Do Business Well

If you’ve jointly decided that you need outside help, the three options available to you are:

• Conciliation
• Mediation
• Arbitration.

We’ll look at each of these in turn.

Conciliation

Conciliation is a voluntary and informal process. The conciliator is an unbiased yet competent person who is accepted by both you and the other side. His or her role will be to focus on making sure that you and the other side really understand each other. The conciliator doesn’t make suggestions or propose alternative solutions — he or she merely works towards helping you and the other side to generate your own solutions.

Red or blue?

Tracey and Steve had been arguing for some time when Craig arrived at their flat. They were decorating the lounge. Tracey wanted the walls to be painted red – ochre red to be exact. Steve wanted to use a blue – duck shell blue to be just as exact. ‘What do you think?’ they asked him. Craig sighed – this was not a situation he relished. He took a breath. ‘What I think doesn’t matter,’ he said, ‘it’s what you two think that counts. After all, it’s your lounge.’ They both looked at him, suspiciously, he thought. `But I’ll try to help you decide together,’ he said after we’ve had a cup of coffee.’

Mediation

When you choose to go the mediation route you’re choosing a process that’s more proactive than conciliation. But there are similarities. For example, the process of mediation is also one that’s voluntary and informal and uses a third party — a mediator — who is unbiased. But he or she must have the required skills and be acceptable to both you and the other side. What’s different is that the mediator will work with you both, not only to make sure that you understand each other, but also, and more importantly, to suggest and develop potential solutions to your deadlock. But, as was so with the process of conciliation, you and the other side aren’t bound or obliged by the process to accept these solutions.

Red or blue?

`How about a nice light purple?’ Craig asked – more in desperation than hope.

They both looked at him. ‘That’s amazing,’ said Tracey, ‘why didn’t we think of that!’ `Yeah, far out,’ muttered Steve, ‘that’s a real cool colour!’ Craig winced – ‘Still,’ he thought, ‘it was the first time they’d agreed about any colour in the last hour.’

Arbitration

Conciliation and mediation are, as you’ve seen above, both informal and free from any obligation to accept the potential solutions developed. But this situation changes when you move into arbitration. For arbitration is a formal process – involving an independent professional body, expert, tribunal or court – and both you and the other side are bound to accept its findings. The arbitrator is, of course, independent, competent and informed and she, he or they will hear both sides of the story independently and in confidence. The verdict reached is handed down to only you and the other side. All this formality brings with it the security of knowing that your case – which might contain confidential information – will not be exposed to the public gaze. But the downside of arbitration is that it is a slow and expensive process. For that reason, it is generally only used in complex negotiations with high consequential costs.

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