A successful negotiation is an agreement that will last. In order to be supportive of an agreement, both sides must be satisfied in three significant ways: psychologically, procedurally and substantively. The Satisfaction Triangle1 touches on this but what happens when you think everything is working, but isn’t? If we’re all going into a negotiation rooting for our own team – are we even satisfied with a tie? Does win-win mean a straight-down-the-line division of terms?
People initially invest heavily in the process, but when the agreement disintegrates, the individuals are thrust back into conflict. At that point, the conflict may be more acute than when the initial process began. So, how do you make sure everyone is satisfied so the agreement lasts?
We focus on three main areas of satisfaction – people, procedural, and problem.
1. People Satisfaction
People who have reached a resolution must be able to look back on the process and feel they were treated in a way that allows them to support the agreement, even if they did not achieve all they wanted. You may experience a negotiation where two sides just can’t meet in the middle. A small business, for example, may desperately need to hire an accountant. They find an excellent candidate but simply can’t afford them.
That doesn’t mean it’s the end of the road for the parties involved however. Mutual respect, acknowledgment of interests, perspectives considered and recognizing contributions and experience can go a long way in generating a positive rapport between the two that may lead to other qualified candidates, one-offs, and future work together in a different capacity.
On the contrary, if the small business owner is intent on hiring but only at the rate they can afford, the prospective candidate might feel pressured to acquiesce by lowering their rate, or feel as if their experience is being devalued. Even if they agree to a deal, they may hold an unstated feeling of anger about how they were treated, and that anger may eat at their psyches until, eventually, they undo the deal that was made.
Treating people with respect can have many different kinds of positive outcomes. The qualified but initially unaffordably candidate, may come away from the negotiation with a different perspective — the way they were treated being positive may hold weight as they consider the pros and cons of their current position. Could they make the salary work if they knew they would be joining with someone who respects them? As negotiation expert Chris Voss has said2, “As human beings, we’re powerfully swayed by how much we feel we’re being respected.” The trade off doesn’t always work, but when you’re treated well, it’s easier to support an agreement.
2. Procedural Satisfaction
For a truly effective negotiation to last, there must also be satisfaction with the process followed in the resolution of the dispute. Individuals who are not satisfied with the process may fail to support the resolution, even though they agree with it. There are countless biases3 we encounter on a daily basis and these certainly aren’t absent in a negotiation.
Satisfaction within the process can’t be instantly infused in participants, but instead be developed along the way. For instance, there is an assumption that women don’t ask for raises4 as often as their male counterparts. Several studies have debunked this assumption, but confirmed others like the fact women do know their worth and value, but their employers often do not5. If women go into a salary negotiation and feel they’re being treated fairly, but are later made aware of a male colleague who received a more substantial raise, she will likely question the entire process.
3. Problem Satisfaction
Are the participants satisfied with the substantive (real, meaningful) resolution to the problem? The value of substantive satisfaction is most clearly demonstrated when it does not exist. You have probably seen situations where agreement was achieved, but not adhered to by one or both parties.
American Airlines experienced this first hand in 20036 when it was experiencing an uncertain financial future. The management team proposed benefit cuts to the employees union of some $10 billion over six years. After much negotiation, the unions agreed to wage cuts of 15.6% to 23%. They might have felt this was this deal was in their best interest as the company going out of business may have had a far less optimal result.
However, the employee unions were unaware of a separate, special deal for a small number of American Airlines executives that included significant bonuses if they stayed with the company, as well as a pension fund that would protect them should the company have to file for bankruptcy. American Airlines had to disclose these details in the S.E.C. filings, which attracted the attention of the employee unions who rightly felt deceived and threatened to pull the plug on the deal.
The risk in such cases is that there will be “conflict aftermath” as a dissatisfied party expresses their real feelings about the agreement. In the case of American Airlines, the employee unions consisted of three unions representing some 88,000 members7. Though the unions did eventually agree to move forward with the deal, it was only after the CEO stepped down and the bonuses to executives were commuted.
How To Look for Satisfaction in Negotiation
Watch for Signals
Typically, we end up in a formal negotiation process8 due to a disagreement. If you’re looking for your own satisfaction in the process, this allows you time to more deeply consider the disagreement at hand, what potential interests and agreements might be as well as what might be a reach. An ethical negotiator9 is not likely to put something on the table that doesn’t make sense from a fairness perspective, but it can also be important to know where the lines are drawn10.
