It’s no surprise then that, in an age of cost-cutting and ultra-productivity, many forward-thinking organisations are using workplace mediation – both internal and external mediators – to resolve disputes that crop up between their staff.

At UK Mediation, we have worked with many organisations from a wide variety of sectors over the past 20 years, providing services, training, or a combination of the two, to help resolve workplace disputes of all kinds. These include grievance-type issues, personality clashes, miscommunications and, of course, allegations of bullying and harassment.

In addition to its versatility, workplace mediation is:

Quick
Most mediations between 2 or 3 parties can be completed within one day, including individual sessions with all parties and a joint session where they are brought together. Participants can then be back at work the next day: in contrast, individual grievances or tribunals can last on average 19 days2, according to CIPD research.

Confidential
Participants are asked to sign a Confidentiality Agreement prior to taking part, meaning that none of what is said in mediation finds its way elsewhere. None of the agreement points are fed back either, unless explicitly agreed to by the disputants. This means that both parties can say what’s on their mind and work towards an agreement, without fear of reprisal or repercussions.

Impartial
Contrary to other forms of dispute resolution, mediation aims to find an agreement without the input of a third party. The mediator’s only role is to facilitate the conversation in a neutral and non-intrusive manner, leaving the disputants to focus on working towards an agreement.

Cost-Effective
All in all, the cost of a one-day mediation session is a small fraction of that of an employment tribunal or grievance. Most providers offer the service with no hidden costs either, with the mediator’s travel and accommodation expenses already included.

Successful (in the majority of cases)
The most commonly-cited figures, as well as that of our own experience, suggest that around 85% of mediation cases end in some form of agreement. And, even if the participants don’t come away with some future-focused points to work on, we often find that just going through the mediation process can open the door for an agreement further down the line.

Having said all of this, many organisations still don’t use mediation, or they either use it incorrectly or not enough. Many of them are so firmly rooted in their ways of disciplinaries and grievances, and others may have very little awareness of it.

However, when you look at the benefits and the advantages that it offers to organisations and its employees, we can only hope that they get on board pretty soon!

1 ‘Managers Spend Nearly a Full Day Each Week Dealing with Staff Conflicts’, Accountemps, 2011.
2 ‘Conflict Management: A Shift in Direction?’, CIPD, 2015.