It’s good to see that our own internal mediation service is now up and running. As one of the trained mediators, I thought it might be good to share some thoughts as to the role of the mediator. To keep it brief, here are my 5 key points:
- Managing the process – mediation is not part of any formal procedure, but the mediator still needs to ensure good practice is followed, e.g. making sure everyone knows how it will work and maintaining a safe environment where people can be honest about their issue.
- Staying impartial – mediators are not there to pass judgement or assign blame. And when I mediate I’m not there in my role as an HR professional, I’m there as a mediator.
- Finding solutions – this is critical. We will try to keep discussions positive and constructive and focus on the future – “What will make this issue work better for you?”
- Clarifying and challenging – not in a negative way. At times we will have to do this to help people think about what they’ve said – is it realistic? What do they mean by that? How did that affect you?
- Gaining agreement – ultimately we aim to help the parties to come to an agreement over how to move forward. The agreement won’t involve the mediator – it’s up to the parties to make it work.
There is good evidence that mediation works, and there’s no reason why it shouldn’t here. More details on the NUMS website.
Richard Boggie