practical tips for preventing the development/acceptance of cliques in an office envi

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Mel

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Does anyone have practical tips for preventing the development/ acceptance of cliques in an office environment?

It was never an issue until one individual joined our company. A strong character who doesn't join the team for lunch etc but prefers to have one 'minion' under her wing (which person changes on a regular basis when they fall out). As a team they often make life uncomfortable for others sharing their work/ office...

It's not something we've encountered here before, and we would like to stamp it out before it becomes 'acceptable'. The latest dynamic duo has just fallen apart so if we could prevent another one forming that would be great.

It's an odd question maybe, but if anyone has any practical advice other than bringing it to the attention of HR, which might be necessary but I'm not sure what they could do unless things get so bad that they are reported for bullying. A lot of the things that have been observed could be described as bullying, albeit immature and playground type behaviour like ignoring colleagues, etc.
 
Re: Office Cliques

I don't think there is really much you can do about this kind of thing. The best solution would be to try and integrate the person as much as possible. It could be that they are just shy & maybe don't feel at ease with the rest of the team. If there really is no hope for that then re-jigging seating arrangements perhaps. Isolating the person wherever possible is another option - i.e. special tasks/projects. Maybe a slight change to working hours so break at different times.

The only thing about the above is that it could very easily be interpreted as bullying, and maybe it is to an extent?

I've had experience of this in one place I worked. There was one particularl individual making life uncomfortable for people. In a VERY oblique way though - i.e. they would do something 'nice' for you but there would always be a sting in the tail. It was bizarre when I think about it! I eventually got sick of it and it had me on the on the verge of leaving so I just complained - without naming names though - didn't have to. As it turned out I wasn't the first and several people had actually left over it. Eventually they had to do something and kind of isolated the person as I mentioned above so after a few months they left tg.

It's can be quite a problem though. Nobody gets on with everybody in work but it just makes sense to make the effort for the sake of the atmosphere. It's amazing the differnence 1 or 2 b!tchy people can make....
 
Re: practical tips for preventing the development/acceptance of cliques in an office

Hi Mel - sounds like a complete nightmare. I have a girl in my office who while not so bad is very outgoing with her opionions - of curse she's busier then veryone but then refuses help as 'only she can do it' (not true btw. Whne she gets very bad I have a staff meeting and give my chat about teamworking and crosscover and she settles down for a while.

Is there anyway you could talk to everyone on the side and tell them that when you one asks for someone to go for lunch that they have a list of excuses not to go to lunch with her. Stuff like " ya sure you can join me and becky" or "no I have an appointment".

When she ignores someone make sure you or someone else includes them straight away with "what do you think".
 
Re: practical tips for preventing the development/acceptance of cliques in an office

What is the gender balance like in the office? Do you think that if there was a 50:50 gender split that the problem would be better or worse?
 
Re: practical tips for preventing the development/acceptance of cliques in an office

I'm going to guess here and say its a majority of females.
 
Re: practical tips for preventing the development/acceptance of cliques in an office

becky said:
Is there anyway you could talk to everyone on the side and tell them that when you one asks for someone to go for lunch that they have a list of excuses not to go to lunch with her. Stuff like " ya sure you can join me and becky" or "no I have an appointment".
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Would advise against this as it could be construed as bullying on your behalf.
 
Re: practical tips for preventing the development/acceptance of cliques in an office

Dicette said:
Would advise against this as it could be construed as bullying on your behalf.
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Fair point but have you any tips yourself?

Meant to add I know of 2 similar cases where a newcomer resulted in bith of them leaving their jobs. One in particular was begged to make a formal complaint but he wouldn't.

It was in a bank and they promised that he would be a manager of a small branch within 2 years - they showed him letters they had written to head office about him his performance, so it wasn't a bribe or anything - they knew they were losing a good team member but he still left.
 
Re: practical tips for preventing the development/acceptance of cliques in an office

Funnily enough the company is majority male, although this is changing, but the behaviour is from a female and only towards other females. This person's work would be slightly removed from most other people which could be part of the issue, but I'm more inclined to think it's just that person's way of operating. She has never made an attempt to fit in with the rest of us, but shyness would not be an issue with this person.

I think the best thing might be to keep an eye on who is currently being sidelined and make the effort to include them, rather than dealing specifically with the culprit. It's usually someone new or unsure of themselves as is usually the case with bullies.
 
Re: practical tips for preventing the development/acceptance of cliques in an office

Good luck with it - these kind of sisuations are next to impossible and can really change the whole atmosphere of an office.

I work in HR but not EE Relations but hear about some of the cases my boss needs a fresh pair of eyes and ears - all the cases she has asked me for some input on has been women.
 
Re: practical tips for preventing the development/acceptance of cliques in an office

Becky, as HR dept would you have a mechanism for making it clear that behaviour like this is not going to be tolerated?
We do have very clear policies on all this in work, maybe a reminder from HR about the policies and what is/is not acceptable would help...
 
Re: practical tips for preventing the development/acceptance of cliques in an office

Mel - yes we have a dignity at work scheme and all that chat. However, these thing don't stop someone 'personality' shining through though.

Our HR would not intervene in a situ like this, the manager is expected to do manage his/her own department. They receive training on people mamangment etc. We are the HR for all staff (managers and staff) so our role is advising and ensuring policies and procdures are adhered to.
 
Re: practical tips for preventing the development/acceptance of cliques in an office

I am thinking of changing jobs at the moment. Have been offered a job as office manager again. I did office manager in a previous life (30 staff) and just reading this thread takes me back. backbiting, exclusion, bullying, stealing, lies, tears, tantrums and tiaras.

