With the HR Department having a dedicated mediation specialist, Roisin O’Neill, we were highly anticipating the new Mediation Act which has just been passed by Irish Government. The introduction of the bill will make a huge difference to both employers and employees whenever disputes may arise in the workplace.
The recent Act highlights the obligation for mediation in the Irish High and Commercial Courts, ensuring that complainants have considered mediation as a method of dispute resolution before they issue a complaint through the courts. The passing of the Act is a strong recognition that mediation has the potential to accomplish more positive outcomes for those involved whilst also lessening the strain on the Courts.
 
What is Mediation?
Mediation is a voluntary method of dispute resolution through the use of negotiation and agreement between the parties involved. A neutral facilitator (the mediator) assists in the parties reaching and agreeing on a settlement. The mediator will recommend solutions which are accepted or rejected. If a mutual outcome is agreed, the settlement is recorded and signed, and is from then on legally binding for both parties. If the process does not result in an agreement, Court is the next step.
The mediation process is confidential to ensure parties involved do not have their disputes exposed to the public. Anything said and/or documents produced at mediation cannot be referred to in litigation if the case goes to Court.
The objective of mediation is to cut costs and time when resolving a dispute. Often, if the case still has to go to Court, the mediation process will still have resolved many issues that may have arisen, therefore making any litigation less expensive and time consuming than it may have been without mediation.
 
Why the new Mediation Act is Positive

• There is an obligation on solicitors and barristers to provide information on the advantages of mediation and advise their clients to consider mediation to resolve their dispute.
• Solicitors and barristers are to swear a statutory declaration confirming they have informed their clients of the mediation process and its benefits.
• Where court proceedings commence, parties are to confirm they have been advised and considered resolving their dispute through mediation.
• The Act contains codes of practice to ensure the correct mediation procedures are in place and carried out by qualified mediators.
• The role of the mediator is defined clearly, stating that they are present to assist parties to find a potentially successful method to resolve the dispute in question.
• All statements made by parties, both written and oral, are statutorily protected and are not to be disclosed within Court proceedings. This may not apply if disclosure is required to implement a settlement.
• Court proceedings will be suspended to assist a mediation process.
• An agreement will be signed by the mediator and the parties which will state the requirements of the mediation process, such as location and costs of the mediation, how it is conducted and the right to seek legal advice of requested.

 
Roisin O’Neill
Roisin is a professional mediator who has extensive experience working with a wide range of public, private and voluntary organisations across multiple business sectors, including health, education, public safety utility and government departments.
Specialising only in mediation and early conflict resolution, she has achieved an outstanding record of negotiated resolutions working on multi-issue and multi-party cases over a ten year period with consistently positive feedback from both clients and referral departments.
Her record of experience demonstrates a successful partnering with a range of human resource teams, legal advisers, interpreters and trade union representatives, mutually working together in a collaborative effort to secure a private and dignified resolution for a variety of employee disputes and issues.
With a unique background in Law, business and entrepreneurship, she is passionate about empowering leadership in the face of conflict and equipping management, human resources and project teams with the resources and skillset to prevent, manage and resolve destructive conflict that often drains the business of time, money and resources.

If would like to speak to Roisin in regard to Mediation, please get in touch on The HR Department.

There are many causes for workplace conflict. It could be as simple as a joke that inadvertently caused offence, a personality clash or something more serious like bullying or micromanagement. Regardless of what might have started it, you can be sure that, if left unchecked, these upsets can fester and quickly become toxic, affecting productivity, client relations and ultimately your bottom line.

While having a clear conflict resolution procedure outlined in your staff handbook is a positive step towards addressing such issues, the issue often lies in the implementation of that process. When an employee is in conflict with a workmate, they tend to avoid any form of direct confrontation. Instead they opt to raise their grievance at a higher level, perhaps with their manager or the business owner.

As every conflict situation is different, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to it. However, equipping staff and management with specific skills can limit the chances of things getting out of hand. Below are three of the most important aspects of preventing and limiting the damage caused by workplace conflicts.

Communication
At the root of many workplace conflicts is an underlying lack of communication. Whether it’s between employees, workers and their managers or interdepartmental, failure to effectively communicate, can lead to confusion, frustration, stress, blame and eventually apathy.
Conversely, effective communication generally ensures everyone knows where they stand and what is expected of them. Moreover, by helping your workers develop their communication skills you are equipping them to:

• Better explain what they are working on, any issues they are encountering, the impact of those issues (say to deadlines, product line, etc) and what they require to overcome them
• Better address any problems that may arise, in an amicable and considerate manner. This encourages two-way communication to reach a solution

Conflict Management & Resolution
With the best will in the world, there will be times when tensions bubble over between employees. As team leaders, managers and business owners it is up to you to step in and smooth those choppy waters. Some studies suggest that up to 85 percent of workers have been involved in a conflict at some level during their career, so having the skills to quickly and adequately address the issue is a must for anyone in a leadership role.

