on some objective standard.
Using these problem solving principles, the conflict in the decision-making process is not only reduced but is harnessed to deliver greater creativity, productivity, enhanced morale, and personal growth.
Learn the steps of Interest-Based Problem-Solving .
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Interest-based problem solving (IBPS) is a collaborative approach to solving problems, a process for negotiating differences amicably without giving in. When you're in an ongoing partnership—whether it's a labor-management partnership or, say, a marriage—you likely have multiple objectives you want to satisfy when resolving differences.
A guide to interest-based problem-solving A new approach to solving problems at work Interest-based problem-solving (IBPS) is a way of addressing existing workplace disputes and pre-empting future ones. It is a collaborative approach to problem -solving. Stakeholders work cooperatively with each other to solve a problem or realise an objective.
At its heart, Interest Based Problem Solving is inherently simple. There are four steps. Step 1: Defining the Problem - The Opportunity Statement. This step leads a team to develop an Opportunity Statement.An opportunity statement creates the boundaries for the problem solving, usually begins with "What can/might we do to …", is open-ended and lends itself to multiple solutions.
One of the major differences between traditional problem-solving approaches and interest-based ap-proach includes an increased dialogue which promotes a better understanding of the issues being dis-cussed. From this, the group can engage in a meaningful discussion about which solution will best meet, and not harm, the interests of both parties.
Steps 1 - 4 Explain the 4 step process (usually you will be training as you go through the process) Step 1: Define the problem & formulate the question • Gain a common, simplified understanding of the problem Step 2: Determine interests • Concerns, needs, qualities behind or underneath an issue Step 3: Develop options
Step 3: Develop Options Brainstorming Best Practice Expert Panel Straw Design Step 4: Select a Solution Screen Options Shorten List Develop Standards Test Options to Standards Decide on Solutions Partnership Tools Interest-based problem solving is an issue-resolution process that addresses individual and group differences.
Employers and employees who have a good relationship should consider interest-based problem-solving. The main requirements for interest-based problem-solving are creativity and teamwork. Ii involves a high level of information-sharing and genuine communication, so trust and respect between the parties is important.
Interest-Based Problem Solving offers labor and management partners a method to solve problems using a non-adversarial process. This module guides the four-step interest-based problem-solving process and a simulation exercise that allows participants to practice the process. Path to Performance. Levels 1, 2 Duration. 30 minutes (online)
Interest-Based Problem-Solving (IBPS) is an outcome of the Harvard Negotiation Project, a group that deals with all levels of negotiation and conflict resolution, and was captured by Fisher, Ury and Patton (1981) in their book Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In.. Getting to Yes offers a proven, step-by-step strategy for coming to mutually acceptable agreements in every ...
Insist that the result be based on some objective standard. Using these problem solving principles, the conflict in the decision-making process is not only reduced but is harnessed to deliver greater creativity, productivity, enhanced morale, and personal growth. Learn the steps of Interest-Based Problem-Solving.