He or she serves as a neutral party to open up the lines of communication between the employee and the management personnel at the basis of the employee's complaint. Ombudsmen are generally selected for their excellent communication skills and for the respect that their coworkers and employees attribute to them. An organization may set this policy as a way of letting their employees know that they care about their well being and that the company is eager to address any employee concerns. Mediation is when two opposing parties jointly select an impartial third party mediator to review their differences. A mediator is generally a legal professional who has been trained in mediation, negotiation and dispute resolution.
Mediators serve to bring the parties to a compromised settlement on their own.
They cannot force parties into settlement and their opinions are not binding on the parties. Mediation takes a serious commitment by the parties to settle their differences. Mediators attempt to keep the parties focused on their dispute and try and keep emotions, mistrust and other such distracting matters off the bargaining table. The mediators are generally selected for their neutrality, expertise on the subject matter and previous track record. If mediation fails to bring the parties to a com promise, the parties are no worse for the wear, since they remain at square one as if the mediation never occurred.