How can HR harness the power of mediation against destructive forces?

In the last blog post, we considered some of the myths

preventing HR from using mediation.

How can HR deal with destructive forces?

Here, we look at some practical ways in which HR can harness mediation to succeed – for both the organisation and the HR function itself.

The typical organisational response to an internal issue is to say: “Sort it out informally amongst yourselves” and, if that doesn’t work: “Put it in writing and we’ll bludgeon it with our formal procedures.” (OK, so maybe those exact words aren’t used.)

Later, when that doesn’t work, the message is: “You have the right to appeal. Let's all really dig ourselves into our trenches now. Put your grounds of appeal to us in writing within X days.”

Later still (typically many stressful, fruitless and expensive months down the line) the line is: “You have exhausted our internal procedures. [Unsaid: but we all know the internal stuff was just a phoney war. Now the real fighting starts….]”

And so it goes on.

If you were trying to design a system to perpetuate disputes, waste everyone’s time and bring HR and employment law into disrepute, you couldn’t do much better.

Here are my suggestions. They won't all be suitable for every organisation. However, adopting at least some of these steps will lead to a lot less fire-fighting for HR and a lot more time to focus on more constructive and productive aspects of the HR role.

• Blend mediation skills and principles into training and development for everyone (but particularly managers) – skills like active listening, summarising, reframing, rehearsing and reality-testing.

• Integrate mediation alongside your organisation's other key attributes. For example, if client service and honesty are amongst your key attributes, consider how those mediation skills mentioned above can help sustain and embed those attributes.

• Build mediation principles into day-to-day interactions, such as team meetings, performance conversations, appraisals and dealing with minor tensions. You'll be amazed how much more effective those interactions can be if people feel they're genuinely being listened to.

• Provide specific mediation training – again based around your organisation’s key attributes - to volunteers from different levels in the organisation who can act as internal mediators on a case-by-case basis.

• After trialling internal mediators on a case-by-case basis, consider developing a more regular internal mediation service.

• Weave in references to the possibility of opting for internal mediation by agreement at specific stages in your employment procedures – including before any formal procedural steps are launched.

• Promote the use of internal mediation as early as possible, preferably before any formal procedural steps are launched.

• Promote the use of external mediation as a means of avoiding escalation towards legal proceedings (and associated costs and risks).

In short: for success in harnessing mediation for HR, blend mediation principles into the fabric of the organisation.

Photo: Arturo Mann, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons