BT Retail is the consumer customer service and sales arm of BT. In 2008 the company decided to try mediation as a means of resolving workplace issues, for a number of reasons:
- they wanted to help and support their people
- they needed to make a significant reduction in the cost of handling grievances
- the Gibbons report focused on early resolution and mediation as means of resolving workplace disputes.
Prior to this, management felt people had stopped talking to each other when they had a disagreement. Instead they went straight into the grievance procedure.
The grievance procedure is successful: it is well advertised and employees know that management takes issues about bullying or harassment very seriously. However a large proportion of issues were being referred to the procedure following performance appraisals. Despite management concern that people should be helped in a kindly manner, negative comments made in the appraisal could lead to low morale on the part of some employees.
Small issues can become big in the eyes of the individual. For example, employees might believe they are being bullied, although the action complained of could simply be seen as strong line management. Some employees might turn out to have a disability of which management is previously unaware. One or two employees seem in effect to want to make a career out of grievances and claims to an employment tribunal.
Complaints or grievances are costly to deal with and require comprehensive investigation. Grievance case management is outsourced to consultancy firm Accenture; referring an individual grievance to them costs £4 to 6k, and managing grievances up to the point where they get to an employment tribunal costs BT between £13 to 16k on average. “Appalled” by the number of grievances, employee relations manager Carole Russell put a business case to the Director of Employee Relations to make use of mediation. Training in mediation skills was provided by Total Quality Management (TCM).
In addition to saving costs, mediation has had a clear and positive effect on employee engagement. Issues can be resolved quickly when people are able to share their feelings of unhappiness. Relationships between the parties involved have improved. Many employees express gratitude to management for the opportunity to resolve their issues through mediation. Employee satisfaction generally has improved and absence has gone down. Mediation has proved effective at identifying and dealing with genuine issues, even where employees have started out looking for financial compensation.
Decisions are needed as to how to route individual cases. When an issue is brought to the attention of the employee relations team, they will discuss the options with the employee. In 90% of cases, employees have accepted the offer of mediation, looking for closure and the opportunity to move on. Mediation often ends in people shaking hands and one apologising to another, having taken the first step to putting the issue behind them.
Other employees, including those complaining of discrimination on grounds of race or gender, may still prefer to pursue their grievance and seek “revenge”, despite attempts to persuade them to agree to mediation. The important thing for management is to make clear to them that they have choices.
Mediation is conducted on a confidential basis. However the outcome is shared with the employee relations department so that they can address what has been learnt and help other employees avoid similar problems. The department reviews the outcome of mediation with the parties at least monthly, either through a meeting or by phone, to check that people remain happy that the problem has been remedied.
BT’s trade unions are not directly involved in the mediation process but are very positive about its value, including the time saved by representatives who would otherwise be more heavily involved in the grievance process. The benefits have been fed back to the unions locally and at a senior level.
There was some initial reluctance to agree to the use of mediation by a small number of people who may have considered this was brushing issues under the carpet. However this reluctance has been overcome following discussion and senior managers are strongly supportive of the process. People now feel “safe” using mediation. Occupational health staff (including doctors) are aware of mediation and will in suitable cases recommend its use to help counter stress.
To date mediation has had a 100% success rate in resolving issues. The employer attributes this to the quality of training received by internal mediators and their perseverance in seeking solutions. BT intends to see that more of its employees – not people in the HR function but line managers at different levels - are accredited as mediators in the coming year. They also plan to give in-house training in conflict management to people in their talent pool in Ireland. This will provide them with skills (not necessarily those of formal mediation but focusing on having “honest conversations”) that are needed in their day-to-day activities as line managers.
BT Retail is delighted with the way mediation is bedding down and sees “no downsides” in having adopted it. The emphasis on using mediation rather than grievance procedure demonstrates that the company wants to look after its employees. Mediation is currently helping to maintain employee engagement at a time when the recession is putting this under pressure across the economy.