WHAT IS MEDIATION?
Mediation occurs when an impartial third party helps two or more people in dispute to attempt to reach an agreement. The mediator is not there to judge , or tell those involved what to do. The mediator is in charge of the process of seeking to resolve the problem but the outcome is the responsibility of the parties themselves.
Mediation can be distinguish from other approaches to conflict resolution in a number of ways , including the fact that it is:
- informal
- flexible
- voluntary
- morally binding but has no legal status
- confidential; and
- the parties are (generally) unpresented
In the workplace , mediation can be used to deal with issues between manager and employee, or between individual employees or between senior managers or board members. Mediators may be employees who have been trained and accredited by an external mediation service, and who act as internal mediators in addition to their day jobs, or they may be from an external mediation provider.
MANAGING CONFLICT
Low level conflict is endemic in the workplace. Although some conflict is inevitable and can be healthy, conflict that is ignored or badly managed can have a negative outcomes for individuals and organizations. These can include, for example, sickness, absence, diversion of management time, staff turnover with the consequent recruitment and retraining costs, and lower staff morale.
Although formal procedures clearly have a role to play in dealing with conflict, they can also tend to make problems worse. Once procedures have been triggered, there is a tendency for parties to adopt adversarial and entrenched positions; the chances of achieving an agreed outcome to become remote. This is where informal processes, including mediation, really score by dealing with issues while attitudes are still fluid.
BUILDING THE BUSINESS CASE
According to a recent survey, the main benefit employers see in using mediation is improving relationships between individuals. The other most common benefits include: reducing or eliminating the stress involved in using more formal processes, retaining valuable employees, reducing the number of formal grievances and developing people.
In comparisonwith other approaches to conflict resolution, mediation can contribute to building a workplace culture based on mutual respect. Where more traditional methods focus on compensation for injury or distress, mediation can change how people feel about their situation and how they are likely to behave in future. Mediation seeks to identify the real issues underlying conflict and help the parties to identify options for resolving them.
So mediation can be seen as a forward looking-rather than retrospective-and problem solving approach to conflict resolution. As such, it should appeal to managers who accept the model of the "psychological contract" between employer and employee. This sees the workplace relationship as a "deal" between the two sides , based essentially on trust, fairness and delivery. Employees cannot be forced to accept mediation; mediation will be ineffective unless employees are prepared to commit to the process. But their involvement in looking for a solution can increase buy in and protect the employment relationship.
MEDIATION IN PRACTICE
Mediation is not a universal default option for tackling every workplace problems that arises. The survey mentioned showed a range of factors inhibiting organizations from making more use of mediation, including lack of understanding of the process, lack of trust by employees and resistance by line managers. But mediation can be particlarly effective in tackling issues where relationships have broken down, where an employee complains of bullying or harassment, or where there are perceptions of some form of discrimination.
For mediation to be effective, mediators need to be trained in the techniques of mediation. They need to understand their role and how fits within the organization's dispute resolution procedures - and other policies and procedures, such as bullying and harassment and diversity policies. Other staff can also be trained in mediation skillls generally, to encourage the right management style and the organizational capacity to deal with conflict on a day to day basis. Line managers can also benefit from training in handling "difficult conversations" to prevent disputes happening in the first place.
Organizations that want to use mediation need to consider whether to build their own in house capability or buy in external support. They may, of course, opt to both. An external mediator, on the other hand will generally bring more experience and a fresh perspective, and may find it easier to gain trust of the parties. The choice is one that each organization has to make for itself.
MEDIATION AS A PUBLIC POLICY ISSUE
There is the option of a near mandatory approach to mediation. This would incorporate it as a routine part of the statutory dispute resolution. This is a situation in New Zealand, where the provision of free mediation services by the state has halved the number of claims heard by that country's equivalent of employment tribunals. Such an approach would not be appropriate everywhere;external mediation would not be suitable in all cases.
There are concerns that mandatory mediation would lead to "box-ticking" and be wasteful resources. However, this option may well come back onto the agenda if a system relying wholly on voluntary take-up by employers and employees does not produce big increase in usage. It would be strange if mediation, which is increasingly seen by civil courts as a preferred method for handling cases, was not widely used for handling employement issues as well.
INCREASING VOLUNTARY TAKE-UP
Anecdotal evidence suggests that public sector organizations are currently more likely to make use of mediation than commercial ones. This may be for a number of reasons. Managers in the private sector may be more inclined to feel that it would reflect on their managerial competence if they were to accept third party intervention.HR managers in the private sector may be more likely than their public-sector counterparts to see as their personal responsibility to sort out problems. And public sector employees may have rather less trust in their own managers to resolve grievances, and so be happier to turn outside mediator.
If mediation is to make a significant impact in reducing the volume of tribunal claims, this will have to occur in one of two main ways. One is by identifying potential tribunal claims. either before they reach the tribunal or before hearing takes place and offering claimants and employers mediation as a more attractive alternative. The informed review of any workplace dispute should offer prospective claimants 'clear, up-front advice on what bringing claim involves and what their options are." There are heavy costs for claimants as well as employers in using employment tribunals.
The second route to building up mediation as an effective substitute for tribunal claims is for employers to adopt mediation as the core of their conflict management processes , and use it to reinforce a trust-based culture . which will mean that few if any disputes reach a critical stage. Short term results cannot be expected from going down this route, but there is great value in a mediation culture as a component of effective people management and leadership. But continuing commitment from government will be needed if mediation is to fullfil its potential as a tool for resolving workplace conflict.
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