People will provide signals of dissatisfaction11. Think silence, hesitancy, recalcitrance or lack of cooperation. A seller may balk at an initial offer from a prospective home-buyer, and a subordinate might painfully agree to a meager salary increase because it’s presented as their only option. When you see these signs, incorporate a response to them into the conflict management process.
Recognize that Dissatisfaction is Normal
Some dissatisfaction is expected in every conflict or there would be no conflict. The challenge is to increase each type of satisfaction to the level where people will engage in the resolution process and, ultimately, support the agreement it produces.
In the earlier example of American Airlines12 – the employee unions knew a “win” wouldn’t really feel like one. On some level, many of us feel like a “win” is any situation where we aren’t giving up anything. Instead, the unions understood a “win” would still technically result in a loss of compensation for their members, but that they’d still have jobs as the company would not have to file for bankruptcy.
But when the agreement was found to be more win/lose, it took their dissatisfaction with the deal to a new level.
Deal with Problems as They Arise
This means immediately. If it is obvious someone is having trouble, stop the process long enough to bring everyone back on board while working toward a resolution. Pressing pause on a negotiation is a hard move13. You may have already invested time and money and you don’t want to start over, but you also don’t want to get so far that turning back is an equally dismal solution. When you notice the signs of dissatisfaction, address them.
Specifically Inquire About Satisfaction
Specific inquiry about satisfaction should be made after a conflict is resolved. If there is not sufficient satisfaction for the parties to move forward with the agreement, one must decide to either move forward and risk the consequences or start all over. The latter is often difficult to elect because so much has been invested. Yet, this inquiry is essential if the goal of a durable agreement14 is to be achieved.
Level Up Your Negotiation Strategy
Win/win negotiations are absolutely possible. We don’t all approach negotiations in the same way, nor do all negotiations operate in a way that allows us to exercise all of our best practices. We become better negotiators through the process of building our skills and participating in negotiations.
The Lowry Group, LLC (TLG) is the outgrowth of almost three decades of experience helping organizations achieve their next level of success throughout the United States and around the world, including conflict resolution. TLG’s work began as an external consulting, systems design, and training resource composed of faculty from the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine University School of Law.
But TLG has moved beyond its academic roots to respond to repeated requests from corporate and government organizations for “real world” assistance. The TLG team has been chosen by scores of major organizations that must become more effective in negotiating sales, business transactions, client relationships and disputes.
What makes companies and individuals truly successful is the ability to ably manage negotiation. We created resources you need to identify, resolve and manage negotiation. From CEOs, to small business owners, and to anyone managing a team – developing the skills to navigate negotiations is not just important, it’s imperative. Managing negotiations is a cornerstone not only in conflict resolution but also in understanding the psychology of business relationships. Learn how to up your negotiation skills with the Negotiation Navigator Online Course!
- https://viaconflict.wordpress.com/2013/03/31/triangle-of-satisfaction/
- https://www.fastcompany.com/3060582/the-one-word-that-can-transform-your-negotiating-skills
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/briannawiest/2019/02/14/6-mental-biases-that-are-making-you-a-less-effective-negotiator/?sh=17933f939e84
- https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/irel.12214
- https://hbr.org/2018/06/research-women-ask-for-raises-as-often-as-men-but-are-less-likely-to-get-them
- https://www.cnn.com/2003/TRAVEL/04/25/american/
- https://www.reuters.com/article/us-americanairlines/american-airlines-files-for-bankruptcy-idUSTRE7AS0T220111130
- https://www.fastcompany.com/3032560/9-body-language-tricks-to-improve-your-negotiation-skills
- https://www.pon.harvard.edu/daily/negotiation-training-daily/questions-of-ethics-in-negotiation/
- https://www.fm-magazine.com/news/2020/feb/negotiation-tactics-skills-22954.html
- https://www.fastcompany.com/3032560/9-body-language-tricks-to-improve-your-negotiation-skills
- https://www.orginc.com/american-airlines-and-transport-workers-union
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/brand-connect/cadillac/wp/enterprise/this-is-the-biggest-secret-to-negotiation/
- https://www.mediate.com/articles/WadeJ8.cfm