Arbiters in the Workplace

When independent arbitrators resolve conflicts between employees

> Mediation Several companies, such as the bank Pictet, have called on a specialist in dialogue

Rising demand According to a survey by the Swiss Federation of Mediation Associations, carried out for the first time in 2009, demand for mediation is increasing. “More than 10,000 mediations took place in Switzerland in 2008”, more than 20% of which were related to conflicts in the workplace. The success rate is over 70%, it adds.

Even though the system is developing, it is still underused, according to mediation professionals. “The fact that Switzerland has a tradition of compromise does not prevent people from having a litigious reflex and turning first to a lawyer,” comments Christine Debons, a mediator in Valais. “In fact, mediation requires people to position themselves not as victims but as actors in the situation, and to find the solutions themselves. That is not something everyone can do!” M. M.

> Because they are independent, mediators inspire greater trust among employees

Marie Maurisse

“Cases of disagreement within a company ought to be handled by human resources. But in practice, because they are accountable to management, they cannot act in complete independence and employees cannot place full trust in them,” admits Raphaël Cohen, director of the entrepreneurship specialisation on the MBA at HEC Geneva.

To resolve tensions between colleagues, new internal structures are appearing. Since March 2009, the city of Lausanne has had a conflict resolution support unit staffed by Jarmila Looks and Julien Perriard. “In concrete terms, people do not have to wait until a crisis reaches its peak before coming to see us, because our role is above all preventive,” says the latter. “Every situation is different: a job description that overlaps with a colleague’s, a disputed appraisal, tensions between two people… What they have in common is a form of suffering at work.”

Depending on the case, Julien Perriard is free to use the most appropriate tools (advice, round-table discussions, mediation, etc.). Bound by professional secrecy, he points out that his service does not depend on human resources and is completely autonomous. On average, this former labour inspector receives ten new requests a month, out of a total workforce of 5,000 employees concerned. “In 90% of cases, an advisory approach resolves the problem. About twice a year, when faced with very deteriorated situations, we open an investigation, on the basis of which the Municipal Council can make a ruling.”

“In 90% of cases, an advisory approach resolves the problem”

“The first internal mediation units were initially created in the late 1990s in connection with the new equality law, to deal with harassment issues,” notes Marc Rosset, a professional mediator who runs the platform conflits.ch.

Since then, the range of issues addressed has broadened, as within the Geneva state’s “trust group”, open since January 2009 and now staffed by the equivalent of five full-time positions. “Conflict is part of the normal life of a company,” says its head, Sophie de Weck Haddad. “Our role is, among other things, to provide a space for people to speak so as to help them take a step back.”

An example? “One person was frustrated because they felt poorly informed; they noticed that whenever they made a request, the response was slow in coming. As a result, they felt disregarded and stormed out of a meeting, slamming the door. The other person, for their part, thought that this individual went too far into detail and did not have control of their emotions. Two sessions were enough to calm the situation and restore contact.”

But public institutions are not the only ones innovating: for the past two years, Pictet has also benefited from the expertise of an arbitrator. Trained as a philosopher, Yasmine Jhabvala works within the private bank to resolve the inevitable disputes between people. Describing herself as an “institutional peacemaker”, she is the main point of contact for employees angry with colleagues or superiors, resolving problems through dialogue and, where necessary, an internal investigation.

Are Yasmine Jhabvala’s results positive? It is impossible to know, because Pictet refuses to comment on the matter. Even so, the Geneva group’s recruitment is representative of changing attitudes towards conflict management within Swiss companies. “Today, everyone knows that it is more effective to use a third party to settle internal disagreements,” explains Jérémy Lack, a lawyer and mediator. “All the more so since a new Code of Civil Procedure came into force on 1 January 2011, and it frames and standardises mediation procedures at federal level.”

From now on, mediation is a practice governed by law. Its rules are more transparent: clients are better informed and professionals are supervised. This new context may encourage companies to call on them more often.

Until now, companies have used external mediators, contacted on an occasional basis to help resolve disagreements. “But the title of mediator is still not protected,” warns Norma Streit, who is responsible for arbitration and mediation at the Vaud Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CVCI), which has offered this service since 2007. “That is why one must be careful when choosing the professional.” Especially as they do not all use the same methods. A mediator oversees discussions, but in a neutral way. A conciliator, by contrast, may propose solutions to the parties, while an arbitrator has the power to decide the matter in order to resolve the disagreement. In this context, companies have a range of models at their disposal.

This system does indeed make it possible to “wash one’s dirty linen in the family”

Which is the best one? A structure like the one developed by Pictet offers the advantage of being very accessible to employees and of keeping conflicts within the organisation, without risking rumours of internal tensions or harassment problems becoming public.

For Arnaud Stimec, author of La médiation en entreprise (Mediation in Business, Dunod, 2011), this system does indeed make it possible to “wash one’s dirty linen in the family”. But “for difficult cases or cases involving the organisation, it is better to provide an external bridge offering every guarantee of independence and confidentiality,” he adds.

For the past ten years, Geneva’s public utilities have developed a somewhat different service: four employees are trained in mediation and intervene when needed. “Our work is increasingly recognised,” notes one of them, Claude Berthelier. “Requests are particularly numerous at appraisal time and we guarantee total confidentiality. Since impartiality and trust are the keys to mediation, if the mediator is too close to one of the people in conflict, he will not take on the case and will pass it to a colleague or to an external mediator, with whom we also work.”

Whatever method is chosen, companies thus avoid the majority of legal action, as dialogue helps to reduce costs and create a calmer working atmosphere.

A course dedicated to family businesses

> Education IMD and the hotel school join forces for a new programme

Bringing families together — the founders of a hotel, for example, the children who run it, and their grandchildren — in a classroom for five days of courses.

That is the challenge taken up by the new programme “Family Business in Hospitality” from IMD and the École hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL), which will take place from 3 to 7 October 2011.

For more than 20 years, IMD has already offered a course dedicated to family businesses, but this is the first time the two institutions have joined forces to provide training specifically devoted to companies in the hospitality, catering and hotel sector.

What is the purpose of such a programme? “To prepare for succession and manage generational transitions,” replies Sofie Tournel, associate in the Executive Education division of EHL. “But participants also learn to reorient their business model in order to develop their company and professionalise management.”

From 18 to 80 years old

The first two days of the course, taught by IMD, are devoted to managing a family business, its governance and its succession. Then the following two days, taught by EHL, focus on the hospitality sector, personnel management, trends and innovations in hotels and restaurants. A visit to a family business — “most likely a local five-star hotel”, according to the organisers — is planned for the final day.

The programme is open to individual participants, but “the advantage of coming as a family is that you can continue the discussion once back home. And not find yourself out of step with the rest of the siblings, full of new ideas that the others will not understand,” explains Lise Moeller, head of relations with family businesses at IMD. The participants’ ages are expected to vary widely, from 18 to 80, so that the generations can share their experiences, she adds.

Priced at 9,500 francs (or 8,500 for additional members of the same group), the programme may mainly attract large family chains, such as Marriott, Lise Moeller adds. But it may also appeal to small businesses, or to families interested in setting up their own company, believes Sofie Tournel.

Sandrine Hochstrasser