Mediation Services
Mediation provides a way of resolving conflict between individuals, groups or organisations. Trained mediators help people communicate with each other effectively so that solutions can be found. Mediation works in carefully planned steps. The job of a mediator is to guide people through these steps to solve the problem together.
Mediation training: If you are thinking of establishing your own in-house workplace mediation service, we offer advice and guidance to help you set this up, as well as training for your staff and ongoing support and supervision.
Conflict Resolution Services
Conflict Resolution Training and Workshops are designed to enhance conflict resolution skills and provide a toolkit of strategies. We will tailor our training to your specific circumstances and will work with you to establish conflict resolution strategies and practices for your organisation.
Our workshops can be tailored towards:
- Front-line staff – to foster positive and effective communication with customers and clients
- Managers, supervisors and team leaders – to enhance conflict management and problem solving skills, help manage difficult behaviours and improve leadership
- Staff groups – to foster positive daily interaction, creative working environments and personal growth, leading to more effective and productive team working
- Groups of pupils or young people - encouraging positive daily interaction, effective learning and personal development
Team Development
Being part of a team is central to most people’s working life. A team can be dynamic, creative, productive and supportive. But sometimes teams can become stagnant, ineffective and even dysfunctional. Dissention, disputes and difficulties between colleagues can have a serious impact on motivation, effectiveness and productivity.
Astren provides team development programmes.
The focus is on personal and group development. As with all Astren’s work, programmes are tailor-made to meet specific needs. We will address problem dynamics within teams to improve motivation, effectiveness and productivity.
Programmes can be geared towards the needs of managers and team leaders, providing skills, techniques and strategies for managing the dynamics of teams effectively. Similarly, programmes can be geared towards the needs of team members, enhancing their team working and service delivery.
Training courses range from half-day to whole and multiple day sessions. Courses can also be delivered in one or two hour sessions over several days or weeks.
Partnership Building
Partnership Building is an underlying principle in all Astren’s work. When working well, partnerships are creative, productive and empowering. They allow for access to a wider range of skills and expertise, encourage flexibility and enable greater effectiveness. When a partnership is not working well it can become destructive, undermining and de-skilling. Astren provides both consultancy and short term hands-on leadership to put partnerships on the right track.
Inclusion and Cultural Awareness in Relation to Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) Communities
Relationships between GRT communities and the settled population are often characterised, on both sides, by fear and mistrust, giving rise to on-going conflict.
Astren offers a range of services from awareness-raising to direct face-to-face mediation between individuals or groups. Too often, views are formed based on myths and stereotypes rather than fact and actual experience. Promoting understanding and good practice with respect to these minority groups has wide-ranging impact on good practice in general.
Many organisations and workforces find that they benefit from a better understanding of issues affecting GRT communities, enabling them to offer services that can be more readily accessed by Gypsies, Roma and Travellers. If you are interested in finding out more, please contact us.
To discuss any of your alternative dispute resolution or training needs, call us on 07958 036701 or 07958 036703, or send an email to info@astren.co.uk