why use mediation?

When you’re running a business, the last thing you need is conflict in the workplace. Costly tribunal claims, time consuming grievance procedures, poor morale and staff turnover problems – but what can you do?

Workplace mediation is becoming an increasingly common support process for decision makers, HR managers and professionals when these problems threaten to become intractable. It can be used for many common personnel issues including:

• Colleague relationship breakdown
• Bullying
• Harassment
• Discrimination
• Grievances

building a better workplace

Mediation is a proven approach that can save you time, money and stress. You will also benefit from a more productive workplace. Your employees may report improved motivation and well-being, reducing staff turnover and making it easier for you to recruit like-minded colleagues.

mediation can “offer a solid basis for sustainable high-performance working.” (CIPD, 2008)

how we help

We have over 20 years’ experience in mediation practice. Our service is completely bespoke – one size never fits all. We can help bring mediation in to your workplace in several ways:

One-off dispute resolution service ideal for smaller companies, isolated incidents or more complex disputes requiring an external specialist click here.

Accredited mediation training programmes to train an individual or team so that you will gain in-house mediation skills – click here.

Conflict resolution consultancy for troubleshooting in areas or teams with ongoing conflict problems – click here.

A range of training for HR professionals and line managers to keep you informed of the latest techniques and accreditations  - click here

We can also help with commercial disputes click here

Case study - workplace mediation

This referral came from a Director of a manufacturing company with around 50 employees. There was no internal HR function and when a dispute escalated between two office staff to the point where allegations of bullying and harassment were made the Director sought advice from an employment lawyer, who recommended mediation.

The two employees were the sole members of the finance team and shared an office. A particular incident triggered a sudden and complete breakdown in communication, which was resistant to all management directives. From then, the finance team simply did not function effectively, posing significant risks for the company.

During mediation, we discovered that they had previously had a good working relationship but structural changes had created uncertainty as to their exact roles and reporting relationships. This had led to mistrust, which was unwittingly made worse by management communications which at times seemed to favour one over the other.

Mediation enabled them to rebuild trust and loyalty to one another as they understood now how much of what had happened was caused by circumstances outside either of their control. At their request the final agreement was shared with management and included constructive proposals to update job descriptions and clarify procedures that they felt would improve the situation, not just for them but for the organisation as a whole.

Interested?
Click here to contact us. NHS manager awarded nearly £1m in racial discrimination case Jan 24, 2012 New breed of mediators can revolutionise British legal system Jan 24, 2012 Doctor awarded £4.5 million for sex and race discrimination claim Jan 12, 2012