Case study 3

Home improvement agency

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

When mediators started to unravel a four-year dispute between the manager and team member of the home improvement agency, they found that difficulties had been evident from the very beginning of the team member’s contract. A delay in project funding led to the new team member handing in notice on her previous job too soon. The manager’s lack of acceptance of any responsibility for this mistake had soured the working relationship from the start.

Initial meetings were held with both parties to establish the situation from their perspective and to inform them about mediation. In these private discussions, it became clear that since then, further misunderstandings had created a climate of mistrust. The team member felt her manager did not respect her and gave her too little time. The manager found it so difficult to deal with her member of staff that she tried to minimise their contact.

A round table meeting was then held to explore these issues together, at which each party:

• acknowledged the misunderstandings that were fuelling their difficulties
• agreed to make changes in the way they dealt with the other.

After the mediation, both parties reported an improved working relationship and a spirit of cooperation that had been previously absent. In a letter to Mediation at Work, the manager wrote, “I would like to thank you very much for your part in the process. I was extremely impressed by this approach and the outcome has been very positive.”