How a team facilitation operates will obviously depend very much on the context and will take into account the views of individuals within the team. It may be a stand alone intervention or used as part of a wider process.
One example of where this approach has been used was where relations between a number of team members had deteriorated due to changes in personnel with recent redundancies and a restructure also impacting. A number of conflicting concerns had been raised with management. It appeared that there were effectively two camps; one reporting concerns with one individual, the other feeling that this was unfair. Individual meetings were held with those concerned to seek views as to the underlying causes and on what needed to happen to improve working relationships.
The issues identified by the team formed the agenda for a facilitated group discussion . As part of this, the team were able to share concerns in a safe and managed environment. It helped to clarify misunderstanding and assumptions. Team members gave a commitment that they would attempt to resolve any concerns directly with each other before raising concerns more formally or raising concerns on behalf of others. Whilst the facilitated meeting was difficult for some it did enable all to understand the impact of the situation on others and the team were able to agree to draw a line under what had gone before and move forward more positively.
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Alison quickly positioned herself as the ideal choice due to her obvious experience and pragmatism. Alison instantly picked up on the issues and clearly demonstrated her approach to dealing with our problem.
Despite a very tricky, emotive situation, the success of Alison’s work resulted in the retention of an individual who would otherwise have left the company and their successful reintegration into their department.
Through Alison’s subsequent training, our HR team is now equipped to instigate informal mediation processes to head off future issues before they start to fester.
I relied on Alison to deliver an empathetic service and desired result, and she 100% delivered on both aspects.
Senior HR Professional, Major Financial Services Company, South Wales | Senior HR Professional Major Financial Services Company
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Mediation can also be used very effectively where there is a team or group conflict. One recent case involved a well established and highly experienced team who were having difficulty with their current manager.
Many mediation cases involve allegations of bullying, harassment or discrimination. Mediation allows these issues to be aired in a safe environment, enabling individuals to “deal with the elephant in the room”.