Since the mediation, everything’s much calmer and we’ve not had any more sickness

Cambrian Credit Union provides savings, loans, and financial support across Wales. 

As the CEO, Ann has regularly reached out to Peninsula for HR advice over the years.

More recently, she used Peninsula’s Face2Face services to help repair a damaged relationship between two employees.

Here’s what happened…

Two members of staff were struggling to communicate or work together effectively.

Whenever they spoke, it heightened animosity and deepened existing issues.

This meant they were struggling to manage their workloads, especially as one employee started taking a lot of sick days – due to the stress that the issues caused.

The issues between the two employees damaged workplace morale, too. The bad atmosphere was noticeable and created tension across the entire office.   

Ann, and other managers in the team, had attempted to speak to the two members of staff to find a resolution. However, this didn’t work, and the issues continued to grow.

The managers then decided that mediation was the best option to bring the employees to an understanding.

Ann found that, previously, carrying out a mediation internally wasn’t successful. The existing relationships between the director and staff meant that the staff found it difficult to speak openly.

Whereas, with Peninsula, an external mediator leads the process. With no preformed opinions or relationships, this can encourage staff to talk more freely and less defensively.

So, Ann used Peninsula’s Face2Face services instead of managing it internally. Will, an accredited mediator from Peninsula, came to Cambrian Credit Union to start the process…

When Will came to the office, he spent the morning speaking to the employees separately.

Then, he pulled the two employees together in the afternoon, so they could share their thoughts. With careful questioning, Will managed to get the employees to open up about their experiences to each other. 

Will then put together an action plan for both members of staff to follow, which aimed to tackle the specific issues between the employees.

This included practical recommendations, such as refraining from emailing during the busiest time of the day – an issue that one of the employees had shared privately.

As Will helped the employees understand each other’s point of view, they knew how to avoid aggravating each other.

As a result, they have much better and friendlier communication to this day.

Other members of staff commented on the noticeable improvement in atmosphere. Plus, the employee stopped taking as much sick leave, as they no longer felt anxious and stressed.

Now, the workers can collaborate and work together effectively – helping the business succeed.