What is workplace mediation?
Workplace Mediation is an alternative dispute resolution process which can facilitate a non-adversarial approach to conflict management for a wide range of issues. Workplace mediation is a structured process where a neutral and independent third person facilitates communication between two people in dispute to identify and explore issues. The discussion is managed by a trained and impartial mediator and supports the parties to develop options, their own solutions and reach a consensual agreement. This process can be particularly useful in assisting participants in changing the quality of their conflict interaction to a more proactive interaction for future relationships.
When to access Workplace Mediation Service?
Workplace mediation should be considered:
• As an early intervention strategy when signs of conflict or dispute are identified.
• Any point during the escalation of a conflict situation.
• When a workers’ compensation or other type of claim, complaint or grievance is lodged whether accepted or not by the organisation.
What are the benifts to the Organisation?
Workplace mediation is a specialised process where the mediator not only focuses on facilitating a workable agreement but consciously models effective communication and conflict resolution skills as an intended benefit for participants. These learnt behaviours can then be applied in the workplace; both in changing the nature of interactions and culture.
Utilisation of a workplace mediator is an effective strategy to:
- Reduce the likelihood of issues escalating to a claim.
- Mediation allows the parties to discuss and resolve the real issues privately, quickly, and effectively.
- Strengthens the organisation’s employee relationships rather than having them damaged through conflict
- Improved collaboration and communication between two people
- A more professional working relationship
- Increased productivity
- Reduced impact on colleagues due to dispute
- Reduces the cost of expending valuable management time and energy.
What to Expect in a Workplace Mediation?
- Intake mediation meetings. The purpose of these sessions is for:
- Participants to outline their key issues/concerns
- Assessment of the matter for suitability for mediation
- Ensuring that the parties are fit and willing to participate in a mediation
- Provision of some information about what to expect in a joint forum and the benefits of proceeding
- Coaching and preparation for the mediation session including support people and their roles
- Discussion of pre-mediation agreements, containment guidelines and confidentiality
- Joint mediation session.
Conflict Management Coaching
Provides a unique model for helping executives, managers, supervisors, team leaders and team members to improve the way they deal with conflict in the workplace.
Benefits of Conflict Management Coaching
- Respond rather than react to conflict
- Conduct difficult conversations with confidence
- Gain insights and understanding about a conflict situation
- Resolve a dispute
- Prevent an unnecessary dispute from escalations
- Shift ways of interacting that are not working
What does Conflict Management Coaching Involve?
It involves 1:1 sessions with one of our trained Conflict Management coaches using the CINERGY ™ framework. This service is delivered to individuals and has many applications including preparing one or more parties for mediation, debriefing following unsuccessful mediations, assisting a party when the other has declined mediation and prevention of disputes.
It can also be used with employees to assist them to consider options prior to a formal process e.g. grievance or complaint, preparation for performance review, post workplace investigation or incident and prior to return to work (either for the individual or team members).
Conflict management coaching also helps people to identify their own interests and those of others, to work on skills to resolve conflict in constructive and conciliatory ways, to practice alternative ways to replace habitual and counterproductive behaviours and to enable effective and satisfying problem-solving.