Welcome to MediationWorks of North Carolina
MediationWorks provides mediation services for businesses, public and private agencies, and individuals. MediationWorks is dedicated to helping employers and individuals find effective solutions for workplace and family conflicts.
Why Mediation Works
The mediation process includes several key elements:
- Creating a safe space
- Sharing information and perspectives
- Identifying the main concerns and interests of the parties
- Brainstorming options
- Reaching an agreement
The Mediation Process
Creating a Safe Space
The mediator creates a safe space for conflict resolution by welcoming all participants, demonstrating his/her neutrality, maintaining the confidential nature of the process, and setting the stage for healthy discussion.
Sharing Information and Perspectives
All participants are invited to share their story and unique perspective on the situation uninterrupted and with an emotional context. The mediator will often reflect back both the factual and emotional content of each participant’s statements.
Identifying the Main Concerns and Interests
After all perspectives have been shared, the mediator assists participants in identifying their main concerns and reframing the issues in terms of their underlying interests and needs.
Brainstorming Options
After issues have been clearly identified and articulated, participants explore solutions that meet everyone’s needs and interests to the greatest extent possible. Mediators encourage participants to develop more options than they might on their own, increasing the likelihood of a successful outcome.
Reaching an Agreement
Mediators help participants reach agreements that are realistic, specific and mutually acceptable. Because participants are empowered to create their own solutions, agreements are more satisfying and have a much higher rate of compliance than court-ordered settlements.
The Benefits of Mediation
Mediation is a time-honored dispute resolution process that continues to gain popularity because of the numerous advantages it offers over traditional litigation and arbitration. Mediation works because it is
Effective
While results cannot be guaranteed, mediation more often than not results in a settlement that is more acceptable to the parties and more likely to be complied with than other forms of dispute resolution.
Efficient
Mediation is scheduled for the parties’ convenience and typically takes much less time than administrative or court proceedings. Mediated agreements can often be reached long before a case could be brought before a court.
Economical
While mediation may involve attorneys, accountants, and other experts, the process can often be accomplished with only the mediator and parties in dispute, and provide an economical alternative to litigation and other methods of dispute resolution.
Empowering
Mediation empowers participants to resolve their own disputes rather than have an outside authority dictate the outcome. Because mediated agreements are always voluntary, participants maintain control of whether and how their conflict is resolved.
Confidential
Mediation is informal, personalized and confidential. Litigation is formal, impersonal and a matter of public record.
Compassionate
All parties’ perspectives and emotional responses are honored in the mediation process. The mediator uses active and reflective listening to reframe issues and to encourage mutual understanding. In a successful mediation, all parties feel heard. Often, relationships are restored or strengthened through this process.
Fair
Mediators remain neutral and impartial to ensure all parties’ needs and interests are fairly represented. The goal of mediation is to create win/win solutions.
Satisfying
Because mediation seeks to identify and meet the interests and needs of participants, mediated agreements often produce more satisfying outcomes than cash reparations alone.
Realistic
Mediators help participants explore realistic solutions. Mediators lead parties to identify the range of likely alternatives to a negotiated agreement and thus be more reasonable and flexible in their problem-solving approach.
Successful
Mediation validates emotions, encourages participants to shape decisions, generates more options, and helps participants maintain control over their lives. For these reasons and many more, mediation produces long-lasting agreements with a high level of compliance.
MediationWorks NC Services
Workplace
Workplace Mediation
Workplace conflicts are common and can inspire healthy innovation when managed properly. However, unmanaged conflict can paralyze productivity and undermine an organization’s health and longevity.
Mediation can be a more constructive, cost- and time-efficient method for managing active conflict than formal grievance procedures or lawsuits.
Mediation creates positive upstream effects in the workplace; managers and employees learn valuable dispute resolution skills that can prevent further conflict, saving employers valuable human and financial resources.
Workplace mediation can be especially useful for
- resolving personality conflicts, grievances, and perceived discrimination
- building consensus around divisive issues
- helping employees adjust to new work practices, relocation or internal reorganization
Workplace mediation services include:
- mediation of workplace conflict
- conflict resolution training
- facilitation for team meetings, conferences and events
Family
MediationWorks of North Carolina
and Your Family
Separation and divorce, particularly when children and financial assets are involved, are challenging life transitions. Mediation is ideally suited to helping individuals work through financial and child-related issues in a cooperative rather than adversarial manner.
Mediation can help parents develop a healthy, lifelong working relationship that best supports the emotional and financial needs of their children.
Mediation facilitates the healing process by
- creating a safe, confidential space for working through difficult, and often emotionally charged, decisions
- promoting healthy communication skills
- encouraging mutual understanding between participants
- seeking win/win solutions that meet all parties’ needs and interests to the greatest extent possible
Mediation can help create workable agreements for
- asset distribution
- debt allocation
- parenting plans, including
—living arrangements
—financial support
—child-rearing/discipline approaches
Conference Space
MediationWorks can provide neutral meeting space for large or small groups. Services can also be provided on site.
Fees for Services
Mediation services are provided on an hourly, fee for service basis, with a one time per case administrative fee.
Cash, check or credit card payments are accepted.
