It's rare for everyone in an organization to work together perfectly. There are occasions when persistent friction between two or more individuals becomes more than mere dislike. The ongoing conflict acts as a drag on the effectiveness of the entire team or department. Periodically, this conflict even affects product quality and customers' perceptions of the organization. In situations where no resolution is in sight, and more traditional interventions haven't achieved the desired result, the parties may benefit from mediation.

If you're unsure whether mediation is appropriate, consider these signs and symptoms:

• The quality of one or both employees' work has suffered and it's beginning to affect the work of other employees.
• The employees' manager and your company's HR professionals have talked with them several times, and the situation either hasn't improved or has deteriorated.
• The problem between the employees has affected morale throughout the team/department.
• You fear losing your most valuable employees if the problem continues. It's apparent that you will need to terminate one or both employees if the problem isn't resolved soon.

When your team, department, or organization has problems like this - and you're not sure how to address them - MSEC's trained mediators may be able to help.

For more information: Contact Organizational Development and Learning at 303.894.6732.