If you need a mediator on a timeline you control rather than MBIE's queue, Grow HR offers private mediation direct with Lance Peterson, Grow HR's mediator and former MBIE Mediator. You choose the mediator, you choose the date, and the process moves at the pace the matter needs. See Lawyers, Insurers & Advocates for how this works.
Mediation is a confidential conversation between the people involved in a safe environment, run by an independent mediator who doesn't act for either side. It's often the fastest way to resolve a dispute before it turns into something formal, and it works because everyone in the room trusts that the mediator has no stake in the outcome.
Left unresolved, workplace conflict costs more than the relationship between the two people involved. It affects the wider team, takes up management time, and can turn into a personal grievance if nobody steps in early. A mediator who genuinely takes no side gives both people a real chance to be heard and find a way forward, without the process becoming a rehearsal for something more formal.
Lance Peterson, our mediator brings years of experience across a wide range of employment disputes. Lance will meet with both parties, preferably face to face, work through what's actually going on, and help them reach an outcome they can both live with. The process stays confidential from start to finish. Outcomes could include a Record of Settlement (full and final settlement) or a Memorandum of Understanding between the parties.
If a matter turns out to need something else, such as an investigation or an employer-side facilitated conversation, we'll flag that early rather than partway through.
If you want one of our ER specialists to run the conversation on your behalf instead of as an independent third party, see Employment Relations & Employee Issues instead.
An investigation establishes what happened. Mediation helps two or more people find a way forward. Which one fits depends on the situation, and we'll help you work out which applies.
Our mediators are genuinely independent and do not take a side. That's what makes the process credible for everyone involved.