Workplace Mediation can improve your business

Conflict at work can be one of the biggest drains on your business and currently we’re finding when we talk to our clients, conflict is one of the major undercurrents in the workplace.   Conflict that isn’t addressed at Board level will find a way to filter down and affect everyone in the business and, conflict is often the root cause of many other issues such as absenteeism, low morale, and reduced productivity.  

We appreciate better than most, that managing conflict is time consuming and disruptive, particularly for management and HR.  Conflict can occur at anytime and often originates from what on the face of it can seem to be the most unlikely of situations and in some instances, even those in conflict can’t remember how it all started!

It’s crucial to have a positive work environment which cultivates a workplace where employees feel safe, happy, and are keen to work. 

We have supported many employers over the years, to resolve conflict that was becoming a major distraction and impacting their business. In our experience, conflict had stemmed from a wide range of issues from something as basic as the office fridge and a co-worker’s lack of consideration when using shared facilities; a lack of understanding around a co-worker being on light duties for health reasons; a comment on social media, or a dispute over the way a project should be managed. 

Whatever the trigger, the fall out can be tedious at least, affect morale and employee engagement and at worst be extremely costly in terms of the impact on your business. 

So how do we tackle it?

Spectra HR’s opinion

Most definitely do not put off addressing the issue before it’s too late and your business is suffering.

Being proactive and nipping issues in the bud is a far better use of resources than hoping the problem just goes away (it rarely does) as matters will generally escalate.  It’s critical to avoid waiting until employees raise a formal grievance, go off sick, resign or worst-case scenario slap you with an Employment Tribunal Claim!   

Mediation is a great option for resolving a dispute informally and will save you time and money.  Your workplace will benefit from improved communication, a more positive work environment, improved mental health and improved performance.   Not to mention, you reduce that risk of the dreaded claim.

Here’s what one of our clients had to say about how mediation helped them.

“We hadn’t really appreciated how mediation could work for us until we spoke to Spectra.  Alison took time to understand the situation from all sides and was able to be get both staff members into a meeting to hear each other out.  Until then they hadn’t really spoken for months, and the response has been amazing.  They are both relieved and so glad they took this step.  The atmosphere is so much better – everyone has noticed and we’re all benefiting from the change.”

If you would like to know more and explore how mediation in the workplace could benefit your business Contact us

Read our Article on How to identify Toxic Employees

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