MEDIATION IN THE WORKPLACE
Course Descriptions

Introduction to Conflict-Management Skills for the Workplace (one-day program)

This course offers an overview of conflict resolution and problem-solving in the workplace. Managers, supervisors, team leaders, business owners, union leaders, and human-resources and employee-relations staff will benefit from this practical, experiential introduction to win-win strategies in negotiation, group intervention, and more. Learn the basics of management skills that improve communication, teamwork, problem-solving skills, and contract development and implementation.

 

Mediation in Employment Settings (five days)

This basic mediation course is designed for personnel who desire to develop mediation knowledge and skills for their work in the employment context. Course content includes a basic understanding of conflict, individual and organizational approaches to conflict handling, communication skills for neutrals, mediation process models, tools, and techniques, extensive role play experience, ethical concerns for mediators and much more. This course is facilitative in design and is used as the model of mediation throughout the process.

 

Mediation for Labor Relations Professionals (four days)

This course covers much of the same material highlighted in “Mediation in Employment Settings” but includes additional material of interest to labor relations personnel. Role plays and exercises are geared particularly for this group of learners to help them develop mediation proficiency in their unique context.

 

Conflict Resolution Skills for Managers (three days )

Do you have supervisors and managers who want mediation skills but don’t intend to serve as mediators? This course focuses on developing an awareness of conflict handling and the skills development that managers and supervisors need. Course content includes a basic awareness of conflict, individual and organizational conflict handling styles, dispute systems design, effective communication skills for conflict handling, skills at work in face-to-face negotiation, skills at work when facilitating problem solving, and skills at work in advocacy situations

 

Consensus-Building in the Workplace

Learn to plan, analyze, facilitate, and build consensus in meetings, teams, and other decision-making groups. This course teaches the critical skills that mid-level managers and team leaders need to create and manage effective work teams.

 

Interest Based Negotiation Skills for Managers (two or three days)

 This course is designed to equip managers and administrators with the skills necessary for successful negotiation in a broad range of workplace and organizational situations. Participants learn a variety of ways for handling conflict in their organization, develop conflict handling skills, learn the basics of interest based negotiation and how to be a more effective negotiator. Participants also learn how to use alternative dispute resolution (ADR) as a tool in the negotiation process and how to participate in ADR effectively.

 

Counseling for the ADR Option (one or two days)

So, your organization offers a variety of means for employees to resolve disputes, but how does the employee make a process choice? If you counsel employees about an array of ADR choices for resolving employment disputes this course is a must! You are the linchpin between the employee and dispute resolution; your knowledge of the processes you offer, and the way you counsel the employee, will enable employees to make informed dispute resolution choices as well as insure program success! The one-day course option is for employees who have prior ADR training; the two-day option is for those with little or no prior ADR training.

Mediating Sexual Harassment Disputes (one day)

 Can you mediate sexual harassment disputes? Is it ever appropriate? The answers are complex—sometimes “yes,” and sometimes “no.” Seasoned mediators will tell you that many of these cases are excellent candidates for mediation! This course helps ADR professionals screen cases for possible appropriateness, and provides experience in mediating these unique cases. Prior mediation training is a prerequisite.

Facilitating Effective Group Discussion (twelve hours)

 This course is designed to give employees the basic skills necessary to facilitate effective group discussion in their workplace. Participants will learn about:

• Group Basics
• Models of Facilitation
• Neutrals--Roles, Responsibilities, and Personal Characteristics
• Must-Have Communication Skills
• Meetings Effectiveness and Formats
• Facilitation Resources

The final section of this workbook, “Facilitation Resources” contains everything from group energizers and activities to a tool-kit of tried and true techniques for facilitating everything from ground-rules to consensus to creative decision-making.

Workplace Mediation Role Play Workshop (one day)

 This workshop is designed to give mediators the opportunity to re-calibrate their practice of mediation. Participants will review the mediation process, the goals of each stage of the process and participate in challenging role-plays to develop and fine-tune skills.

Issues of Culture and Mindfulness in Workplace Mediation (one day)

 This two-part advanced mediation skills course focuses on: 1) understanding culture in workplace mediation, and 2) helping mediators develop a sense of “mindfulness” about what they bring to mediation. With an increasingly diverse workplace, mediators need to increase their awareness of what they bring as mediators to the mediation and to facilitate cross-cultural understanding as well.

Mediating Disputes Online (two days)

Learn how your organization can use new technology to resolve workplace disputes! Online mediation may be one of the fastest growing trends in dispute resolution, but it raises many practical and ethical concerns. This course is designed for mediators who want to add online mediation skills to their practice and will cover technology requirements, security and confidentiality concerns, practical “conversational” management tools and techniques, etc.