Even if respondents didn t use grievance mediation, they had positive opinions about the process. Respondents also preferred the informality of the process. Mediation shifts the focus of dispute from emphasizing adversarial problem solving to cooperative conflict management. Lack of information. Although some say the problem with using grievance mediation is that if union and management people at the lower steps of the grievance process knew that there was a way out, i.e., that everything would be kicked up to step 3 or grievance mediation, it would keep grievances from being settled at the lower steps, only 14 percent of the Chicago survey respondents thought this was of concern.
Training is essential to provide the different skills and new orientation necessary for mediation.
Arbitrators who want to mediate must be trained in these skills. Two Schools of Thought Information-centered mediation. The mediator possesses superior information through formal study, experience, or both. Thus the mediator can predict with a fair degree of accuracy what the award would be if it went on to arbitration or to court. In this model, the mediator may know little or nothing about the topic of dispute but is skilled at achieving resolution of dispute and has expertise in the process.