Mediation has gained a lot of traction over the recent years and its fast becoming a process that is frequently being used in many organisations, to manage difficulties amongst colleagues and as an alternative to what can be tricky grievance processes. In this blog, we will discuss what mediation is and what the process involves, along with how mediation can benefit any organisation.
Mediation 1 as defined by the CIPD is a voluntary process led by an impartial third party to resolve conflict. Conflict can occur in any employment relationship and is best dealt with early at source. If left unchecked, it can fester and escalate, potentially leading to grievance and discipline procedures or even employment tribunals. As our experienced Mediator, Heidi Roper shares “Mediation can avoid more formal and costlier routes by guiding participants towards reaching mutually acceptable solutions. We so often see the success of mediation and the stronger relationships that are forged through the mediation process.”
A mediator facilitates communication between two parties to help them in reaching a voluntary win/ win to aid their dispute and to find a workable way forward that both parties are agreed upon having explored the issues.
What is Mediation?
Mediation involves a mediator, who is a neutral party trained to facilitate discussions between the conflicting parties. Unlike a judge, the mediator does not impose a decision however, they help the parties reach a mutually acceptable agreement. The process typically follows these steps:
- Introduction: The mediator explains the rules and goals of mediation, this is typically conducted in separate introductory sessions with each party, to help the mediator understand the nature of the concerns before asking the parties to come together and agree on a joint facilitation session.
- Uninterrupted time: Each party presents their concerns to each other without interruption.
- Information Gathering: The mediator asks questions to clarify the issues and to ensure that all parties understand each party’s concerns in full.
- In depth conversation: The mediator helps the parties identify their what their underlying interests and needs are in relation to their concerns, always allowing both parties the chance to speak and most importantly listen to one another and with the aim of helping the parties to repair and rebuild their working relationship.
It is not the role of the mediator to generate ideas for an outcome or agreement on solutions, this is the role of the parties involved in the mediation process. The mediator will facilitate the conversation around this and allow them to come to a conclusion of their own.
Once both parties have agreed on a solution, a mediator will usually confirm the agreement and will put this in writing for both parties and then close the mediation.
Mediation Principles
The principles of mediation are that the mediator is ‘impartial’ and does not offer their opinion, the process is ‘confidential’ and therefore not reported back to the organisation.
The process is completely ‘voluntary’ and no one should be forced to have mediation as this will not give a positive outcome for any party. The mediator should be ‘neutral’ in the process and they should be able to support the parties to look towards the ‘future’ and to give the parties confidence in re-building their working relationship.
Benefits of Mediation for Organisations
- Mediation saves time and cost to an organisation as the alternative in using grievance procedures as they can be lengthy and can be relatively one sided.
- Mediation gives all parties the opportunity to share their needs and to understand the other person’s needs, helping them to work together to solve the problem, rather than having a solution forced upon them under a grievance procedure.
- Mediation provides solutions quicker and it has the potential to cause less stress on those individuals concerned.
- Mediation works – most mediation sessions are very productive and using a trained mediator can bring a high success rate for concluding mediation successfully.
- Mediation is solution driven – meaning the parties concerned are responsible for reaching their own solution together which in turn enhances the working relationship.
Not every mediation will end perfectly, but there are many benefits just from participating in the process. These include being heard, listening to others, understanding someone else’s perspective, and appreciating their differences. These aspects alone can strengthen a relationship after mediation, even without any agreed actions to fall back on.
By adding mediation to your conflict resolution toolkit, organisations can make any workplace more productive, and positive. Mediation helps resolve disputes and also builds stronger teamwork through better cooperation and understanding.
Mediation can also be quite a revealing and eye-opening process for all involved, it can be powerful, allowing those involved to alter or even to change their behaviour or their approach to the working relationship as a result of mediation.
Please contact our experienced Workplace Mediators, Heidi Roper and Gemma Murphy, here at View HR for further information on how we can support your workplace with any mediation.
