Employment & Workplace Mediation

People who work together--colleagues, employees, and employers--come into conflict in ways that may be damaging to themselves or others around them.   

Colleagues finding the behavioral styles or work habits of their peers to be of concern. Employees feeling that they are unfairly treated or terminated.   
Managers realizing personnel practices do not address distressing staff behaviors.

Mediation, offering a number of advantages over either ignoring conflict situations or trying to deal with them through disciplinary processes,...   
    ...can be used when problems begin, not waiting for documentable actions  
    ...is non-punitive and doesn’t build resentment  
    ...allows parties to discuss and resolve their problems themselves  
    ...helps people craft agreements that prevent future problems from arising   
    ...sets an example of caring by the organization   
    ...allows participants to develop more effective communication   
    ...typically, is much less costly than other tools

The term "intervention" refers to a set of related activities—including interviews, mediation, individual coaching, and facilitated group meetings. These help group members define and communicate their issues in ways that allow the group collaboratively to move from "stuck" to the future they wish to create. In this process, I prefer to help people look at their vision of the future and how to achieve it, rather than just "problem-solve" and get stuck in the mire of complaint.   

I have provided and continue to provide intervention and mediation for a number of State of New Mexico agencies, as well as the US Postal Service, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and other federal organizations. These agencies find it quite cost- and morale-effective to help employees develop better working relationships.   

The "old ways" of dealing with many of these issues included formal grievance procedures, official reprimand, or sudden termination. Sometimes worse, inaction allowed feelings to escalate and behaviors to rigidify. 

Confidential and informal mediation allows issues to be expressed in a safe atmosphere, without fear of retaliation.

Organizations providing mediation and intervention as an avenue of dispute resolution send an implicit message of trust and empowerment to their employees. It offers a unique opportunity for people who work together to build or rebuild trust and healthy working relationships. Organizations find that mediation is an enormously cost-effective tool for responding to conflict.

Please contact me for a detailed Proposal regarding your situation calling for mediation of specific situations or individuals, or large staff interventions to address issues of general concern.