Print This Page

Mediation and Arbitration

Negotiations can quickly go awry when participants don’t know what they’re doing. When the stakes are high, a mediator is often just what is needed for the dispute resolution. Professional arbitration is brought in to make sure that a conflict is resolved as smoothly as possible.

Mediators are meant to be neutral. People often think that a mediator's role is to help them come to a decision. They’re not actually supposed to lead their clients. They’re supposed to make sure that however the dispute is resolved, both parties feel that they reached a fair outcome.

Basic Mediation

Mediation isn’t easy when the participants are riled up, which easily happens when professional mediators aren't hired. Mediators often make sure that things stay as calm as possible. Elements of violence, whether physical or verbal, are often stifled. Professional arbitration can easily come down to simply making sure that emotions remain reigned in. A shout at the wrong time or a careless word heard can lead to rapid dissolution rather than a solution.

That is of course for simpler situations. More often than not a mediator is there to help people who can’t come to an agreement. The line is naturally paper thin. While a mediator is there to help dispute resolution, whatever resolution comes about must come from the clients and not from the mediator. This is a big reason that mediators are never brought in if they have any sort of stake in the outcome.

The Mediation and Arbitration Process

How mediators actually achieve dispute resolution can be complicated. Sometimes it is a process that takes two weeks. At other times it can take two months or more. First and foremost, a mediator must make sure that he or she remains uninfluenced by the proceedings.

Some mediation work can be heartbreaking. Divorce proceedings, for example, may require a mediator. No matter how personal it gets, a mediator must make sure that they never end up taking a side.

They must then have the spine to ask some very difficult questions. These questions are intended to lead toward a dispute resolution. The answers should strike at the heart of the matter by revealing what the participants want to achieve. Perhaps money isn’t what will satisfy a client. Perhaps it's a simple apology. Mediators are open minded enough to consider that the resolution might have nothing to do with the initial demands from clients.

When you are a party to a dispute resolution, be prepared to answer a mediator's questions. Keep in mind that the mediator is putting pieces of a puzzle together. So be prepared to help him or her. When all the pieces fit from one to the next, the jigsaw puzzle is solved.

It's a simplistic view, but keep it in mind when you're working with a mediator. What's the point of hiring a mediator if the parties refuse to participate in good faith? Irreconcilable differences may at first only seem that way.

Conclusion On Mediation And Arbitration

Mediators can consider their job done if their clients have come to an agreement. While that seems like a simple prospect, it can become a difficult process when mediators fail to establish what is deep down in each client that is bothering them.

So if you see mediators keeping their distance it's because they want to remain objective. However, when mediators are trained well and if they’re professional about their proceedings they are usually capable of finding a mutually beneficial dispute resolution for both parties.

The previous article is on Dispute Resolution processes.

Other wiki resources: communication skills; team building; employee communications; corporate communications; conflict resolution