Mediation in the Workplace

Francisco works for a large internet retailer with warehouses throughout the country. Near where he clocks in daily is a bulletin board. One day he noticed an opportunity for employees to volunteer as on-the-job mediators. Francisco had an interest and signed up. He was accepted in the program and completed a 5-hour training course that included videos and exercises.

Shortly after an employee was accused of stealing. Even though there was unquestionable video evidence, the employee implicated another employee who was his friend. The facility’s Human Resources manager scheduled the two employees for a mediation session with Francisco.

Francisco had never seen or met the two parties and had no knowledge about the accusations.  He began the mediation with a brief introduction of himself and a brief statement of how the process of “quick mediation” works. He stressed that time spent was critical since management wanted them back working on the floor as soon as possible. Basically, he explained he would guide the two employees in a process to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.

After that brief introduction he let both employees take turns speaking and then helped them find a solution. In this case, the employee who was charged with stealing admitted his offense and apologized for implicating his friend.  Francisco then had them both sign a document stating that they participated in the mediation. He then reported back the resolution to the HR manager.

Employees support this workplace “quick mediation” as it offers them an opportunity to settle arguments without formal hearings and possible terminations. The volunteer mediators find that the process gives them new ideas and new perspectives on what employees go through on the job.

I am a major advocate for this type of workplace mediation and train employees to be workplace mediators. Workplace disputes are detrimental to the climate at work and adversely affect the bottomline. Surveys have shown that employees want help from management in dealing with such disputes. Yet most managers feel employees should deal with their own disputes or feel they don’t have the time or skills to intervene. The program I described above is simple, inexpensive and successfully deals with workplace disputes. It can be easily done.