Xenium’s own Nicole Blevins gives listeners a glimpse into workplace mediation. From an outline of the process itself to the challenges that come with workplace conflict, Nicole provides an overview of what she’s learned since earning her certification as a workplace mediator.
A QUICK GLIMPSE INTO OUR PODCAST
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🎙️ Host: Brandon Laws
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GUEST AT A GLANCE
Today’s guest is Nicole Blevins, an avid Transform Your Workplace podcast listener who ended up moving from Florida to Oregon to pursue her career at Xenium HR. Among her varied HR-oriented skills and extensive experience, Nicole recently added a workplace mediation certification to her repertoire. A growth-oriented learner, Nicole is excited to share her love of all things HR with the Transform Your Workplace audience.
A QUICK GLIMPSE INTO THE MEDIATION PROCESS
An ideal mediation situation begins with case development, “which is where one party comes to you with a conflict and is essentially asking for help or some type of mediation.” The mediator then gets some background information from that person and then reaches out to the other party to see if they would be open to participating in mediation. Of course, both parties have to voluntarily agree to come to the table and have this open discussion.
At the beginning of a mediation process, the mediator sets some ground rules. One such rule is that those involved in the mediation allow each other time to speak. If this rule is violated, the mediator can reference the agreed-upon ground rule and get the conversation back on course.
In the first meeting, each party gives “their opening statement,” which is an explanation of their perception of the conflict. From there, the mediator begins asking probing questions to get a clear picture of the facts and define the issues at hand. Once the foundation has been laid, it’s time to explore options for resolving the conflict and, ultimately, get to a final resolution that both parties agree upon.
PODCAST EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
The role of the mediator
“The mediator is […] an impartial third party who is there to listen to both sides of the situation. They should ask good open-ended questions to facilitate the conversation and move things forward so that the two parties can come to a resolution on their own. So the mediator is not deciding the resolution or the outcome, but just helping two people push past that conflict and get a deeper understanding of what they need in order to move forward and come to a resolution.”
When it seems like all is lost
“It’s really interesting because when I first started, I was like, ‘Oh, that’s a tough situation. I don’t know how they’re going to move past that.’ But it’s so interesting how my perspective on [conflict] has completely changed. All it takes is bringing people together and asking the right questions at the right time, picking up on body language and emotions, and empathizing — just these little things can totally transform a conversation. We all innately know how to empathize and how to listen actively, but putting them into practice can totally change the outcome of a pretty serious conflict.”
Asking the right questions
“You don’t want to ask leading questions or questions that are just going to get you a “yes” or “no” answer because the goal is to get the parties talking right. You do that by asking open-ended questions. In the scenario I just mentioned, one of the questions that I asked was, ‘can you tell me more about how you felt when you received that message?’ So really asking those questions so they can fully express their feelings. Both parties feel that they’ve been heard, which is really important. Then, you move to asking more open-ended questions that are more forward-thinking.”
Getting them talking
“Once you start asking those forward-thinking questions, and they’re describing what they would like to see in order to trust each other, that’s when the collaboration starts. As a mediator, I’m like, ‘all right, they’re just talking and I don’t even need to ask questions anymore.’ And if the conversation comes to a halt or they’re not having that collaboration, that’s when I would want to come in and ask another question and keep moving things forward. “
Nipping it in the bud
“Mediation can be really beneficial in situations where you’re noticing there’s a clash or conflict and you address it early on, rather than saying it’ll figure itself out. Because if I’ve learned anything in my years of HR in general, it never works out right. Leaving it alone and not addressing it never is a good option. […] Facilitate a conversation between those two people to address the concerns and the conflict before it becomes a bigger issue.”
LEARN MORE
Want to learn more about conflict at work or other relevant workplace topics? Dig into more of the Transform Your Workplace podcast content by clicking here.