Workplace Mediation
'Solution/Agreement' focussed
Mediation is not about going over the past and deciding who was right. It is about finding a way forward to work together more harmoniously in future.
Disputants offer the solution themselves
Mediators do not make suggestions for how you will work together. During mediation you will listen to each other’s needs and wishes, and make suggestions for trying to meet your own needs, as well as the other person’s. We are looking for win-win, co-operative solutions.
Confidentiality
The content of the mediation sessions is entirely confidential between the mediator and the two participants. This means your mediator will not be available as a witness in future. They will write up your agreements and a copy will be given to the Sponsor, HR and the Mediation Champion. This is the only feedback that they will receive from your mediator, other than a general indication of whether the process seems to be going well.
Informed Consent
Mediation only works if you both want to come together to find ways to improve your working relationship.
Mediator is impartial
The mediator does not take sides, nor are they there to judge the merits of the case. Their job is to help you both to communicate with each other, so that you can work together better in future.
When is Mediation Appropriate?
Mediation is appropriate at the early stages of a dispute, to prevent conflicts escalating into a formal grievance, disciplinary, or tribunal. Equally though, it can be entered into after a formal grievance or disciplinary, when colleagues need to find a new way to work.
Mediation is most likely to resolve a conflict when the parties:
- want a resolution
- are able to express themselves
- have the authority to implement their agreement
How Mediation Works
The mediation process can be broken down into three stages:
- Stage 1 – Individual Meetings with Disputants
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The mediator meets with the individuals concerned on their own for about one hour each. The purpose is to put them at ease and allow them a safe space to explore what they see as the main issue, their feelings, the impact the situation is having on them, their motivation for seeking a solution and what they want from Stage 2.
- Stage 2 – Meeting Together and Making Agreement
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The mediator meets with the participants together. The aim is for the participants to generate agreements for how they will behave to improve their working relationship. We facilitate listening and understanding on both sides and help them create workable solutions to meet both their needs. We do not dwell on past events, but on behaviour patterns. At the end of the meeting, the participants sign their agreements on how they will behave in future. This is witnessed by the Mediation Champion and Sponsor.
- Stage 3 – Review Progress
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The Mediation Champion meets with the participants regularly to support them in reviewing their agreements ttogether. About 6 weeks after the joint meeting, the mediator meets with the participants to review progress. At this stage the agreement may need to be adjusted.
Examples of suitable issues
Conflicts about:
- working styles, roles, or responsibilities
- bullying, or abuses of power
- discrimination and harassment
- the management of change
- cultural differences
We are signatories to the Mediators Green Pledge which commits us to ensuring that we minimise the impact on the environment of every mediation we are involved in.
Introducing our Mediators
Rachel Weiss
Workplace Mediator
Rachel is an experienced, qualified mediator who has attained the standards of the Scottish Mediation Register. She delights in helping mediation participants see each other as human beings again, instead of demonising one another and taking things personally. Often the differences are due to differences in style or personality. Teasing this out helps participants put past assumptions and conflicts behind them and find new ways of working together.
“I do not aim to make participants friends, just to establish functioning working relationships, so that they can both get their job done efficiently, with minimum personal distress and maximum benefit to the organisation.”
Rachel’s training and experience as a counsellor and coach adds depth to her mediation work. She takes a systemic approach, being aware of the organisational factors which may be influencing the conflict.
Find out more about mediation
To book a mediation appointment, or to find out more, simply call us on 01738 562005 or use our contact form.