Mediation is an effective way to mend workplace relationships in small businesses

As a small business owner, you might consider introducing mediation into your workplace to help with resolving:

• Grievances and conflict
• Improving the workplace culture
• Keeping valuable employees
• Avoid paying higher tribunal costs

For small businesses, the most effective way to access mediation is via an External Mediator, which you only use when necessary. The advantage of using an external mediator is that they are completely impartial and the mediator is available.

Mediation should be included as part of an organisations approach to people management. There are a number of ways mediation can be introduced into workplace policies and procedures.

• Written into employment contracts
• Written into bullying and harassment policy
• Included as part of grievance and dispute resolution procedure

When you introduce mediation into your workplace. It is important to get the support from:

• Business owners
• Senior Managers
• Supervisors
• Employees

It is important to work with them to introduce mediation.

• So that everyone understands why mediation is being introduced
• The benefits mediation can bring to the workplace
• How it will be embedded into the organisation

Getting this support will help establish mediation as a useful tool in the organisation and encourage employees to mediate conflicts.

This can be done through:

• Employee newsletters
• Employee email news and updates
• Posters
• Workshops

Which promotes the message that mediation is an option to resolve workplace disagreements and that mediation has the following advantages:

• Confidential
• Flexible
• Less formal
• Voluntary
• Quick

ACAS -

https://www.acas.org.uk/mediation/introducing-mediation-in-your-workplace

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