Is shuttle becoming the new norm for mediation? It seems to becoming more frequent, and more often the starting assumption. This post asks why, and what shuttle costs in different kinds of matters. What we are talking about Shuttle mediation keeps the parties apart for the whole process. The mediator moves between rooms carrying information,
Shuttle Mediation – Can We Have Mediation Without Dialogue? Read More »
You’ve received a referral from a workplace relating to performance, misconduct, bullying, or a disputed adjustment. Someone in the organisation will tell you the problem came out of nowhere. The employee was fine for six years, and then suddenly they were not coping. However, the reality is usually something that has accumulated over time and
Conflict Involving Neurodivergent Employees: The Visibility Loop Read More »
I often say to colleagues that confidentiality in mediation is a bit of a myth. I don’t mean we should stop offering it. I mean that the way we usually describe it promises clients something we can’t actually deliver. Here is the kind of situation I have in mind. A client makes a complaint about
Confidentiality in Mediation: Are We Promising Something That Doesn’t Exist? Read More »
Prepared by The Conflict Management Academy, August 2026 Why finance is one of the biggest employers of dispute resolution skills in Australia If you have studied finance, you may not realise that the financial services industry is legally required to run dispute resolution systems, and that it employs thousands of people to do so. Two
You are setting up a workplace mediation. The referrer, often someone from HR, says they want a copy of any written agreement the parties reach. It sounds like a routine request, but it changes the process in ways the referrer may not have thought through, and how you respond shapes both the parties’ experience and
When the Referrer Wants a Copy of the Agreement Read More »
Most jobs come with two descriptions. The one that gets written down is about outcomes: deliver this analysis, manage this caseload, draft these contracts, service these clients, hit these targets. That description ends up in the position description, the contract, the performance review. The other one isn’t written anywhere. Be approachable in the kitchen. Read
The Job Description and the Unwritten One Read More »
The setup most of us know Most workplace conflict coaching referrals follow a familiar pattern. An HR manager or other employer representative contacts you. They have two employees who can’t work together, and they want something to change. They arrange coaching, possibly with mediation to follow. They pay the invoice. And then, at some point,
Who Are You Reporting To? Confidentiality in Employer-Referred Conflict Coaching Read More »
My friend Sabine, a senior leader in a corporate organisation, recently told me about a moment that a female colleague of hers had experienced at work, a moment that many women in leadership will recognise. Her colleague, a top leader at another corporate organisation, had been developing a board presentation when two male colleagues, both
Interest in workplace mediation has grown sharply in recent years. It is not surprising that some larger organisations are looking to develop this capability in-house. What is less often discussed is how much harder it is to do well than it looks. There is a quiet contradiction at the heart of in-house mediation. The qualities
The Inside Job: What No One Tells You About Being an In-House Mediator Read More »
A colleague recently asked me whether I was familiar with any research on the risks associated with mediating with a heavily pregnant woman. The woman in question was in conflict with her ex-partner, the father of her unborn child, and my colleague wanted to know whether there were particular considerations they should be thinking about.
Should Pregnant Women Be Excluded from Mediation? Questions We Need to Ask Read More »