Does Conflict Management Training Work? What Intervention Evidence Shows
August 2, 2026 · Research · 5 min read
Conflict-management training can improve how managers respond to workplace disagreements, but the strongest evidence does not support universal claims such as “training makes managers nine times more confident” or “trained teams resolve conflict 40% faster”. The effect depends on what is taught, how managers practise, whether they use the skills at work and the organisational context around them.
There is, however, useful real-world evidence that well-designed manager training can improve conflict confidence, problem-solving behaviour and some employee-reported outcomes.
What recent intervention evidence shows
The Acas Skilled Managers Productive Workplaces research programme tested an online conflict-management intervention developed with researchers at the Universities of Westminster and Sheffield. The programme included a randomised controlled trial across 24 organisations and a separate before-and-after evaluation in 38 small and micro organisations.
Source: Acas, Managerial capability and staff engagement — Skilled Managers Productive Workplaces
The intervention focused on practical manager capability: preventing, containing and resolving conflict, having effective conversations, addressing performance and misconduct, choosing appropriate responses and handling team-based conflict.
Training improved conflict confidence and problem-solving behaviour
Acas reports that after the training:
- 47% of managers in the main ESRC-funded study were less likely to avoid conflict;
- 64% of managers in the Acas small-business sub-study were less likely to avoid conflict;
- 71% of managers in the main study adopted a more problem-solving approach to conflict;
- 69% of managers in the small-business sub-study adopted a more problem-solving approach.
These are study-specific results. They should not be turned into a promise that every manager or organisation will achieve the same percentages.
The RCT also looked at employee-reported outcomes
In the randomised controlled trial, staff working for trained managers reported relative improvements in managers’ willingness to intervene promptly in conflict compared with the control group. Acas also reports a reduction in work-related stress among staff of trained managers that was not observed among staff whose managers did not receive the training.
This is stronger evidence than a self-reported “confidence” score alone because the research also examined what employees experienced after their managers were trained.
Training is not a silver bullet
Acas explicitly cautions that the intervention is not a single solution to every workplace-conflict problem. Organisational context matters, and some settings may need face-to-face or more holistic support.
That is an important design principle. Training cannot compensate for:
- unclear roles or responsibilities;
- unfair procedures;
- serious misconduct or harassment;
- structural workload problems;
- incentives that reward aggressive behaviour;
- leaders who undermine the behaviours taught in training;
- legal or employee-relations problems that require formal process.
What conflict-management training should teach
The Acas programme focuses on practical capabilities rather than abstract conflict theory alone. A useful manager programme can include:
- recognising early signs of conflict;
- distinguishing an informal issue from a matter that needs formal procedure;
- preparing for difficult conversations;
- listening and asking questions before deciding what happened;
- identifying interests rather than arguing only about positions;
- responding proportionately;
- using collaborative problem-solving where appropriate;
- knowing when HR, mediation or formal escalation is needed.
MATSH’s separate Conflict Management at Work guide should remain the broad owner for conflict strategies and resolution processes. This page should focus specifically on training as an intervention and how to evaluate it.
Practise decisions, not only definitions
Conflict-management capability is difficult to build through slides alone. Managers need to make judgement calls under realistic conditions.
Useful practice can include scenarios such as:
- two employees blaming each other for missed work;
- a performance issue becoming personal;
- a disagreement involving a power imbalance;
- conflict across departments over priorities;
- a complaint that may involve bullying or discrimination;
- a situation where informal resolution has already failed.
The facilitator should evaluate the manager’s reasoning, communication and escalation choice, not just whether they remember a model.
Measure training at several levels
| Question | Possible evidence |
|---|---|
| Did the manager learn the approach? | Scenario assessment or observed practice |
| Did confidence or judgement improve? | Pre/post measure with clearly defined constructs |
| Did behaviour change at work? | Employee feedback, case review, manager observation |
| Are issues being handled earlier? | Case timing, escalation patterns, informal-resolution data |
| Did employee experience improve? | Stress, respect, conflict-handling or team survey measures |
| Did formal disputes change? | Grievance, mediation or formal-case trends interpreted carefully |
A fall in formal grievances is not automatically proof of success. It could mean conflicts are being resolved earlier, but it could also mean employees are less willing to report concerns. Quantitative data should be interpreted alongside employee experience and case quality.
Do not confuse intention with behaviour
In the Acas small-business sub-study, 80% of managers intended to change the way they managed their team after training. Intention is useful, but it is not the same as observed workplace behaviour. The stronger evaluation design also looked at employee-reported changes.
This distinction should be preserved whenever training results are reported.
Manager training should connect to organisational conflict systems
Managers need to know the organisation’s actual procedures, HR support and escalation routes. Conflict training should therefore be connected to:
- discipline and grievance procedures;
- bullying and harassment policies;
- employee-relations support;
- mediation options;
- legal obligations;
- manager decision authority;
- record-keeping requirements.
Acas research on line-manager handling of discipline and grievance shows why managers need support to resolve issues informally where appropriate while also knowing when formal process is necessary.
Source: Acas, Managing conflict at work — research report
A practical evaluation design for conflict-management training
- Define the conflict behaviours the organisation wants managers to use.
- Measure the starting point before training.
- Use realistic practice and feedback.
- Give managers tools they can use during real cases.
- Check workplace behaviour after enough time has passed.
- Include employee or team evidence where feasible.
- Track formal and informal conflict indicators carefully.
- Compare results with an appropriate baseline or control where possible.
- Document what else changed during the evaluation period.
What the evidence supports
The evidence supports a measured conclusion: practical conflict-management training can improve manager confidence, problem-solving behaviour and employee-reported conflict handling in some organisational settings. It does not support fixed universal claims about productivity, retention, conflict speed or confidence multipliers.
The useful goal is therefore not to find the biggest percentage for a training brochure. It is to build manager capability, connect it to real workplace systems and measure whether behaviour actually changes.
Sources
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