Don't let internal conflicts attack productivity in your business! Address those issues early, before you lose key staff members, and avoid the costs of recruiting and training new staff.

Inadequate or inept communication often lies at the base of conflict in the workplace. Don't wait!! It won't "just go away", like you hope it will. A mediator from outside your organization can facilitate a helpful session in just a couple hours.

Sauder Mediation has experience with mediating Equal Employment Opportunity issues, facilitating strategic planning, and addressing interpersonal conflict that interrupts the workplace.

What is Mediation - How does it Work?

Q: What is mediation?

A: Mediation is a process in which an impartial third party with no decision-making authority or power to impose a resolution, works with the disputing parties to help them explore, and if possible, reach a mutually acceptable resolution of some or all the issues in dispute.

Q: How does mediation work?

A: The people involved sit down face-to-face in a safe, neutral environment with an impartial third-party mediator. The process is voluntary and confidential. Each participant has the opportunity to speak from his/her perspective, and each participant is encouraged to listen carefully and to respond to the other person's perspective. The mediator facilitates the discussion. The participants are encouraged to establish guidelines for the discussion that they believe will help the process to be most helpful.

Q: What does the mediator do?

A: The mediator's role is (1) to encourage the parties in deciding whether and how to resolve their dispute, and (2) to promote the parties' mutual understanding of each other's positions, interests and perspectives, despite their conflict.

Q: How long does mediation take?

A: A typical mediation session lasts about 2 hours. Some issues require multiple sessions.

Q: Who pays for mediation?

A: In the case of work-place mediation, the business usually pays for mediation. In other cases, such as family or neighborhood disputes, the individuals involved usually split the costs.

Q: In workplace mediation, what information will management get about the mediation?

A: The mediator will report only that the mediation was held, and whether or not an agreement was reached. No other information will be shared unless the participants agree on the specific information to be shared with management.

Q: Who decides what issues will be discussed?

A: The mediator asks the participants what they want to discuss and what they hope to gain from the mediation. The mediator then facilitates the discussion between the participants.

Q: Where will the session be held?

A: The session should be held in a neutral place. If an appropriate space is available at the workplace, and the participants agree that it is "neutral", the session can be held on-site, otherwise, the mediator will suggest another site.

Q: Is mediation some form of therapy?

A: No. Mediators pay attention to the emotional aspects of the interaction, but mediation is not therapy. The focus of mediation is to establish an environment for effective communication about issues that have caused a dispute or conflict between people.