Spring 2019 HRmatters 19 MEDIATION AND RESPECTFUL WORKPLACE COMPLAINTS meaningful. The complainant asked to withdraw the complaint and the subsequent consequences of the formal investigation. The HR manager, however, felt bound by the policy and was unable to flex the rules. The discipline letter remained on file. This certainly soured the whole process, including the relationship progress for these parties, especially for the respondent. CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING: 1.  Revise your policies to include the expectation of exploring mediation early in the process, ideally before a formal investigation process is initiated. Build some flexibility into your policies to allow for the possibility of interpersonal resolution in lieu of punitive consequences. On a very practical level, mediation can save you money (especially when it is engaged proactively/early in the conflict), including mitigating the costs of stress and sick leaves and/or disruptive and lengthy investigation processes. 2.  Pause the investigation process and wait for the outcome of a mediated conversation. Often the outcome of a facilitated process changes things for the parties, and a formal investigation or additional discipline may no longer be meaningful or appropriate. You can always reinitiate a formal investigation if the parties are unable to find a way forward through a collaborative process. 3.  Remember the team’s needs following a formal investigation process. Relationships don’t exist in a vacuum. The whole department is often affected when a respectful workplace complaint is filed. In my experience, too often when an investigation process has been completed, HR leaders and managers feel compelled to close the door on it and “move forward,” failing to take into account broader impacts including what the group as a whole needs in order to recover and resume productive teamwork. 4.  Mediation is not always appropriate – but it often is. Sometimes managers and HR leaders believe (or their policies dictate) that some types of behaviours or dynamics (or the severity of certain behaviours or dynamics) deem the situation inappropriate for mediation. In extreme cases, this can certainly be true. However, you may be surprised how helpful mediation can be even in the most difficult of scenarios. Trust the mediators to help you assess whether the situation is “mediate-able” or not. Don’t discount it as an option before you even properly explore it. Sandy Koop Harder has been a leader at Facilitated Solutions since 2006 and has over 20 years of experience in mediation, coaching and management. She holds a Master of Business Administration (Leadership) and Chartered Mediator credentials with the ADR Institute of Canada. She loves what she does. And she doesn’t do it alone... together with her colleagues at Facilitated Solutions, she helps people prevent, manage and resolve conflict – at work and at home. O CTOBER 29 & 30, 2019 RBC Convention Centre Winnipeg Business +People CPHR MANITOBA’S HR CONFERENCE REGISTER NOW! For more information, visit CPHRMB.CA/2019CONFERENCE