When is my Dispute Ready for Mediation?

In the Bible, there is a clear and precise outline of how to resolve disputes in Matthew 18:15-20. This starts out very simple and scales to allow for more complex, stubborn or critical matters. The top tier is all private and confidential and everyone is under a formal agreement not to disclose matters.

1. Start off with a private negotiation, one-on-one. Pull people aside and see what is going on, what’s happened, where the issue arose. The earlier you do this, the more accurate the information and the less distorted the facts. Now, negotiate to fix the issues. Agree to talk with the person making the offense, move people around, change schedules, have a relaxed Friday, etc. Your creativity allows you to make the greatest impact. If this does not work, advance.
2. Bring in a neutral, unbiased person to mediate the issues. A quality trained and credentialed mediator can be invaluable to your business. This can be done after hours, in-person, virtually (online) and does NOT have to rise to the level of a legal complaint. Nip-it-in-the-bud.! Let the involved parties come to an agreement where the mediator can write up a formal memorandum ending the dispute. The parties involved are in control of the process and the agreement, so, the mediator is facilitating and controlling the process in a fair manner. If this does not work, escalate.
3. Select a neutral unbiased arbitrator to end the dispute. Arbitration is just like Judge Judy (commonly known as a private judge) that listens to the information, hears witnesses, etc. and makes a final award to how the dispute will be ended. Again, this does NOT have to come to the point of a legal dispute before you can implement an arbitration. Many businesses use this “mediation to arbitration” escalation to end matters before they reach a legal climax. Lastly, if they will not abide by the award or not agree to participate (this method needs to be written in your agreements, handbooks and contracts) then your left with the last option.
4. You must higher legal counsel and proceed to court litigation. This is the costliest, most time consuming and stress inducing process to resolve a dispute. Not to mention, you lose all control in the process and privacy / confidentiality just went out the window, opening you up to bad word of mouth, scathing social media posts and group boycotts.