Workplace Mediation: Setting Up A Programme

Stephen Levinson looks at the benefits, challenges and practical issues involved in introducing an in-house mediation scheme.

Many more people are advising employers to adopt workplace mediation as a standard procedure to resolve conflicts. This article explores some of the issues that arise when considering this option.

Benefits

Resolving conflict at work at an early stage saves money and jobs.In 2015, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) reported that four out of every ten employees had experienced interpersonal conflict within the last 12 months. This must be a factor in the low productivity that plagues the UK economy and it also contributes to high levels of staff turnover. Over ten years ago, research by the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR) revealed that the cost to the economy of unresolved conflict was £33bn a year, due partly to an aversion to tackling conflict. The CEDR memorably reported that over a third of