Compensation Manager Mock Interview
Master 35 Compensation Manager interview questions covering pay equity, market analysis, and benefits design.
Question 35 of 35
Talk about a time you had to handle a conflict in the workplace. How did you handle that situation and what did you learn that you bring forward to this day?
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Ryan Brunner has over ten years of experience recruiting, interviewing, and hiring candidates in the healthcare, public service, and private manufacturing/distribution industries.
As their next Compensation Manager, your interviewer realizes that you will likely face some conflict on the job. That conflict may come from your direct reports or high level leaders within the organization. To get a feel for how you handle person to person conflict in the workplace, they are proposing this question to you. No matter what situation you talk about, your interviewer will be looking to hear you talk about some key strategies and techniques that you used that prove your ability to handle conflict in a positive manner. Talk about your ability to communicate clearly, listen attentively and make sound judgements on behavior. They will also look to see that you were able to meet the conflict head on and with confidence, as you'll be relied upon to do so in this role.
Ryan Brunner has over ten years of experience recruiting, interviewing, and hiring candidates in the healthcare, public service, and private manufacturing/distribution industries.
"Last year, I had to manage a conflict that a direct report of mine was having with a manager that was external to our department. I found out about the conflict from the external manager in an email. He let me know that my employee was rude in email and over the phone and that he didn't appreciate that behavior and wanted me to handle it appropriately. My first move was to talk directly to my employee to hear their side of the story. She let me know that the manager had been pressuring her for information one morning and she made it clear to him that she couldn't tackle the task until the next day. Not liking that answer, he continued to press her via email throughout the day and she admitted that she snapped on him via email and apologized for that. After seeing the email chain, I honestly didn't fault her getting angry at the manager. I briefly coached my employee on handling a situation like that if it ever happened again and told her to always involve me if things ever got out of hand like that. I let my employee know that I would handle the manager and I talked with him to let him know that I thought he was out of line in his communication with her when he was told when work would get done. He didn't know the workload that my team was under at the time and apologized for his actions. Looking back on this situation, I know that remaining calm and gathering all of the facts from both parties was essential in finding a great outcome."
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