Resolution Services

Some conflict is healthy. However, other conflict is disruptive and steals time and attention from the mission. It erodes healthy relationships and becomes a barrier to the exchange of ideas necessary to maintain communication, sustain continuous innovation, and meet the needs of our students. In addition to Ombuds services, OaRS offers a variety of resolution services including facilitation, mediation, and conflict coaching services.

Facilitation

OaRS facilitators provide professional and impartial facilitation services to employees and managers to communicate well, share information, identify problems or issues, and work effectively and productively toward quality decisions or understandings. Facilitation services are provided to improve communication and problem-solving skills between two individuals, a group, or groups of individuals. Facilitators can help effectively run meetings, retreats and conferences that are expected to be contentious or complex. The use of a facilitator promotes well-organized, results-oriented meetings and ensures that parties are engaged and feel heard in the process.

Mediation

OaRS mediation services are designed to resolve disputes quickly, efficiently, and economically. The mediation process empowers individuals to collaborate, find solutions and build positive relationships through understanding. OaRS mediators provide employees and managers mediation services in the areas of workplace disputes, including conflict within teams, EEO complaints and Anti-harassment program complaints.

Benefits of Mediation Include:

Convenience: Mediation sessions are scheduled at the parties’ convenience at a variety of locations or virtually.
Empowered Outcome: The parties develop the terms of any agreement. Parties involved in mediation are more likely to develop terms that meet their needs than a resolution imposed by a decision maker. The mediator does not have decision-making authority and cannot impose a solution.
Cost Effective: Mediation costs a fraction of what it costs to litigate or prolong the problem.
Saves Time: Mediation sessions can be scheduled quickly (depending on the parties’ and mediator’s schedule). Length of a session can take as little or as much time as the parties need.
Preserves Relationships: Mediation improves communication and understanding between parties while strengthening professional and personal relationships or ending the relationship in an amicable way.

Conflict Coaching

OaRS conflict coaching services provides a confidential, on-to-one relationship with the coaching client to develop the client’s conflict-related understanding, strategies, and skills. Conflict coaching sessions can be used in preparation for a conflict that is developing or to analyze and understand a conflict that has occurred. The process is focused on supporting the coaching client and helping that client understand and work with a conflict situation constructively and effectively.

DoDEA Family Portal

Resolution Services