Berkeley Lab Conflict Resolution Services Program
Introduction
The Laboratory envisions a healthy organizational culture that fosters trust and respect. We want employees to have the confidence to raise any issue, concern, or conflict and know that it will be respectfully received and responsibly dealt with at the lowest level possible through direct communication and collaboration.
Workplace conflict is inevitable and provides an opportunity for cooperative engagement or demoralizing costly disputes.
When we engage collaboratively to problem solve, whether it be to bring science solutions to the world or address interpersonal work issues, we are successful.
At times, because of our discomfort with conflict, our lack of skills to address conflict productively, our lack of procedures and structures to channel it toward collaboration, conflict is typically experienced as a problem and avoided.
When it comes to workplace problems and conflict, the Laboratory supports productive engagement to ensure all voices are actually heard and that conflict is experienced as an opportunity for learning, growth and enhanced creativity.
Purpose
The purpose of this Program is to prevent, manage and resolve any conflict competently and in alignment with the Laboratory’s vision, mission and values.
All employees are expected to maintain productive interpersonal relationships, and resolve any conflicts or disputes using the resources provided by this Program.
The Human Resources Division will manage the Program, recognizing that we have a special responsibility to role model healthy relationship management and to help others maintain productive interpersonal relationships.
The Program will provide a variety of options including conflict coaching, conversation facilitation and mediation.
At times, the Program will make referrals to applicable resources including available employee assistance services and at others look into an issue on behalf of an employee or group of employees to counsel them on their options to address any issue.
The intention is to make the Program easy to access. To support this, a variety of ways to raise concerns will be provided.
Importantly, participation in this Program is voluntary for employees.
The Program is not a reporting office for treatment that is the subject of the Laboratory’s Nondiscrimination or other harassment and discrimination policies in force.
To the extent allowed by law, activities performed in pursuit of this Program are private and confidential, with the exception of situations where one of the participants makes a genuine threat of physical or psychological harm or reveals information of criminal activity, child abuse or elder abuse.
Employees will be able to request the presence of a support person or representative, as they participate in this internal workplace Program.
The Program is intended to work in conjunction with the Lab’s Complaint Resolution Policy PPSM-70.
Program Options
The Program articulates three pathways to prevent, manage and resolve any conflict or disputes.
Option 1: Direct Communication and Collaboration
The preferred method for dealing with conflict is direct communication and collaboration.
All employees are expected to maintain productive interpersonal relationships and competently address and resolve any conflicts or disputes through direct communication so they can collaborate productively with one another in pursuit of Laboratory goals and objectives as set by supervisors and managers.
Option Two: Open Door and Facilitated Conversations
Where direct communication is not suitable, whether because the supervisor is not available or not the desired contact, employees may access successively higher levels of the management chain or Human Resources at any time.
When management or Human Resources are contacted about a problem or issue, they shall guard against toxic triangulation and restore direct communication between the employees by offering to facilitate a conversation to support the mutual resolution of their conflict.
When facilitating a conversation as contemplated by this Program, the HR member or manager will focus on improving communication, identifying needs, and building creative solutions that work for everyone.
The facilitator will refrain from solving the problem for the participants or being an advocate for either participant.
When a conversation is facilitated through the exercise of this option, the HR member or manager will complete and submit a non-identifying form, recording the date of the meeting, the division and location of where the participants work, what the issues were about and whether there was an agreement reached to the Program for evaluation and learning.
Option Three: Mediation and other Conciliatory Support
At any time, but especially after making efforts to communicate directly and to collaborate, any Laboratory employee may approach the Program for support.
Based on a short assessment of the situation the Program will offer one or a combination of the following services:
• Mediation
• Facilitated Conversation
• Conflict Coaching
• Referral
• Looking Into
Mediation
Mediation is a conciliatory process in which an acceptable third person or persons, with no decision-making authority or power to impose a resolution, intervenes in the conflict or disputes of the participants with the goal of supporting them to reach agreement.
The mediator does not impose a decision and respects the parties’ right to decide for themselves.
Participation in mediation offered by the Program is voluntary on the part of the employee.
