Www.thetcmgroup.com © 2013 Innovative Workplace Conflict Management. A practitioners perspective. David Liddle Chief Executive, The TCM Group

www.thetcmgroup.com © 2013

Innovative Workplace Conflict Management .A practitioners perspective.

David LiddleChief Executive, The TCM Group



“We now face a crisis that is the economic equivalent of war…

this is not a time for business as usual.”

Rt Hon Vince Cable MP,Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, 2011


Community inclusion and engagement

o Community engagement and race relations

o Social and economic regeneration hindered by high levels of violence and low levels of inclusion.

Established one of first mediation schemes in UK.o Mediation in community/neighbourhood

disputes.o Peer mediation in schools – CRISP.o Restorative justice.

Set up The TCM Group in 2001.o Mediating in workplace/ business disputes.o Civil, commercial and consumer mediation

services.o Conflict management training and consultancy.o Establishing integrated mediation schemes for

organisations.o Engage for Success and PMA

My journey


I win - you lose I'm right - you’re wrong

Don’t blame me

It’s all your fault

I can’t be bothered with this

I don’t trust you

Who do you think you are? I’ll see you in courtI’m going to

take a grievance

You bully


The spiral

of conflict

They are reactive. Inherently adversarial = polarising. Ignore the ‘psychological contract’. Rarely identify root cause of conflict. Individual or business needs ignored. They impede creativity. They create a ‘grievance,

entitlement or litigation culture’.

The existing dispute resolution systems are failing:



“The most intense conflicts, if overcome, leave behind a sense of security and calm that is not easily disturbed. It is just these intense conflicts and their conflagration which are needed to produce valuable and lasting results.”

- Carl Jung (1875-1961)

What is mediation?

“Mediation is a non-adversarial way of resolving difficult

situations. It is used as an alternative, or an adjunct, to

formal or legal processes.

The mediator is impartial. They facilitate an open and honest

dialogue with the aim of identifying a mutually acceptable

outcome. A win/win outcome. Mediation is different

because it is about collaborating rather than blaming.

Any agreement in mediation comes from those effected by

the situation, not from the mediator. The mediator is not

there to judge, to say one person is right and the other

wrong, or to tell those involved what they should do.

Mediation is both voluntary and confidential” Liddle, David 2013


The tripartite definition of mediation.

Liddle, David 2013



Framework

MindsetCompetence


The FAIR Framework™



XYZ Foundation NHS trust manages hospital, community health and adult social care services . With an annual budget of around £420 million, it provides care to over half a million people and employs nearly 9,000 staff.

The situation• XYZ Approached TCM in 2006 to set up an integrated mediation

scheme• High levels of stress, formal grievance and time• 24 mediators trained• Cost of conflict at that time was £1800 (underestimate)• Cost of mediation was £520

The XYZ Experience


1. Undertook extensive stakeholder engagement.

2. Designed a dispute resolution strategy with 3 year plan and KPIs.

3. Set up integrate governance structure (scheme ownership and scheme co-ordination).

4. Embedded an online dispute resolution system using

5. Embedded mediation into relevant policies and designed mediation handbooks.

6. Recruited and trained a multi-disciplinary team of 12 in-house mediators using the FAIR Framework.

7. Extended use of mediation into patient complaints (2013).

“Rome wasn’t built in a day – but I wasn’t on that particular job!”

Brian Clough

Setting up an integrated mediation scheme within XYZ


The TCM Integrated Mediation Scheme™

Mediation

Workplace and employment

disputes

Consumer disputes

Employee health and wellbeing

Leadership

Employee Engagement

Managing Change


The XYZ Experience: Outcomes“Mediation offers many benefits: it offers a viable alternative to costly dispute resolution procedures which are costly, time consuming and

stressful” Senior manager within the trust

• Ca15 mediations per annum.• Over 90% success rate• Low mediator attrition.• Mediation competencies underpin compassionate management

and leadership practices• Mediation being used to resolve patient complaints.• Mediation being used to support management of change and

performance management.


The ABC Experience

ABC are a major global retailer employing 75,000 employees.

The situation• Initially, ABC implemented a small scale mediation function.• Concerns were raised about lack of systemised approach to CM• Nine of the ER team qualified as mediators• Subsequently ABC commissioned TCM to train a further 12

mediators• Requested support with integration of mediation and embedding

a more progressive CM system into their HR and ER systems and procedures.

• Wanted to make mediation more widely available to all employees.


The ABC Experience The outcomes

• Mediation written into internal grievance procedure• Mix of internal and external mediation• Mediation embedded into management development

programme• Adopted PMA code of conduct and practice standards• Mediation used in 25% of all grievances• Over 90% of cases mediated reach a successful conclusion• Reduction from six months to less than one month for

resolution.


Formal, adversarial, judgement, blame, punitive, defensive,

draconian, combative, divisive, win-lose, sanction,

argument, win-lose.

Informal, safe, talk, listen, empathy,

dialogue, resolve, non adversarial,

collaborative, openness, values,

consensus, mediate, win-win.

Developing a ‘resolution culture’ in ABC organisation.


The return on investment for ABC and XYZ

Bottom line costs Human benefits

Management and HR time Productivity and performance

Time spent preparing and handling grievances

Good will and team working

Investigations (internal and external)

Managerial confidence and leadership

Legal costs, compromise agreements and ET costs

Individual and team resilience. Employee voice

Absence Customer experience??


The TCM Model Resolution Policy and toolkit.

Resolution First™

Resolution policy:

• Combines grievance, bullying and harassment• Link to values and vision• New name – new focus• Better triage of cases – (Early Evaluation)• Emphasis on mediation and early resolution• Mediation Information Awareness Sessions

(MIAMs)• Mediation remains voluntary• Compliant with the Acas code• Does offer opportunities to escalate to

investigation in rights based cases.

Toolkit:

• Resolution support for HR• Resolution support for managers• Resolution support for employees


Our current systems for resolving disputes are not working

Mediation is the most effective form of dispute resolution available.

Businesses need to adopt a holistic and strategic approach to conflict management.

Mediation delivers human and financial returns on investment.

In conclusion...

Mediation

works!


Thank you for listening and participating

[email protected]

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Www.thetcmgroup.com © 2013 Innovative Workplace Conflict Management. A practitioners perspective. David Liddle Chief Executive, The TCM Group