Resolution of Labor Conflicts Myths and Truths

Many people are drawn to the field of conflict resolution. And many are eager to find work in the field. By far the most common questions I receive on my website are questions related to how to practice professionally; most want to mediate and go into private practice. Influenced by articles such as the December 29, 2009 US News and World Report article, “Mediator, One of the 50 Best Careers of 2010” or this Forbes article from May 2009, “The Most Amazing Six Figure Jobs in United States,” which included arbitrators and mediators in the mix, people are eager to get on board the dispute resolution/mediator express and cash in. However, read on to discover the pitfalls of this approach. To be successful in the field, you need to look beyond the mediator/private practice mentality. Here’s why.

Here’s another set of equally true headlines:

• The supply of willing mediators far exceeds the demand for their services

• While training courses are plentiful, few mentoring, internship, or other job opportunities exist for beginning mediators to develop their skill set.

• While mediation is currently an unregulated and unlicensed field, with low formal barriers to entry, there are high factor barriers

• The field is dominated by retired lawyers and judges.

Let’s examine the facts:

As a result of weak demand and oversupply, there are more mediators than mediation jobs in the US. An accepted estimate by the dispute resolution community is that more than 100,000 people have received some form of mediation training, including community mediation centers and universities and colleges. degrees According to the most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2008 there were 9,900 people employed as mediators, arbitrators, and conciliators with a median income of $50,600. Projected growth for 2018 is only 11,300 or 1,400 new positions.

More specifically, of those who decide to become mediators, 80 percent cannot make a living from mediation activities alone. One of my mentors once described the practice as “you eat what you kill” and she was right. Aspiring mediators are constantly looking for work, but rarely find it. It is estimated that it takes five years to develop a decent practice.

This explains the high dropout rate. Unable to support themselves and their families, these same would-be mediators are forced to return to their old jobs or find some source of income that doesn’t resolve conflicts. About fifteen percent of mediators manage to set up a practice, keep busy, and make a decent living, but nothing spectacular. However, the top 5 percent book up months in advance and can rake in over a million dollars per year. I’ve worked with some of these people and they can put things like “we settled Microsoft (antitrust) case” on their websites.

In response to these realities, many mediators who cannot find work become mediation trainers. Mediation training has been a booming market in recent years. People are drawn to mediation because they see it as a fun and rewarding career, not their last boring job. But consider this, the person or organization that provided your mediation training did so because they couldn’t make a living as mediators! And to attract you to these training providers, they often oversell the potential of mediation by creating expectations that cannot be realized. In reality, they are training you for jobs that don’t exist!

Keep in mind that these programs are not cheap and range from several hundred dollars to $2,000 or more. No wonder they want to woo you. The pay is much better than mediation. Many of the training programs include marketing techniques in their courses, but few honestly describe the status and availability of job opportunities or the difficulties in establishing a practice.

This inability of brokerage trainers to provide accurate information about earning opportunities contributes to excessive market entry. And, they are shameless. In one of the ADR group discussions I belong to on a professional networking site, someone had posted a discussion on “What mediation skills do you need to brush up on to improve your marketability during the economic downturn?” Naturally, they were offering training. Not content with drenching people for your initial training, now they want to lure you back for thousands more to practice the skills you have yet to use!

Many aspiring mediators spend money on what is likely to be a dream career while forgoing other, more promising career options. There are few internship programs, mentoring sources, or other job opportunities for beginning mediators to practice. Mediators try to get the practice they need by volunteering at a community mediation center that usually has a large pool of free talent. There they mediate community disputes, such as landlord-tenant issues or small claims. These Community Mediation Centers typically have one or two paid employees, funded by government and other grants, and rely on free talent.

In 2006, twenty-five thousand people mediated at six hundred community mediation centers in the United States, mostly as volunteers. Most mediators at community mediation centers provide services to their clients on a part-time basis free of charge, although some centers pay their mediators a small stipend ($25 per case). And, reports from volunteer mediators confirm that all that volunteering generally leads to more opportunities to mediate without pay.

There is a reason the field is dominated by retired lawyers and judges according to the market for mediation services in the US. The most common dispute resolution system in the US is the courts, where each side files your case and a jury decides the winner. Mediation was developed as an alternative to litigation, hence the name Alternative Dispute Resolution.

In states that have given judges the authority to order parties to mediate (or have made pre-dispute mediation mandatory), mediation has grown, including in areas such as national mediation, small claims mediation, and commercial mediation. high level. But everything is generated by and around the courts and takes place, as they say, in the shadow of litigation.

In those states where courts do not have the authority to order parties to mediate, there is high-level commercial mediation, but little for small claims. Mediation appears to be an option that is more often the result of court or legislative mandate than party choice. Many mediators in private practice, particularly in states with mandatory mediation programs, rely on court referrals as their primary source of mediation work.

Mediators who want to be on the court’s list generally have to complete a series of requirements to be added to the list. They must complete a certain number of hours of mediation training and meet specific standards. Many court-related mediation programs are limited to attorneys.

Beyond court-ordered mediation, mediators obtain most of their cases from attorneys. To do this, they must be on the attorney short list. To be added to the short list, a mediator needs a strong track record and stellar reputation in the field. In my experience, successful mediators are the Energizer Bunnies of the field. Most are active members of ADR associations, frequently speak publicly about mediation, and publish relevant articles in professional and trade journals, enhancing both their visibility and reputation.

Furthermore, market specialization makes it difficult to expand into other markets, even for existing successful brokers, let alone beginners. Both of these reasons combine to increase the cost of entry to the market for mediation services, shield existing providers from competition, and further reduce opportunities for beginning mediators.

Many aspiring mediators spend time and money pursuing what is likely a dream career when they could be looking for other, more promising career options. In an article titled “Mediation Certification and Accreditation: Getting Accurate Information on Becoming a Mediator,” posted on her blog, Mediation Channel, ADR professional and blogger Diane Levin warned of the dangers of an unlicensed field: “Unlike from their counterparts in fields such as law, medicine, psychology, architecture, or social work, mediators in private practice are neither licensed nor regulated by states.In fact, anyone can apply as a mediator even if they are not He has no training.” Most states require only a minimum 30-40 hour course for mediators. So these days it’s pretty easy to pay your money, take the training, and hang out. But where are you going to find work?

But do not be discouraged, if you are committed to working in this field you have to broaden your perspective. I gained most of my experience working abroad training and consulting to help resolve conflicts ranging from peace negotiations to privatizations. Furthermore, the ombudsman field currently looks promising and offers a number of opportunities. To help in your search you can go to: Jobs in Conflict Resolution. http://www.all-things-conflict-solution-and-adr.com/Conflict-Resolution-Jobs.html