The term “consensus”
is most often heard during political campaign season or when Congress is in
session. Politicians are forever promising to build consensus with those on the
other side of the political aisle, but there’s typically more talk than action.
Business leaders and
human resource managers cannot afford to be so cavalier in their commitment to
consensus. Sticking to the concept of proper consensus management can lead to
happier employees and more robust bottom lines.
What is consensus?
Consensus is a method
for group decision-making in which the goal is to arrive at a final decision
that is acceptable to all members of the group because each had a say in
its formation. Effective consensus decision-making leaves every team member
feeling that they have been heard and that their ideas have been considered.
Consensus can be a
very powerful tool for human resources because with it you can unite employees
around a common goal and generate greater productivity. Consensus also fosters
a climate of cooperation with employees collaborating to solve problems.
Because it involves
the participation of everyone within a group, fostering consensus builds more
buy-in from individual employees who feel they have more say, and therefore
more of a stake in business processes and outcomes.
Five Ways to Implement
Consensus for Group Decisions
As a human resources
manager, it’s important to know some of the considerations that should be
weighed before implementing a consensus-building model.
Important ideas to
consider:
1. Lose the attitudes
that undermine consensus.
A team that operates in a “win-lose” environment – one employee’s idea must
prevail over another’s – is not going to do well with consensus. Consensus
building can also falter on a team with members who routinely avoid conflict.
For effective dialogs to take place, employees should be encouraged to speak
their minds, but also to understand that everyone has an equal say. Bear in
mind that reaching consensus does not necessarily mean a unanimous decision.
2. Have regularly
scheduled meetings. A team using
consensus management must meet frequently to allow every team member the
opportunity to have a voice in decisions. There also should be a consistent
process at these meetings for employees to voice their opinions.
3. Foster an
atmosphere of open communication. Employees will not speak freely in an atmosphere where new
ideas are not welcome. Managers must make it clear to employees that all
opinions are welcome. This will lead to employees trusting the process, which
is a critical component of consensus building success.
4. Set clearly defined
goals. No decision-making
process, whether by group or individual, is going to be successful if the goals
are not clearly defined. Clichés abound on this subject, but the simplest is
still the best: You can’t get anywhere if you don’t know where you are
going. Communication is vital in this area. Managers should make the ultimate
group objective clear to employees before engaging in consensus building.
5. Support the
decision. After encouraging
employees to work together to forge consensus, it’s important to support the
ultimate decision. There are rewards that come naturally from this exercise.
Proper support reinforces the consensus building process to increase engagement
among all stakeholders and decrease negative attitudes that can undermine
productivity.
As difficult as it may
be to implement, consensus building can offer tremendous rewards for the
manager who uses it wisely in the right circumstances.
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