Intervention > Workplace Mediation


What is Workplace Mediation?
Workplace Mediation is a confidential and voluntary process in which two or more people in disagreement come together with an independent and neutral third party who helps them make informed and clear decisions on how to resolve disagreements. The neutral third party, called the mediator, helps the people in conflict work out for themselves what can be done to settle the dispute. The mediator identifies the issues and assists the parties to the dispute to explore options and solutions that are ultimately good for them and their organisations. Parties are involved fully in the decision making in a safe, supportive and respectful environment.

The goal of mediation is to help people in dispute reach an agreement that is mutually satisfactory. Mediation is appropriate for conflicts over specific issues.

Mediation can be used as a formal early intervention method used to solve workplace disputes and avoid situations where the parties in conflict become entrenched in their positions. If disputes are not resolved in the early stages then the parties may be driven further apart and grow increasingly hostile toward one another.

Mediation is different to arbitration, expert determination, conciliation and workplace community conferencing. It is always voluntary and the mediator does not seek to impose any particular solution. Mediation is a form of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).

How does Workplace Mediation Work?
At ITIM, the delivery of workplace mediations involves experienced mediators following a number of steps. This ensures the process remains fair, impartial, professional and best meets the needs of the parties involved. The steps are:
1. Mediator meets with management and other key organisational staff to assess the history of the conflict and to evaluate which method is most suitable for the dispute.
2. Consultation with key organisational staff detailing recommended intervention strategies.
3. If the dispute proceeds to mediation, a model is chosen that best fits the needs of the organisation and the particular dispute.
4. The mediator meets with parties to the dispute separately. This meeting is multi-purpose and includes:
• The mediator understanding the parties’ perspectives
• Ensure parties are prepared for the process, emotionally and practically
• Ensure parties are fully informed and are willing participants, and
• Evaluate further whether the dispute is suitable for mediation and, if not, make recommendations as to other options.
5. Arrange an agreed time and place, preferably a neutral venue, to meet for the actual mediation.
6. Mediation takes place. ITIM has found that two-hour sessions are optimal and an average of two to three sessions is the norm.
7. All agreements are written and participants are encouraged to give a copy to management.
8. A meeting is held to review the agreement after four to six weeks. This provides the parties with the opportunity to make changes if necessary, state what is working well and prevent the escalation of future conflict.

Is Workplace Mediation for You?
If you have a conflict over a specific issue with another person or a group of persons in your workplace and would like it promptly solved using a safe, respectful and cost-effective procedure, then mediation may be for you. The types of workplace conflicts for which mediation is appropriate includes disputes between two staff members where the situation is adversely affecting their working relationships and/or productivity and ongoing unresolved disputes between two or more parties.

Mediation can only take place when both parties take part voluntarily.

What are the Benefits of Workplace Mediation?
Workplace Mediation provides a range of benefits to managers and staff within organisations. Mediation is beneficial because it:
• is an efficient process that saves time and money
• avoids lengthy and unnecessary litigation
• is completed within a few sessions.
• is fair – mediators are impartial and have no interest in the outcome. Their role is to help the parties resolve the charge.
• Involves the parties having an equal say in the process and decide settlement terms. . . not the mediator.
• is a confidential process – sessions are not tape-recorded or transcribed
• usually occurs early in the charge process, and many mediations are completed within a few meetings
• fosters a problem-solving approach to complaints and workplace disruptions are reduced
• can lead to a better understanding of issues affecting the workplace
• focuses on finding and implementing positive and productive solutions to disputes
• focuses on the present and future, not the past
• takes place in a safe and confidential place where employees feel safe to fully disclose all relevant information
• increases rates of participant satisfaction
• separates the people involved in the conflict from the problem
• focuses on interests, not people’s positions
• invents options for mutual gain
• insists on the use of objective criteria
• remedies the problem rather than assigning blame or culpability
• avoids misunderstandings and allows for the dispute to be resolved quickly and productively
• parties determine the outcome and the components of the resolution
• may identify areas for positive systemic change
• eliminates an impersonal and adversarial process
• time is spent more productively in mediation than preparing a case for litigation
• is a process through which complaints are resolved before escalating to the point of litigation.

Why Choose ITIM?
• All ITIM mediators are qualified professionals with many years’ experience in their specialty areas.
• ITIM mediators are good listeners and expert at guiding people in conflict through a dispute and into finding and documenting workable solutions
• ITIM mediators are especially skilled in dealing with the emotional distress that often makes many disputes difficult to handle rationally
• All mediators belong to their professional associations.
• ITIM is a Level One Member of the Employee Assistance Professionals Association of Australia Inc.