Liddle in the Middle

David Liddle, provides advice to HR professionals and business leaders.

by David Liddle | 1st Nov 2012

David Liddle, one of the most experienced mediators in the UK and President of the Professional Mediators' Association provides advice to HR professionals and business leaders.

Question: How does mediation underpin and promote employee engagement?

Unresolved disputes and conflicts in the workplace have a significant impact on employee engagement. Conflict, as we know from experience as mediators, creates uncertainty; it generates fear and it creates stress in the working environment.

Conflict creates a sense of losing control and anxiety. When it gets a grip, conflict promotes suspicion and undermines trust. (A core component of the psychological contract). Managers and leaders see alliances and camps being formed within their teams and groups - often exacerbated by rumours and gossip.

The conflict creates psychological as well as physiological harm. Conflict needs AIR to exist: our Actions, our Interactions and our Reactions fuel the conflict.

Think about a conflict you've been part of or that you have observed. Take a moment to list the:

Actions.
Interactions..
Reactions

Are they constructive? If not why? What impact have they had on the employees engagement?

We can see it and we can feel it

The damaging spiral of conflict as described above is driven by people’s needs not being met. This gives rise to a powerful and often profound sense of loss. This may be 1) an actual loss, 2) a perceived loss or 3) a fear of a future loss. It could be all 3!

And what this loss does is that it causes people to feel disengaged at work. It is very difficult to feel engaged when you are in the middle of a conflict or a quarrel in the office.

Mediation helps.

Mediation helps to build an engaged workforce by preventing conflicts from escalating and resolving them, constructively, when they do. Mediation works extremely well at what I call the 3Cs – Conflict, Change or Crisis. They are the three big C’s that every organisation faces during difficult times.

By bringing people together to have open and honest conversations, not only does mediation help to resolve the root cause of the conflict, it also helps to build a level of engagement in the resolution process between the parties. Many of our existing dispute resolution procedures are built on adversarial justice models - in some case they actually perpetuate discord, disagreement and disengagement.

Reducing the barriers to employee engagement.

Mediation reduces the barriers to employee engagement within organisations. If conflicts are resolved constructively, employee feel happier and stronger. T

hey are more resilient as a result of the mediation process and they become more effective and engaged in the workplace. It's simple – it's called talking to each other.

The benefits of using mediation to build an engaged workforce:

It gives parties in a dispute a voice
It encourages openness and honesty
It builds empathic, adult to adult connections
Parties focus on their interests and needs rather than the strength of their relative positions.
The parties craft their own solutions - avoiding need for solutions to be imposed
It encourages creative and innovative thinking
Issues are resolved to the mutual satisfaction of the parties

Employee engagement has significant benefits for all the people involved. I am fortunate enough to be an Engagement Guru as part of the Engage for Success programme. I am also working at a senior level with an increasing number of businesses to build mediation schemes. As a result, I am seeing first hand that engaged employees feel more positive about their organisation; about themselves; about each other; about their leaders and about the HR function within their organisation.

According to the ground breaking engagement report by David Macloed and Nita Clarke 'Engaging for Success', engaged employees deliver better customer service, they are happier and they are more innovative and creative.

"Engaged employees have a sense of personal attachment to their work and organisation; they are motivated and able to give of their best to help it succeed – and from that comes a series of tangible benefits for organisation and individual alike."

http://www.bis.gov.uk/files/file52215.pdf

So my advice, for HR professionals and business leaders who are developing employee engagement programmes in their organisations, is to think about what role mediation plays. Consider as part of your programmes how you will engage employees during times of conflict and at times of change & crisis.

The insight from Martin Luther King Jr 60 years ago is as relevant today as it was then. It can easily be applied to employee engagement programmes.

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy”

Martin Luther King Jr

From the perspective of employee engagement, perhaps the quote should read:

“The ultimate measure of an engaged employee is not where he or she stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he or she stands at times of challenge and controversy”

More than dispute resolution

Mediation is more than dispute resolution. It’s a mind-set, it’s about taking and listening, it’s about giving and having a voice. It's an opportunity to challenge and be challenged - with respect. I would suggest to any organisation that mediation and dispute resolution should be seen as a vital element of their employee engagement strategy.

I hope that this answers your question and as always keep in touch - happy mediating !

David Liddle

CEO of the TCM Group and President of the Professional Mediators` Association

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