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These employees are able to: * Resolve issues that arise among team members quickly * Handle complaints from customers * Foster healthy work relationships * Raise objections in a professional manner It’s essential to test candidates’ conflict-resolution skills, particularly for: * senior-level positions, where your future hires will manage teams * sales positions, where your future hires will contact customers on a daily basis Here are some sample conflict management interview questions to ask candidates during your hiring process: ## Examples of conflict management interview questions * Tell me about a time you disagreed with a coworker’s idea on a project you were both working on together. How did you express your opposition and what happened? * What would you do if your manager gave you negative feedback on the way you approached a problem? * How do you handle conflicts within your team? * How do you deal with angry customers who complain about your products/services? * Have you ever had a team member who kept raising objections on projects? How did you (or would you) manage them? * How would you advise a team member who complained about a coworker’s behavior? * Have you ever faced a conflict of interest during a cross-departmental project? What did you do? * You’ve noticed that a team member is aggressive or arrogant toward the rest of the team. How would you approach this person? * How would you react if a coworker blamed you for something that wasn’t entirely your fault (eg. missing a deadline) during a meeting? ## Tips to assess candidates’ conflict management skills in interviews * Ask candidates to explain in detail how they’ve dealt with disagreements in the past. Hire people who think conflicts through before confronting a coworker. * Empathy and listening skills are indicators of an individual who handles conflicts professionally. These people are valuable team members, as they manage to keep their coworkers calm. * Good conflict management skills go hand-in-hand with solid communication abilities. Candidates who clearly express themselves and keep a pleasant discussion during interviews are more likely to resolve issues that arise at work. * Use behavioral questions that demonstrate how candidates interact in team environments. Opt for people who prioritize collaboration and maintain the team’s balance. * If the role requires communication with clients, consider adding a role-playing activity to your interview process. You’ll be able to simulate job duties and test candidates’ abilities to resolve issues. * Even if candidates describe negative experiences, it’s important to see what lessons they’ve learned. Look for people who don’t take things personally and understand the importance of being patient. ## Red flags * They focus on minor disagreements. If your candidates reveal that they turn each disagreement into a conflict, they might struggle listening to different opinions. * They cause conflicts. If the reason behind conflicts is your candidates’ poor communication or collaboration skills, that’s a sign they’re not good team players. * They seem uncomfortable. Certain roles, like salespeople, will often come across conflicts at work. Candidates who get stressed while describing such situations mightn’t be suitable for these positions. * They give generic answers. Generic answers that don’t describe specific situations won’t tell you much about candidates’ conflict management skills (e.g. “I face conflicts all the time at work, but I manage to stay calm and resolve the issue.”) * They are unprofessional. Candidates who blame others and bad-mouth coworkers, managers and clients lack professionalism and may not be the most empathetic future hires. * They avoid conflicts altogether. Problems escalate when conflicts are swept under the rug. Candidates should be confident enough to tactfully disagree with coworkers or managers, when necessary. Helpful? 👍 👎 ## Looking for more questions to ask your candidates in an interview? Find inspiration in our [list of interview questions](https://jobicy.com/tools/interview-questions.md) and [job descriptions templates](https://jobicy.com/tools/job-descriptions.md) can help you improve your quality of new hires. ![Megaphone](https://jobicy.com/data/elements/img/megaphone.svg) Looking for remote employees to work? Jobicy is helping companies of all sizes power their business with remote workers. [Start Hiring](https://jobicy.com/hire.md)