Case study 1

A health care trust

(Details have been changed in this account to preserve confidentiality.)

When a local health care trust called in Mediation at Work to assist the manager and deputy manager of a residential unit, the two were locked into an ongoing dispute about their respective roles, responsibilities and performance.

Both agreed to take part in mediation, and as a first step, met individually with mediators at a neutral venue away from their workplace.

At these meetings, both spoke freely about their various concerns. The manager expressed her anxiety about the deputy’s performance, in particular around the areas of finance and other administrative issues. She was also concerned about the poor relationship her deputy had with the rest of the staff team. For his part, the deputy outlined the pressures he and the rest of the team were working under, and also revealed that he was having difficulties at home.

At a subsequent joint meeting to explore issues raised in the earlier interviews, it became clear that the deputy’s problems in his home life was new information for the manager. For the first time, and with the mediators’ encouragement, she was able to show empathy to the deputy.

As the meeting progressed, a series of possible practical outcomes from the meeting were suggested and then examined by both parties, a process given clarity, but not direction, by the mediators. By the end of the joint session, they had:

• agreed to review both their job descriptions together to establish a clearer definition of responsibilities and a greater understanding of each other’s roles
• the manager agreed to develop new financial systems in consultation with the deputy
• the deputy manager asked for some training to help in finance and administration, which the manager agreed to help him arrange.

The meeting marked a turning point in establishing a better working relationship between the two, setting in place more honest and open communication than had been previously been possible.