No matter the size of your organisation, disputes can be part and parcel of the working day – and resolving them can be crucial for the smooth running of your business. Do you have issues at work between both employee’s and employees’ and their manager when there seems to be no rationale reason for these problems!
The overriding aim of workplace mediation is to restore and maintain the employment relationship wherever possible. This means the focus is on working together to go forward, not determining who was right or wrong in the past.
Many kinds of dispute can be mediated if those involved want to find a way forward. It can be used at any stage in a dispute but is most effective before positions become entrenched. You might want to think about writing a mediation stage into your individual grievance procedure.
We need to consider different ways to resolve workplace disputes depending on the type of issue being addressed. Mediation provides a process which assists employees in resolving their difficulties while at the same time enhancing their working relationship. It can help come up with a solution that both sides can accept.
The impartial expert known as a ‘mediator’ can talk to both sides separately or may talk to both together if agreed. It’s usually quicker, almost always less stressful and often lasts less than a day.
The mediator doesn’t advise what you should be done, but advises on issues, asking questions that help people look at their own behaviour. Mediation is best used early in a dispute and is sometimes used as part of a grievance procedure. Both sides, however, must agree to mediation. The mediator can be a member of your HR team, a fellow employee or you could consider bringing in a specialist mediator to help.
Mediation has many benefits that can help your business progress. It can help resolve difficult relationships between employees which on occasions have had a long history. There are other benefits too. Managers can become more confident when dealing with employee complaints. On occasions in the past the default option could have been to instigate a formal investigation for every complaint made by employees.
It is best practice for managers to think of using mediation at an early stage. This practice can cut the time being spent on dispute resolution, thus increasing productivity across your company. What is even more interesting is how the impact of mediation could be extended to other areas of your business. Managers can apply learnings from their experiences with mediation within their teams over how they manage other aspects of their business. The benefits of coaching and in the soft skills gained in understanding mediation are far-reaching and can bring benefits to your company.
Some points that should be considered in every Mediation process. Achieving resolution requires a significant expenditure of effort toward finding options that will satisfy both parties. Finding options that satisfy both parties is very much like building a deal in a commercial context. It must work for both parties or else there is no deal. So, in mediation you should be concerned not just with your own interests, but also with the interests of your opponent.
Consent (agreement) is essential to any deal that is made in mediation. An employee who has been insulted is not usually inclined to give consent, also an employee who is feeling disrespected tends to be distracted by this to the exclusion of all else, which is counterproductive to the mediation process. This is not a matter of “making nice.” It is a matter of, if possible, having both parties feeling they have gained something from the process. Namely a “Win-Win situation.
Billy Muir
Director/Employment Law Consultant
LBJ Consultants