There are many conflict management and resolution courses and training programmes – including those offered by The HR Department – for managers and business owners. Investing in such training can pay dividends further down the line, should you be faced with a workplace conflict.

Mediation
For most SMEs, quality training in the above two areas should help your organisation through all but the toughest conflict situations. That said, there are certain times when it makes more sense to engage an independent mediator. These include:

• the issues are long-standing
• the issues are complex
• there is a risk of an adverse action
• the disputants request one
• internal resolution attempts have not worked

In recent years, mediation has steadily gained a strong reputation across Ireland and the UK as a viable – and highly effective – means of resolving conflicts, without having to go down the legal route.

As an external third party, an independent mediator is not acting on behalf of any of the parties involved in the conflict. Their purpose is to create an environment in which those concerned can hear, be heard and reach an agreement as to how the issue can be resolved and their working relationship progresses.

Mediation should not be confused with a workplace investigation. While it can be an effective post-investigation tool, in mediation, no one is being accused, evidence is not required and the focus is primarily geared towards moving forward, rather than tracing over the issues that led to the conflict.

Roisin O’Neill is a professional mediator and head of The HR Department’s new mediation department
 

At one stage or another we’ve all heard the expression, prevention is better than cure. More often than not, we logically agree with the sage advice this phrase offers; why put yourself through unnecessary grief if you don’t have to.

Unfortunately, when it comes to workplace conflicts, it appears employers and managers have traditionally been more resistant to this idea, opting instead to take a hard-line with employees, that as escalated what might initially have been a small issue into a much bigger problem. The end result could be the loss of talented staff, the cost of replacing that person, the effect on the rest of the team members.

Thankfully, corporate attitudes are shifting as business owners, managers and human resources departments increasingly adopt independent mediation processes to deliver early dispute resolution within the workplace and teams.

Used early, it can help restore positive working relationships, often making them even stronger than before the fall out.

Mediation at the HR Department
In response to this growing demand for more amicable, less disruptive conflict resolution, the HR Department is delighted to announce the launch of its new dedicated Mediation department.

In order to deliver an unrivalled service, the HR Department has appointed Roisin O’Neill to head up the new department. With more than 10 years’ dedicated experience, working with a wide range of private clients and public, and voluntary organisations, Ms. O’Neill is a specialist in mediation and early conflict resolution.

David Bell, CEO of The HR Department, comments, ‘For more than 10 years the HR Department has supported businesses big and small throughout Ireland, ensuring they were compliant with employment law and working with them boost retention and productivity through effective employee engagement. The launch of our dedicated mediation service is the next step in delivering an unrivalled outsourced HR service to our customers. We’re delighted to welcome Roisin, and the vast wealth of experience she has to offer, to the team.
  
What is Mediation
Mediation is a voluntary process whereby those in dispute meet with a neutral mediator, to discuss the issues and solutions in private and work to secure a resolution and mutual agreement moving forward.
Mediation unlike other forms of dispute resolution such as grievance or disciplinary processes is not adversarial in nature; rather it promotes solution finding, active listening, open communication and self-empowerment.

Why it Works
Its high success rate can be attributed to the fact that it allows those in dispute to creatively and collectively come up with their own solutions. It allows them, in private, to get to the root cause of issues, focusing on problem solving rather than asserting blame. Moreover, mediation enables participants to have their say without feeling judged, promoting empowerment rather than fear or pointing the finger.

Outsourcing your conflict resolution needs to a third party neutral can save business time, money and energy. The use of early independent mediation can free up human resource and management time to concentrate on other important business matters that was otherwise side-lined dealing with internal conflict.

Ms. O’Neill adds, ‘Gone are the days of the bullish boss and the “my way or the highway attitude”. Employers are keen to keep their best workers, to limit disruption and to focus on growing their businesses. Mediation is a proven approach to conflict resolution. With the majority of cases being resolved within one working day, it’s no surprise that demand is growing.
The HR Department has earned a strong reputation as a leading provider of outsourced HR services and I’m keen to build upon that reputation, making it a leader in mediation too.’

For more information about the HR Department’s new mediation service Click Here