Dealing with a complaint?

Are you involved in handling or managing complaints? Do you find that the conventional processes for complaints management tend to be lengthy, costly, and ultimately can lead to dissatisfaction for both the complainant and the person or organisation complained against?

Mediation offers an alternative. It encourages an open and honest dialogue, in a private setting, where both sides can outline their own positions, and can be fully heard by the other. A professional mediator uses a tried and tested model to allow both parties to express their concerns and perceptions about what has happened, and more importantly to outline what they need to happen to put things right. The independence of the mediator, and the ways that he/she can help the parties to focus on the future, rather than on the past, are key elements in ensuring that a fair and equitable solution is reached.

Mediation is now being used more and more for managing a wide variety of complaints. Legislation determining how complaints must be handled, especially within NHS and Local Authorities, now expects that mediation be tried before a complaint progresses to the Ombudsman. In the private sector, people are finding that mediation can provide a fast, inexpensive, and ultimately more satisfactory alternative when dealing with a range of complaints over the supply of goods & services.

If you are managing a complaint that you think could be better dealt with through mediation, please contact us for an informal discussion about how mediation might help. Alternatively, we can train and even qualify you to be able to mediate complaints yourself.