Should the employee choose mediation, supervisors and managers are required to attend the mediation and participate in good faith.
Agreement and settlement are entirely voluntary for all parties.
A mediator or pair of mediators will be assigned from the panel of mediators maintained by the Program.
Mediators must have received a 40-hour certificate of internal workplace mediation and abide by the Standards of Practice for Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Mediators.
The mediator may meet individually (caucus) with each participant before, during and after meeting together.
A non-identifying record of the date of the mediation meeting, the division and location of where the participants work, what the issues were about and whether there was an agreement reached, will be kept for Program evaluation and learning.
Any notes taken during the course of a mediation will be destroyed.
The mediator may support the participants in documenting any agreements reached but will not be responsible for keeping a copy of the agreement.
Where an agreement is reached the mediator will offer to provide follow up services to check on the implementation of that agreement.
Mediation does not replace or remove an employee’s right to the Employee Complaint Resolution Policy or any other formal grievance procedures.
Issues that are already being addressed through a formal process, such as a grievance procedure, may, nonetheless, be mediated if the formal procedure does not specifically preclude mediation and any time frames embedded in those formal procedures are tolled to allow the parties to thoroughly explore mediation.
For employees covered by collective bargaining agreements, mediation is an option at all stages of the grievance procedure, including pre-grievance.
Facilitated Conversation
A facilitated conversation is an informal process where a member of HR or a line manager facilitates the communication between employees with the goal of supporting them in resolving their conflict, after having been contacted through the open-door option.
Conflict Coaching
Conflict Coaching is a one on one process that allows employees to receive empathy while developing an understanding of how to approach a conflict or challenging relationship on their own.
Referral
A referral in this context would be referrals to other offices and resources that are accessible to employees, for example the employee assistance program, and the offices for filing complaints.
Looking Into
Looking Into constitutes an informal inquiry by contacting everyone involved and to provide information about appropriate conciliatory options. Looking into is not a fact-finding investigation.
Definitions/Acronyms
Conflict: A conflict is a concern, a dissatisfaction, a problem, a disagreement or a complaint about an issue, interaction, process, policy, decision or treatment.
Collaboration: Collaboration is an approach in which we work together using our resources to reach a common goal.
Conflict Coaching: Conflict Coaching is a one on one process that allows employees to receive empathy while developing an understanding of how to approach a conflict or challenging relationship on their own.
Dispute: A dispute is a conflict where a demand has been negated and has escalated to a point where the parties have become entrenched in their positional demands.
Facilitated Conversation: A facilitated conversation is an informal process where a member of HR or a line manager facilitates the communication between employees with the goal of supporting them resolve their conflict, after having been contacted through the open-door option.
Mediation: Mediation is a conciliatory process in which an acceptable third person or persons, with no decision-making authority or power to impose a resolution, intervenes in the conflict or disputes of the participants with the goal of supporting them to reach agreement.
Mediator: A mediator is a qualified HR member who provides services to assist in the early resolution of workplace problems facilitating meetings and conducting mediations between the participants to assist them explore and, if possible resolve some or all the issues or problems through a mutual agreement.
Toxic Triangulation: Triangulation occurs when a third person gets involved in the relational dynamics of two others. Toxic triangulation occurs when the third person doesn't restore direct communication, and instead distorts it and either unwittingly or intentionally colludes with the person who complained.
Open Door Option: The open-door option grants all employees access to successively higher levels of the management chain of command.
Referral: A referral provides contact information and orientation on how to access other Programs or offices that are available at the Laboratory.
Record-keeping Requirements
The Program will maintain records that reflect the utility of the Program, including but not limited to:
- The number of requests for assistance received;
- The subject matter of the complaints or requests;
- The number of conflicts and disputes resolved by conflict coaching, mediation, facilitated conversations, referral and looking into;
- The satisfaction with the Program as indicated on a voluntary evaluation form.
The Program will conduct an analysis of this data each year. The purpose of the analysis is to evaluate the impact of the Program on the Laboratory, to identify patterns or trends, and to make recommendations for the improvement of the Program to the Chief Human Resources Officer.