Join SL SHRM
Mediation Fundamentals: Focusing on Interests in HR Disputes
This presentation will focus on the process of mediation and how it can be used in the HR context. The presenter will also discuss the important mediator skill of focusing on interests in order to help resolve HR disputes. At the end of this presentation, participants should have an understanding of what the process of mediation is (and what it isn't), the difference between interests and positions, and how to apply this understanding to HR-related dispute scenarios.
About Carolynn Clark
Carolynn Clark received her law degree from the J. Reuben Clark Law School in 2003. After law school, Ms. Clark completed a judicial clerkship with the Utah Supreme Court with now Chief Justice Matthew Durrant. Afterwards, she worked for several years as a litigator at the law firm of Ray Quinney & Nebeker in Salt Lake City, working in several areas, including, intellectual property, securities, employment, and family law. Ms. Clark completed an LL.M. in mediation at Pepperdine University’s Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution in 2009 just prior to which time she began teaching and mediating. She is a Master Mediator and Domestic Mentor on the Utah Court Roster of Mediators and has conducted thousands of hours of mediation focusing on divorce, custody and parenting disputes, property division, and other related issues.
Ms. Clark now directs the Master of Legal Studies Program at the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law where she also teaches their conflict resolution curriculum. Prior to this, Ms. Clark taught and directed the Conflict Resolution Graduate Certificate Program offered through the University of Utah’s Department of Communication. Before taking over as director of the Conflict Resolution Program, Ms. Clark instructed and administrated the basic mediation curriculum at the BYU Law School and also taught for two years as a legal writing instructor. Ms. Clark is a member of the Utah Judicial Committee for Alternative Dispute Resolution, and is also listed on the professional roster at Utah Dispute Resolution in Salt Lake City where she volunteers her time for low-income clients.
Retaining Top Talent in the Post-Pandemic Workplace
We know from the Pareto theory that roughly 20% of an organization's workforce creates roughly 80% of the impact. And yet, in the post-pandemic world, an organization's top performers are liable to jump ship at any moment. If your company is typical, over 50% of your employees are considering other options at this very time. This kind of turnover can be devastating in terms of overall costs, which include the time spent to try to retain good talent; the time and money spent to recruit, train, and onboard new talent; and the months of experience needed for the new talent to create measurable positive impacts. Numerous studies show that this financial cost ranges anywhere from 50% to 200% of the lost employee’s annual salary (e.g. Deloitte, SHRM). And yet, several measures to pre-empt this turnover process are overlooked by many HR professionals and managers. This talk will introduce listeners to the following three of measures and provide materials to help attendees get started. By using these tools, you can increase your rates of engagement and retention by 30%-50%:
1. Create a regular framework for evaluating the overall real cost of employee “churn”
2. Create a performance matrix to determine which employees merit the most investment, and how to approach that investment
3. Create an ongoing training and development culture that invests in employees and builds loyalty
About by Ben Crosby
Ben Crosby is a professor of rhetoric and a communication skills coach. He teaches courses and leads workshops on public speaking and presenting, executive communication, argumentation and debate, persuasion, selling, and professional development generally. His work is regularly published in his field’s top journals. He is also the author of Presentations as Performance: A Professional’s Guide to Better Speaking.
