what we do Common ground For this employee, helping resolve disputes and conflicts started early by terri conrardy, as told to len vraniak Terri Conrardy is a case manager in Renton, Wash., with Alternative Dispute Resolution, part of Human Resources. In this Frontiers series that profiles employees talking about what they do at Boeing, Conrardy explains how she helps nonunion employees and managers resolve conflicts. I grew up the oldest of nine children and often found myself mediating arguments between my siblings. So I’m not really surprised that I ended up in this role at Boeing. But it took me a while to translate those childhood experiences into my career. After spending a number of years in various Human Resources positions, I decided to invest my energy and time to obtain a degree in Organizational Management through the Learning Together Program. I love learning, so I also took a Basic Skills Mediation course through the University of Washington Law School Continuing Education program. With these new skills, I watched for an opportunity to use them. I was fortunate to be selected for my position in June 2005. When people ask me what I do, I tell them to imagine being an employee who has a dispute with their manager. Whether it’s a performance review they feel is inaccurate, a Corrective Action they view as overly severe, or a changed work package that appears to be retaliatory, people want perceived wrongs to be made right. And I’m part of the HR team that is there to help. The funny thing is that I used my mediation skills on my own children 10 Boeing Frontiers when they were teenagers. When they argued, I would say, “OK—we are taking this issue to mediation. Prepare your statements.” My kids’ disputes were about different things than those I see at work, but the process of reaching a solution is pretty similar. All parties need to speak and be heard in a respectful way, and they need to collaborate on the solution. Our team provides employees with the resources and tools to communicate successfully. When they apply these tools to reach an agreement on their own, they can move on to focus 100 percent on their job responsibilities. I feel I have one of the best jobs in the company. As a case manager I am a neutral party who is there to help and coach people so they can achieve a suitable resolution for all. I get to help people move beyond issues they often think aren’t solvable. When managers and employees are able to own their mistakes and communicate that, they help create an open and honest culture. That improves the relationship between employee and manager, leads to improved productivity, and increases morale. And for me, helping make that possible is the best part of my job. n len.vraniak@boeing.com
Frontiers December 2014–January 2015 Issue
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