“Unmanaged conflict is the largest reducible cost in organisations today, and the least recognized.”
Dan Dana (1988 – 2007)
In today’s environment, a single employment dispute can result in a substantial loss for your organisation.
Being faced with an employment dispute warrants a strategy that eliminates the possibility of disruption, distraction and financial and emotional cost.
Workplace mediation is such a strategy.
Legal fees and workplace disruption are very costly. The task of handling the dispute can distract and unnerve an otherwise strong and efficient management team.
WorkResolve accredited mediators are highly skilled in workplace conflict. We provide a decision-making resource for executives, HR managers, and others responsible for organisational effectiveness.
What are the advantages to Mediation?
Mediation is a process by which employs a neutral third party called a mediator. This person helps people in conflict negotiate a mutually acceptable agreement. The parties to the mediation control the outcome.
A mediator facilitates communication and promotes understanding. He assists the parties to identify their needs and interests. He uses creative problem-solving techniques to enable the parties to reach their own agreement.
Unlike court or arbitration, no one imposes a solution on a party. If all of the parties do not agree to the result, the dispute remains unresolved.
Mediation gives parties much more control over the way their dispute or difference is dealt with. Also over the outcome. If negotiations have so far failed, mediation provides an alternative to pursuing litigation or other more formal processes. The scope for solutions is usually greater than the remedies available in courts and tribunals, or even in prolonged negotiation.
- Affordable – Mediation costs considerably less than litigation.
- Efficient – The mediation process can usually settle a dispute within a few sessions. Most mediation’s conclude or settle within thirty days from initiating the process.
- Effective – Mediation statistically settles over 80% of initiated disputes.
- Informal -The process of Mediation is flexible and informal. It is not necessary to have an attorney represent you during the mediation process. However, some individuals feel more comfortable with attorney representation.
- Empowering – Disputing parties are directly engaged in the negotiation of their settlement. Parties also enhance the likelihood of continuing their relationships by utilizing mediation.
- Confidential – Information disclosed during mediation may not be divulged as evidence in any trial or judicial proceeding.
An established mediation and conflict resolution program reduces workplace conflict. This is done by providing support for early and collaborative resolution of disputes. Conflict that has the potential to adversely affect productivity, working relationships and morale can be resolved quickly and efficiently.
- It is estimated that over 65% of performance problems result from strained relationships between employees as opposed to deficits in skill or motivation.
- A recent study of practicing managers showed that 42% of their time is spent reaching agreements with others when conflicts occur.
- Up to 30% of a typical manager’s time is spent dealing with conflict.
- Exit interview which ascertain reasons for terminating reveal that chronic unresolved conflict is a decisive factor in at least 50% of all such departures.
- Studies have found that the cost of losing an employee is 70% to 200% of the employee’s annual salary.
- Studies reveal a direct correlation between the prevalence of employee conflict and the amount of damage and theft of inventory and equipment.
- Absenteeism has been shown to correlate with job stress, especially the stress associated with anger toward co-workers.
- After 20 years of research and 60.000 exit interviews, the research reports that 80% of turnover is related to unsatisfactory relationships with the boss.
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