You have made up my mind for me. Not doing it. The stress of dealing with the personalities was worse than any part of the actual work could ever be.

Ta for that!

In respect of the original problem, I agree the best course of action is to target whoever the chosen one is and integrate them into the group. If the person doing the sidelining is sly rather than shy they will be very difficult to win round so concentrate on keeping everyone else as a team. I hate to see anyone as an outsider but realise certain people choose this route for whatever reason.

Its also very difficult to "talk" to the person concerned because in reality what they are doing is very subtle and would be difficult to challenge.

I once had a person who did nothing for three days only walked around with a bit of paper and when challenged about it, got her dad to ring up and said she was being bullied. She was over 30 at the time.
 
Re: practical tips for preventing the development/acceptance of cliques in an office

it is true, some people just like to be seperate from the group. I'm like that in that I'd rather potter around during lunch hour & breaks etc. than do the group thing which may seem rude, but I would never cause aggro for anyone or the office generally.

Not that this person is an example of this but they might be. Definitely try throwing a few crumbs their way and things might improve. Generally people just want to be liked.
 
Re: practical tips for preventing the development/acceptance of cliques in an office

Mel said:
Does anyone have practical tips for preventing the development/ acceptance of cliques in an office environment?

It was never an issue until one individual joined our company. A strong character who doesn't join the team for lunch etc but prefers to have one 'minion' under her wing (which person changes on a regular basis when they fall out). As a team they often make life uncomfortable for others sharing their work/ office...

It's not something we've encountered here before, and we would like to stamp it out before it becomes 'acceptable'. The latest dynamic duo has just fallen apart so if we could prevent another one forming that would be great.

It's an odd question maybe, but if anyone has any practical advice other than bringing it to the attention of HR, which might be necessary but I'm not sure what they could do unless things get so bad that they are reported for bullying. A lot of the things that have been observed could be described as bullying, albeit immature and playground type behaviour like ignoring colleagues, etc.
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I can’t agree with some of the suggestions made previously and believe that ultimately the responsibility for resolving this situation rests with the team-leader and the HR department.

The behaviour described, while on the surface looks as if it is leading to the short-term development and break-up of mini-teams or cliques, has at its centre, some-one who sounds like they are insecure, vulnerable, unable to integrate with the bigger team and unable to maintain working or social relationships within the mini-teams she forms. It's as if when people begin to get too close, this woman has to push them away, hence the
Mel said:
...immature and playground type behaviour like ignoring colleagues, etc.
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I think this goes beyond her being “shy” as has been previously suggested.

The divisive nature of the behaviour may have serious long-term consequences for this superficially strong individual and for the team and the situation needs to be resolved, sooner rather than later. In the meantime, the team and the individual are hurting, as OP Mel indicates.

It sounds like this unfortunate individual has been inappropriately placed in an environment in which she is having great difficulty coping with the dynamics and may be trying to change them to something she is more familiar with.

Any attempts at resolution needs to be approached with sensitivity as words like "bullying", "jealousy", "discrimination", rejection", "exclusion" may surface if this woman feels she is being placed on the defensive.

Apologies for the long-winded post, just my 2p (£2 ?) worth.
 
Re: practical tips for preventing the development/acceptance of cliques in an office

The OP should forget about who goes to lunch with who, and who goes is friendly with who. You can't legislate for friendships or what people do on their spare time. You can legislate for behaviours.

The first step is to set an organisational expectation of behaviour. Have a clear policy that lays out relevant principles. You can't be specific about every scenario, but general principles should be sufficient here.

The second step is to set individual expectations of behaviour, ideally as part of a performance management system. The individual objectives should specify what needs to be done, and how it should be done. Where an individual has shown behaviours that need to be changed, these changes should be clearly stated in their individual performance plan.

I'm amazed at how few organisations walk the talk on teamwork. You can write all the nice policies you like about teamwork, but if you reward people on their individual performance, then the nice policies get left behind. Include an assessment of teamwork into the annual review process, so that staff are actually rewarded based on their teamwork. But tread carefully - teamwork is not about who goes to lunch with who.
 
Re: practical tips for preventing the development/acceptance of cliques in an office

Complainer said:
The OP should forget about who goes to lunch with who, and who goes is friendly with who. You can't legislate for friendships or what people do on their spare time. You can legislate for behaviours.
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I don't care who goes to lunch with who - I sometimes join the group, I sometimes eat at my desk, I sometimes have to do chores at lunchtime. The difference here is someone who takes break at a different time than everyone else specifically to avoid other people, all the time.
Which again isn't the core problem, it's the fact that the person is leading weaker individuals, and the way they make the people around them feel when they operate as a duo.
I'm not a team leader or manager, but their bullying of another team member came to my attention last week. It was done in a sly way to someone who was more vulnerable for a few reasons.
I realise that the person involved should perhaps themselves make a complaint, but I feel terrible that this went on under our noses and we didn't even see it. I don't know if it's my place to speak to HR or area managers about it, hence looking for more practical measures.
Unfortunately it's not related entirely to teamwork as the bully works mostly on their own.
 
Re: practical tips for preventing the development/acceptance of cliques in an office

Mel said:
The difference here is someone who takes break at a different time than everyone else specifically to avoid other people, all the time.
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I'm curious as to how you can be so certain about her reasons for taking lunch at a different time. Have you spoken to her about her reasons for this?

Mel said:
Which again isn't the core problem, it's the fact that the person is leading weaker individuals, and the way they make the people around them feel when they operate as a duo.
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I'm still not really clear on the business impacts of their behaviour. Would you be able to spell this out a bit more, without breaching any confidences of course.
 
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