By its very nature, working in government brings a great deal of conflict. Think of the daily debates within the House of Commons between strongly opposing political views. Of course, this conflict can be very often healthy, allowing for constructive debate around important issues and democratic decision-making to be achieved.
However, national news headlines have shed light on the devastating impacts of negative behaviours that result when conflict spreads too far. This isn’t limited to our national government. Local government organisations also have their unique challenges with a merge between paid professionals and volunteer councillors taking place. Once again, with varying levels of vested interest and commitment to political alliances, challenging disagreements are commonplace.
Mediation can be used to high effect when you’re dealing with locally elected officials. It can be a powerful tool to underpin and support both local democracy and problem-solving. Community politics can become fractious, adversarial, aggressive, and confrontational if run without accountability and compassion – it undermines the good name of local democracy.
David Liddle, CEO and Founder of The TCM Group
How we support government and local authority organisations
For over twenty years, here at The TCM Group, we have been supporting civil service and government organisations such as the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, the Cabinet Office, Northeast Lincolnshire Council, London Borough of Tower Hamlets Council, and many more to develop better workplace cultures with a focus on the resolution of complaints, concerns and conflicts.
Our government sector resolution services and training programmes are delivered by experts with extensive experience of working within the sector. These include:
How we can help your organisation
Some of our recent projects within the government and local authority sector include:
- A culture transformation project at North East Lincolnshire Council. As one of our transformational trailblazers, NELC were one of the very first organisations to embark on a unique culture change journey with us.
- The development of an in-house mediation programme at Northumberland County Council. This included accredited training for around 20 internal mediators who are helping staff involved in conflicts to settle their differences quickly and respectfully.
- We delivered an aspiring managers programme consisting of 8 key modular units to support the development of a group of leaders at London Borough of Tower Hamlets council.
- We supported the integration of a Resolution Framework, as an alternative to traditional HR policies and procedures at North East Lincolnshire council.
- Setting up an in-house mediation scheme for London Borough of Hillingdon, to support with the early resolution of workplace complaints, concerns, conflicts and conduct issues.
- We trained accredited mediators for the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government as well as providing team facilitation skills training to improve productivity within the workplace.
The collective aim for this sector should be to represent the best interests of the public, as best as they can. In order to achieve this, the workforce must be diverse, inclusive, and harmonious within their daily interactions.
Case Study: The Power of Mediation in Local Government
Please enter your details below to read a recent case study showcasing an excellent example of the work we have delivered to support the government sector.
