|
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.
Back to case
studies index.
|
