Workplace mediation can be an invaluable tool for rebuilding relationships within the workplace. When you have invested in the training and development of key staff members and productive teams, the last thing you want is to lose valuable employees as a result of a dispute in the workplace.

Utilising workplace mediation can help employers to retain their best staff members and restore harmony in the office. It can also be used to address director and trustee disputes and build better working relationships between senior leaders in a business. Available at any stage in a formal dispute or to assist more generally with the smooth running of an organisation, mediation can help identify the areas that are causing tension and come up with practical solutions to enable employees or colleagues to work together more effectively.

When a grievance or concern is first raised, early workplace mediation can help to get to the root cause of the problem and find solutions before the situation escalates. If a matter has already developed into a more difficult situation and lawyers are involved for one or both parties, mediation can assist in resolving the dispute, but it can also be used alongside a formal process to help manage the professional interactions of the two individuals whilst the formal dispute resolution is ongoing.

Following the resolution of a formal dispute, workplace mediation can be used to restore relationships and agree how colleagues will communicate and respond to each other in the future. The mediation process allows all parties to reflect and move from the previous difficulties and be actively involved in re-establishing appropriate expectations going forward.

Workplace mediation is a flexible process, but usually involves the mediator meeting separately with the HR team, senior managers and each person involved in the challenging situation. The mediator will then agree a time to meet with the colleagues directly involved to discuss a way forward. This meeting will almost always be confidential to the colleagues participating and the aim is for the mediator to assist them to identify the areas of concern and come up with an action plan, guidelines or memorandum of understanding that will set out how they agree to work together.

Workplace mediation can benefit:

• Companies
• Partnerships
• Small business
• Large corporations
• Government departments and local authorities
• Charities
• Social Housing groups
• Schools and Universities
• Faith organisations

Contact us to find out more.