Business Mediation
Conflict Resolution
Business mediation is an efficient method for resolving internal or inter-company conflicts. Business mediation can be used, for example, in conflicts
- between company management and staff,
- between and within teams and departments,
- between suppliers and customers, or
- during business succession or mergers
.
The goal of business mediation is to trace the causes of conflicts and develop a sustainable solution for the future by considering the interests and needs, but above all, the operational know-how of all parties involved.
Business mediation prevents the loss of valuable employees, business partners, and customers.
Negotiations Under Neutral Guidance
The term mediation comes from English and means ‘arbitration’ or ‘mediation’, which actually describes the core of mediation very aptly.
Mediation is the negotiation between conflicting parties in the presence of a neutral third party, the mediator, who guides, moderates, and structures the conversations of the conflicting parties.
Goal of Mediation
The primary goal of a mediation process is to resolve an existing conflict by concluding a legally binding and practical agreement that considers the interests and needs of all involved conflicting parties.
Mediation does not aim at rigidly enforcing legal claims, but rather at developing a practical conflict resolution that is satisfactory for all parties involved.
Benefits of Mediation
The greatest advantage of mediation is that, unlike in a court proceeding, the conflicting parties are not forced into a solution ‘from above’ during mediation. In mediation, the conflicting parties themselves develop a solution that is suitable or at least acceptable for all those affected.
For this purpose, the focus is placed on the interests and needs of all those affected.
While most other dispute resolution methods laboriously work through the past, the focus in the mediation process is always on the present and the future. Mediation is not about finding ‘a culprit’, but about determining what needs to be done to end the conflict.
Prerequisites for Mediation
By far the most important prerequisite for mediation is the voluntary cooperation of all conflicting parties and a genuine interest in finding a solution. Unlike in a court proceeding, where the refusal to cooperate by one conflicting party is usually not a problem or can be enforced if necessary, achieving the goals of mediation is only possible when all conflicting parties are at the table.
Therefore, mediation is only possible if all conflicting parties have an interest in working together out of court and responsibly to develop a future-oriented solution.
Mediation Process
Mediation is a very efficient process for conflict resolution, which usually brings noticeable success quickly. Nevertheless, several appointments are almost always necessary for the final resolution of a conflict. The first appointment mainly serves to provide the mediator with an overview of the conflict and to discuss the upcoming process with the conflicting parties.
Subsequently, the mediator uses various techniques to work out the interests and needs of the individual conflicting parties within the framework of the respective conflict, thus creating a basis for new solution approaches.
When a solution suitable for all conflicting parties is found, it is recorded in the form of a legally binding written agreement. Until then, provisional arrangements are often made for the duration of the mediation.
Role of Mediators
The mediator or mediators in a mediation have neither the position of a therapist nor that of a judge. Substantive solution proposals are not compatible with the position and tasks of the mediator in a mediation. Mediators offer neutral, impartial support.
A mediator maintains a strictly neutral and unbiased attitude towards the conflicting parties. The mediator supports the conflict resolution process by guiding, moderating, and structuring conversations, thus ensuring fair and balanced conditions.
Of course, mediators are bound to absolute confidentiality and must treat all contents of a mediation as confidential.
Tasks of the Conflicting Parties
The most important and often most difficult task for the conflicting parties is to engage in the mediation process and constructively contribute to finding a solution. This includes adhering to appointments and being willing to participate in an orderly discussion.
The conflicting parties also commit to confidentiality during the ongoing process, as far as discussions with third parties are not necessary for resolving the conflict.
Recognizing Alternatives
As conflicts escalate, the perceived solution options for the conflicting parties become increasingly limited. Eventually, the conflict reduces to two fiercely contested standpoints: one solution against the other.
From a mediation perspective, however, there are always significantly more possibilities:
- One solution
- The other solution
- Both solutions (‘both/and’ – this is actually possible)
- Neither of the two solutions (‘neither/nor’ – so something entirely different)
- Compromise (‘a little of both’ – and often something entirely different as well)
Therefore, the mediator’s most important task is to enable the conflicting parties to recognize as many alternative solutions as possible, to comprehensively understand them, and thus be able to evaluate them. Only those who know their options can choose the optimal one.
Costs of Mediation
The cost of mediation depends on many factors. We gather as much information as possible in the first meeting to provide an accurate estimate of the expected duration of the process and the costs of mediation.
Legal insurance often covers the costs of the mediation process or at least part of it.
Areas of Application for Business Mediation
Mediation is a very universally applicable conflict resolution technique that works in various areas. Since we believe that a mediator should know and understand the context in which a conflict occurs, we limit our activities to a few selected areas where we excel.
Our focus is therefore on the areas of business mediation, including its sub-fields of business succession mediation and workplace or team mediation.
