'Mediation in the Workplace'
published in ‘Modern Management’ a comprehensive article about what workplace mediation is and how it can be used within organisations

Mediation in the Workplace is presently one of the fastest growing areas of innovative management in the U.K. It is of great interest to managers, team leaders and supervisors in the public and private sectors who are concerned with achieving effective working relationships, high quality management of people and the minimisation of the negative disruption which workplace conflict can often bring.

Mediation, while well known in other sectors, has been brought into the world of organisations and the workplace only very recently. Managers at all levels are very interested therin, because it offers exciting and constructive advantages over the win/lose adversarial dispute methods we have been accustomed to. While formal procedures are necessary, they can be very long and drawn out, highly costly in terms of money, disruption and negative emotions and often end up with even worse working relationships than before.

Mediation offers a way of resolving interpersonal conflicts, misunderstandings and poor communication in a way that encourages clearer communication, good working relationships and an emphasis on solutions. Mediation is voluntary which means all the parties involved must agree to the mediation and be willing to look for a resolution.

What exactly is mediation?

Mediation is a dispute resolution method whereby 'an impartial person (the mediator) facilitates communication between those in dispute, in order to enable them to come up with mutually agreed solutions.' It is a highly structured process so that both parties have a chance to speak without interruption, and to talk about how they would like to improve things in the future. The disputants themselves come up with, and agree upon voluntary solutions which are written up at the end of the mediation process. A follow-up meeting can then be arranged some time in the future in order to see how the agreements are working. It is the structure of Mediation and the Mediator's skill which make the difference. Mediation gives a safe, confidential space for people to say what they need to say, to have their feelings heard and to think of agreements which can be made in order to improve the working relationship or to change unacceptable behaviours.

Face to Face Mediation

After the Mediator has had individual meetings with each person, six basic steps apply:

Mediation Skills for Managers

Have you ever been in a conflict situation and wished you had more skills at your finger tips to help you deal with the situation more expertly? Most people find conflict situations very difficult to handle. Feelings can be very strong and reactive, and the ripples of a workplace conflict can begin to seriously affect all those around as well as the quality of work. It is probably true to say that very few people have actually undergone training in conflict management skills even though this is probably one of the main skills which managers need in their everyday working lives. Mediation is a particular set of skills which are part of a whole range of dispute resolution methods.

In mediation there are two levels of skills for managers:

The Benefits of Mediation

Amidst the complexities of modern day management, there needs to be more effective and more flexible ways of handling the variety of workplace conflicts and differences which are bound to arise. Mediation does offer a positive way forward in this field as well as empowering people to find solutions which work for them.