Stuff happens – between employers, employees, boards, committees, unions and individuals. People behave thoughtlessly, badly or unlawfully; they bully and harass; systemic failures become apparent; people get hurt, and performance suffers; legal and operational risks emerge.
And as they arise, issues have to be dealt with. Not just to make them go away, but to resolve them efficiently, cost effectively, fairly and durably. Some matters need expert and dispassionate investigation. In other cases, empathetic and creative mediation is called for. Sometimes systems or processes need to be developed, reviewed or overhauled.
When asked and where appropriate, we mediate, investigate and conduct broader workplace reviews and re-appraisals.
We prefer, though, an invitation to work upstream. It's far more productive and satisfying to change the approach to issues-resolution. The default mode is to channel flare-ups into grievances and investigations. Risk mitigation, ostensibly. Or asserting rights. What then typically happens is that a chain of allegations and rebuttals is unleashed. A cone of silence descends, courtesy of considerations of confidentiality and privacy. Rumours abound, suspicions are heightened and relationships unravel further. Appeal procedures are invoked. Things escalates, and then they drag. Those involved feel exhausted and intimidated by it all.
Sometimes grievances do indeed need to be formally lodged; sometimes investigations do indeed need to be expeditiously triggered. Mostly, though, in our experience, those reflexes aggravate rather than resolve. The alternative? Evaluate early and judiciously. Put in serious resources at the outset if the portents look serious. Match the issue with the optimum process. Thorough but informal issue-assessment coupled with intensive problem-solving often commends itself. Dispute prevention should start at the point of recruitment, when expectations are set. An organisational commitment to respect, education over rights and the cultivation of inter-personal resilience should all be in play. Legal compliance and risk mitigation are hygiene factors, not the keys to a great workplace. Invest in dispute system design, and lead it back to dispute prevention and foundational relationship building. Co-designed, not imposed.