Why Charities are Turning to Mediation for Dispute Resolution

We know how challenging it is to manage a busy charity in this modern world of work. With ever diminishing resources in the public sector our society is becoming more and more dependant on those working in the third sector to fill the gaps that were once filled by local authority education and social work departments.

Recruitment struggles for Scottish charities

We understand how hard it is for charities to recruit the skilled workers that they need to deliver those important services when they are, generally, not able to offer the salaries and benefits that are being offered by the private sector as the search for talent becomes increasingly challenging.

Why conflict is on the rise for charities

Because of this, the last place any charity wants is to find itself is trying to deal with conflict inside their organisation or with those who depend on the services they provide.

One of the consequences of the lockdown and the greater sense of isolation and dependence on digital media that arose then and persists now has been that some individuals feel less reserved about raising oftentimes ill-founded complaints and concerns, fuelled by the sense that somebody else should be doing something more and the loss of inhibition in asserting their concerns more and more aggressively.

Equally, those who actively choose to work in the third sector, when more lucrative but less rewarding work is available elsewhere, is that the modern charity worker is very likely to have a considerable passion for their job.

That can lead to deeply founded beliefs that the organisational leaders who are trying to balance the resources at their disposal with the need for the services they provide have got it wrong and that they should be doing something about it.

When a charity has managed to secure the funding to deliver a service then the need to deliver it while those funds are available can also mean that a charity can sometimes be forced to make poor recruitment decisions. The urgent need for someone to do the work may mean that we can recruit someone who may struggle to do it.

Those factors will often lead to formal complaints and grievances and the need to trigger capability processes. Traditionally those advising on how to deal with these challenges will stick to a formal process.

That process, whether it be complaint, grievance or capability will involve investigation, reports, formal hearings, and appeals that suck up scarce resources and take time that would otherwise be spent in taking the charity along the forward paths that they will all have planned and promised.

There is an alternative approach.

Why charities are choosing mediation

Increasingly, charities are recognising that while reserving their right to follow those formal processes, it is well worth considering whether those challenges can be resolved another way.

Mediation affords charities the chance to explore ways to resolve those conflicts quickly and confidentially. It gives a voice to all involved in a conflict and means that those who challenge a charity know their concerns are being treated with respect.

Through this discussion, a dialogue can be created that can lead to greater understanding on both sides.

Mediation allows parties to explore resolutions that would never be possible under the formal process which will lead to limited outcomes of “Your complaint has not been upheld”; “We have found no evidence to support your grievance”; “You are being warned that your performance must improve”.

Often none of those formal outcomes solve the problem. You still face an angry service user you have an unhappy or an insecure and worried worker. All that negativity only makes things worse.

In mediation, parties get a real chance to work together to find solutions that are beneficial to both parties. When a conflict can be resolved by both parties agreeing that they can work together to deliver a resolution that allows them to be content then why wouldn’t you want to give it a try?

How does a charity mediation work?

The mediation process is based on the principal that providing a confidential safe space for open, frank and full discussion allows parties to explore resolutions that cannot be cast up if an agreement isn’t reached.

While the resolution that is agreed can be kept entirely confidential and won’t create unhelpful precedents, the fact that more and more charities are aware of the benefits of using mediations means this then becomes a matter of good governance.

Why a Board trustee wouldn’t recognise that a process which can find a quick resolution to a problem which avoids the costs of the lengthy formal process and leaves the charity vulnerable to external attacks by an unhappy disputant is something that must be explored.

Our five trained mediators have experience both of serving on the boards of and of working with significant national charities to find the resolution they need.

If you’d like to discuss how a mediation might work for your charity, get in touch with Alun Thomas.

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