~Supporting housing officers to manage conflict.

We were delighted to work with Catalyst Housing this month in delivering our specially designed Mediation Awareness training to a group of their staff.

The highly focussed 2.5 hour session explored the nature of conflict between neighbours, looked at how mediation can help and gave attendees tips on how to get their residents to engage with it. A demonstration of the mediation process gave a highly interactive feel to the session and enabled housing officers to see how mediation works in practice.

Trainer Heather Loebl said: “Housing staff tell us that taking a short time out of their busy workplace to look at how they handle conflict between neighbours is very worthwhile. Seeing how a mediation actually works helps them to understand why this is an effective option in many circumstances, and how early intervention can prevent an ongoing cycle of conflict that is both damaging for residents and a huge drain on a housing officer’s time.”

ASB Assistant Hannah Watson commented: “The session really made me think about how mediation can help with our residents and just how you guys work at resolving problems which we have previously found very challenging. I now feel confident in offering Calm Mediation as a service to our residents, as I am aware of how it works and how successful it is.”

Our Mediation Awareness sessions are among a range of development opportunities we offer to help organisations prevent and manage conflict in their dealings with customers and colleagues. A cost-effective option for organisations of all sizes, our courses and workshops draw on our wealth of experience in providing high quality conflict resolution services in the community and in workplaces.