The below post is taken from the Video Blog, the Subject Matter Minute. If it’s a little hard to read, it’s because it’s taken from the spoken word. You can view the episode on YouTube if you would like. Find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzWLKctL1PM
If YouTube is blocked for you or your agency, you can scroll to the bottom of this post to view it from Google Drive.
You can also listen to an audio version: Episode #3: Mediation.
Welcome to episode number three of the subject matter minute. Thanks for joining me again, I appreciate it.
I would like to thank last episode’s subject matter expert once again… that was EGI, or employee’s group insurance. They helped us out with vision benefits. Hopefully, if you were thinking about getting vision benefits or paying for that extra benefit, it helped you decide whether or not to do it. And if you already had it, hopefully it helped you figure out how to use it best.
Let’s get on with episode number three. This week the subject is mediation. Before I get started, I want to mention a couple things. First of all, I just ran through this entire episode, nearly perfectly, and then realized I wasn’t recording. So yeah, this one’s probably going to suck! Anyways… first of all, I want to thank this episode’s subject matter expert… Karla Smith of HRD. She’s a senior human resources consultant with HRD, and a co-worker of mine, and she’s a project coordinator that works on special projects as well. One of her special projects has been to head up the mediation program. All of her contact information is going to be below and after I explain everything about this, you can contact her with questions or if you need to use the service.
Mediation… what is it? It’s an informal process to resolve conflicts between employees. It’s really that simple. It’s used in order to not move on to other processes such as grievances. Let’s talk about some of the advantages of it. To begin with, it’s a voluntary process that’s offered to all state employees; it’s a fair process; it’s a confidential process; and really what it does, is it opens up avenues of communication. You know how it is… typically these problems are communication problems. It also offers the opportunity to resolve these issues at a low level instead of bringing in all the bigwigs and going through processes that require a lot of paperwork.
Next, let’s talk about what mediation is not. It’s not a substitute for discipline: discipline is a different process. It’s not therapy. Now, our mediators are trained, but they’re not trained therapists. It’s not telling others what to do, so if you’re coming into it thinking that you can tell the other party how to act or what to do, or that the mediator will… that’s not true. It’s not crisis intervention, so if there’s immediate threat or danger, there’s different processes for that. It’s not appropriate for all situations. And finally, it’s not magic. That being said… it works most of the time.
Let’s talk about the mediators. The mediators are volunteers that have volunteered to help in this area, and there’s several across the state. A mediator is an individual who’s attended training. They are good listeners; they’re a fair person who doesn’t take sides; they’re a person who can be trusted; they’re a person who keeps things confidential; and on that same line, they are a person that doesn’t make assumptions or draw conclusions based on stereotypes. Now I know that sounds like a perfect person, but these folks really are good folks that are volunteering to help you guys work out these problems. A mediator is not a judge or a legal advisor… they have training but not that kind of training. They are not a person who gives orders or advice… they’re there to bring you together and help you out.
Next, there’s a bunch of frequently asked questions that I’m going to kind of sum up because it hits a lot of the highlights.
- The process is confidential.
- It will not be in your personnel file.
- You can’t be required to participate, and both parties need to decide that they want to use mediation.
- The mediation process typically is scheduled for four hours. (if the parties haven’t quite reached an agreement, but they feel like they are progressing, more time can be allotted.)
- Mediation is free. (there’s no charge for anybody)
- It’s done by volunteers.
- It’s a benefit of the state.
- It’s not part of the grievance and appeals process; in fact this is an informal process meant to avoid that.
- Workers compensation issues are not allowed to be mediated… that’s a different process. The issues that are mediated are employee interaction issues.
- Mediation takes place in a neutral area of the mediator’s choice; typically they pull you out of your toxic environment and get you somewhere safe.
- The time spent using mediation is considered work time.
- The end goal is to sign a document that has an agreement of what everyone’s going to do.
This is not a requirement. This is an informal process, so if you don’t want to sign something you don’t have to. And finally, if both parties do sign a contract…
VOICEOVER ADDED TO FIX A MISSTATEMENT
(I don’t want to confuse anybody. I probably should not have said contract. It’s not a contract. We call it a mediation outcome. If both parties agree to it, they sign it. It’s not a legal document and the mediators do not enforce it.)
…and one of them doesn’t follow through, really your only recourse is more mediation or other processes such as a grievance.
So that, in a long nutshell, is mediation. I just want to say that life is too short, and we work too many hours a day to work in a toxic environment that is probably built on miscommunication or lack of communication. This is a great benefit… a free benefit… a confidential benefit offered to you and if you experience issues, please use it.
Here is the full episode!