Introducing mediation in the workplace

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Terry Duffy: Welcome to the latest Acas podcast. My name is Terry Duffy and I look after our accredited mediation training course within Acas. And today I'm joined by Angela Wright. Angela, would you like to introduce yourself?

Angela Wright: Hi everybody. I'm Angela Wright. I work for Tees, Esk, and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust, and my role within the trust is I'm an Organisation Development Lead.

Terry: Lovely, thank you, Angela, and I know that Acas has been doing lots of work with your organisation around mediation, and that's going to be the subject of our conversation today. So I wonder if the first thing I could ask you, Angela, is what was it that led you to think about introducing mediation into your workplace?

Angela: Yeah, that's a good question Terry. It's something that we've been doing for quite a long time within TEWV, and it is something that we really put an emphasis on, because what we don't want to do, we don't want our staff to have maybe some miscommunications going on, and then that actually breaks into affecting our patient care. So that's why we introduced it. It was really to ensure that we had a solid process to support with actually getting through conflict and getting out the other end of it, so that we could get on with the business of looking after our patients.

Terry: That's really interesting, so that introducing mediation into your workplace you saw as a direct support to the core purpose of your organisation in providing and having people focused on that customer and patient care?

Angela: That's exactly it, yes, because in my role, we do a lot of work with teams that, you know, there might be some difficult team dynamics going on. And when we pick it up, things like that, this is where we find that if staff haven't got that really good working relationship, they haven't got that psychological safety in the team, it can impact on patient care. So this was to me how it was really working well, to do this kind of development.

Terry: Can I ask you about positive impacts, and what have you seen since you've introduced mediation into the workplace?

Angela: We've seen lots of different things. The one thing we did see is, you know, we'd be working with – obviously I'll keep it all confidential – but we were working with two individuals that were looking at things through very different lenses. And by using Acas mediation, the actual process, we were able to get them both to see it from another point of view. So basically, look around the mountain to see what that person was seeing. So that really has been the benefit of it.

So they might come into the mediation process and be quite hostile with one another, but by the time we've got through, by the time we've done the individual meetings, by the time we've done the joint meetings, we've worked on a joint agreement, they've all been quite happy to move forward and work together.

And I think, as well, that's something else that we always emphasise – it's a voluntary process. We would never force anybody down a route of doing mediation. It's very much voluntary, and it's also confidential as well. So should things maybe not work out – and this has never happened in the time I've been in the Trust – should things not work out, we then wouldn't use that against them as part of an official process, like an HR process.

Terry: Yeah, that's really interesting that. Because when you were talking, when you were describing how the people who were involved in the mediation came out of it, it was future focus, and they came out looking to that future together. And you know, often it strikes me that our other processes that we have in our organisations for trying to resolve problems between individuals – for example, the grievance procedure – very rarely bring those joint outcomes together. And I think that's really a benefit of mediation for the people to be able to not only deal with and see the problem, but move forward together and work together towards making sure that that solution works in the long run.

Angela: We do this by working in partnership and collaboration with our people partners as well in the Trust, because once you go down that grievance route, it can become all-consuming. And if our staff are so consumed about a grievance and the outcomes, and who's done wrong and what's going to happen to them, that, again, takes us away from the focus of what we're here for, which is to deliver that good patient care.

Terry: So I've mentioned grievance procedures there. So, could you tell me and our listeners about where does mediation sit within your policies and procedures? Because you mentioned about it being voluntary. So tell us a little bit about where it sits and how people access it.

Angela: Yeah, well it actually sits as part of the grievance procedure. And it's very much, we talk about it being a voluntary process there, so we're very upfront from the beginning with it, Terry, so we do let people know that it's there, they can access it, they can utilise it.

But what we also do as well, we promote it through our intranet. We have an organisation development intranet, with the leaflet, possibly one that we've got from Acas, and we actually promote it through that.

But what we also have as well, we have what we call our new managers' programme. And our new managers' programme, what that does, it actually develops everybody, every new manager coming into post, they will come on the programme. There's 9 or 10 modules, and one of them is around staff engagement, staff involvement. And this is part of it, so this is really part of how we can actually promote using mediation within the Trust.

Terry: Yeah, that's really interesting. And I think one of the things you've talked about there, is how mediation is something different for people to access. And I love that idea about you having a leaflet, because our policies and procedures in organisations can be quite lengthy sometimes. And I think having that simple leaflet approach separates mediation out with something different to the grievance procedure, and is accessible, and allows people to understand what is. And I imagine that helps us support the voluntary take-up of mediation.

