What Can Mediation Do For My Business?

Mediation does two things:

+ Gives you an opportunity to get to the heart of a conflict and work out issues before a disagreement goes to court, and possibly solve the problem out of court.

+ Lowers your cost in time, money and stress.

Mediation doesn't always work. Some people don't want to talk about the issues or can't find a middle ground, and some simply want their day in court.

The downfall of going to court, besides the costs, is that the initial conflict isn't solved. If employees remain, whether they win or lose their case, there will usually continue to be conflict with other employees and management, and the problem that started it all may not be properly repaired through policy or other changes.

For HOAs and Landlords, relationships with contractors can be bruised to the point of lost business, work that was supposed to be finished may go unfinished, or worse, finished with a grudge. If the dispute is with a resident, win or lose, fostering the right neighborhood mentality cannot be done in an adversarial court and neighbors may continue to have conflicts in the future.

Mediation is great for:

+ Businesses where employee/employee or employee/management conflicts develop because mediators can bring the issues to the surface, allowing both sides to suggest solutions, change policy and move forward. Often times, a simple shift in resources, change in schedules or policy can put the entire operation back on an even keel.

+ HOAs where HOA/contractor conflict or HOA/Resident conflicts develop because, in the case of contractors, business relationships can be maintained through the understanding of what work needs to be done and whether it was done to code and standards, while equitable payment or refund issues can be worked out to the satisfaction of both parties.

+ In the case of HOA/Resident conflict or neighbor/neighbor conflict, mediators can address issues in terms of the CCRs, help sides negotiate terms for making changes and doing it in a reasonable period of time/amount of money, while bringing both sides together to understand the expectations of neighbors, both cultural and legal.

If you have a business/residential dispute, mediators are your lower cost and higher quality solution.