Email: [email protected] Tel: 08000 489235 Facebook LinkedIn
My journey to becoming Operations Director of Mediation at Work
As the new Operations Director of Mediation at work I wanted one of my first jobs to be to share with you how I came to be where I am today.
I first met my business partner, Alison Love, back in 2010 when she was interviewing me for a senior management position in the Employment department of Hugh James Solicitors in Cardiff, where she was a Partner. I am pleased to say that Alison offered me the job and so my journey began.
Although Alison and I were managing different teams we had a mutual respect for each other, possibly helped by our mutual love of wine!
In 2011 I was sad to see Alison leave Hugh James. She left to set up her own business providing workplace mediation and conflict training services. We kept in touch after she left although our paths didn’t really cross again until a Hugh James Employment department catch up in October 2013. I know that Alison won’t mind me saying but I remember commenting on how much younger she looked! It was clear that setting up her own business had been the right move for her in so many ways.
My time at Hugh James came to an end following a restructure in 2014. I now had a young family and so the decision to volunteer for redundancy and look for new opportunities closer to home was an easy one. I contacted Alison to ask her to be my referee on my CV; little did I know that my referee would very soon become my business partner!
I was doing legal consultancy work as well as freelancing as a lecturer at BPP University at the end of 2014 when Alison asked me if I had ever considered training to become a mediator. At the time I had really thrown myself into the lecturing and consultancy work so I can honestly say that I hadn’t but things were about to change for me. Alison suggested that I train on the Foundation in Workplace Mediation programme, which I did. I came away from that course with a whole new outlook on conflict in the workplace.
Alison invited me to work as an Associate in her Cardiff business but when Alison approached me about a potential business opportunity in Bristol to take the helm at a company that has been at the forefront of workplace mediation since it was established in 2000, I jumped at the chance.
A number of meetings later brings us to the here and now and I am really excited to be working alongside John, Liz and Alison in this new chapter in both my life and the life of Mediation at Work
As Stress Awareness Week reminds us each November, stress remains one of the biggest hidden costs to UK businesses. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) reports… Read more »
Our CEO, Trish Hewitt, shares her views and experiencing relating to Black History Month. What is Black History Month? Every October the UK celebrates Black… Read more »
It is not uncommon for conflict to arise between different teams. This can have considerable impact on both individuals and performance. A number of approaches can be used in this sort of scenario, including neutral assessment, team facilitation and group mediation.
Agreement could not be reached to enter into mediation in this situation and therefore coaching was an alternative support provided to one of the parties. The relationship between a majority shareholder and a shareholder/director was causing conflict. The relationship would be ok at times but disagreements would flare up from time to time and this was beginning to impact on the business.