Angela: Yes, it does. And I think with the leaflet, it just really summarises what it's all about. It's the principles of what we're trying to do. You know, it's not a forced policy, it's not a forced procedure. It's very much, people would come to mediation voluntarily, open to actually achieving a good outcome for themselves. But then going back into the wards or into the community and being able to work together, so we get the best for our patients.

Terry: Can I ask you now about who your mediators are, Angela? So, you've got a relatively large organisation and a large body of staff – who did you identify to be trained as mediators within your organisation?

Angela: Now this is something that we do, and what we've done, we've recently set up our own TEWV (which is our NHS name) Leadership and Management Academy. So what we've done, we've got a set of faculty members that support with the academy. So they've all been given a chance to become a mediator.

But we don't just choose a manager or a service manager – we look right across the Trust. So on the last programme that you did for us, we had psychological leads there, we had service managers there, but we also had administrators there as well. And we had HR people there, our people partners. So we had a vast amount of people there within different roles. So when we try and match them up to a mediation, we can try and maybe do that skill set match as well with them.

Terry: Lovely, that's really, really interesting. Now, I started on a positive, now I'm going to ask you about challenges you might have faced. So were there any specific issues that you had about introducing mediation, and if there were, how did you navigate and overcome those challenges?

Angela: And you're right, there's always some negatives. And I think with us in the Trust, initially, there was a little bit of resistance, because staff didn't think and feel that it would be confidential. They did then think that, oh, you'll use it against me if it ends up in a grievance or whatever.

So to overcome that we very much do a lot of promotion around it. So we make sure that staff understand that it is voluntary, and at the end of each mediation, we always do the agreement at the end of it, but then at the end of it, we always summarise by saying this, by the way, is all confidential, and we actually tear up the agreement. They will have a copy of it, but we've torn it up, and they can see us actually shredding it in the confidential waste, just so we can try and build that confidence in the process.

Some staff, you won't win over with it, but I think the majority do actually pick up on that. And I must say, at this point, we don't have hundreds of mediations coming through every month, not hundreds and hundreds. We probably have, you know, maybe 5 or 6 coming through a year. So it's not massive. And sometimes we can actually head that off at the pass as well. So we don't even need to get into it.

Terry: I suppose what you're talking about there is not everything needs to be mediated. Things can be resolved in different ways.

Angela: No it doesn't.

Terry: Having this as an additional method of resolving some issues between individuals in your workplaces has been an overall benefit for you.

Angela: It has, yeah, and I think when you look at it, when you look at what NHS England are doing, they very much want us to set up different development for people managers about how they manage people. And this is a key one for that as well.

Terry: And I have to say, I love that symbolism of tearing and shredding, just to reinforce that message about nobody will be taking anything away and keeping it on a file somewhere. That's a wonderful thing to do. Just a final couple of questions from me, Angela. We've talked about the work that we've done before, so could I ask you, what was it that drew you to Acas as your training provider?

Angela: I've worked with Acas for probably 20 or 30 years now, so you're the brand standard for me. So wherever I've worked, I've always contacted Acas to do this type of training with me. So to me, it was I liked what you did. I liked the set of the programmes. I like the way it's all set out. I like the actual handouts, the notes. I like the way it's been designed and delivered as well. And because I did it through the Trust as well with yourselves. So I got a lot out of it.

I just like the way it's actually been designed and delivered, and the fact that you get to practise in that particular area without doing it live on members of staff, first off. So it's just the way you've designed it and you deliver it, and the way you evaluated as well.

Terry: Lovely. I'm so pleased that that's been a success for you. And so one last question. We've got people listening to this podcast, and perhaps interested in mediation. If you had to give them one message about introducing mediation into their workplace, what would it be?

Angela: I would suggest it's a very, very good investment. And the way the NHS is with money, I do think it's a way for us to save money. It's an invest to save, I would suggest, because it means you can actually get to the crux of a problem, hopefully get the two parties working together without those long and drawn out grievances and disciplines. Or, sadly, sometimes if people do end up leaving, going through to employment tribunals as well. So it is really a way to save money and to support our patients and our staff.

Terry: Lovely. That's a lovely series of reasons for people to think about it, Angela. I'd like to thank you for not only investing in your people and working with Acas to introduce mediation into your organisation, but for coming along and speaking to me today. So thank you, Angela.

Angela: No, thank you, Terry, thank you for inviting me.

Terry: Thank you for taking the time to listen to this Acas podcast. If you want more information on mediation training, please visit our website, acas.org.uk.

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