Information & advice

Mediation for managers of retirement and sheltered housing

Through AIMS, managers of retirement and sheltered housing have an additional resource to use in resolving disputes – mediation. This paper explains how AIMS uses mediation, both in offering an independent mediation service to parties in dispute, and in using facilitative techniques throughout our casework.

AIMS

AIMS is a unique advice service in that we use mediation techniques throughout our work. As we do not provide advocacy we try to reach agreement between parties without the need for court or tribunal action. We provide detailed telephone and written advice on a wide range of enquiries relating to sheltered and retirement housing and offer our service to both residents and landlords – which also makes AIMS unusual among advice services.

If a problem is identified and the client gives AIMS permission, an adviser may write to the landlord to try to resolve the matter. In agreeing to make detailed representations to managers, AIMS corresponds in a way that tries to encourage agreement or consensus. If it becomes evident that a matter is unlikely to be resolved by correspondence, AIMS can suggest a full mediation meeting to the parties involved. 

What is mediation?

Quite simply, mediation is where an independent third party helps people reach their own agreements. AIMS successfully employs mediation in resolving disputes between residents, and between management organisations and residents, by helping to turn a two way fight into a three way search for a solution.

How does it work?

An AIMS mediator works with those involved, both separately and together, to help them explore and decide how any conflict between them is to be resolved. Through a series of joint and private meetings, all in confidence, the mediator can help each side reach a greater understanding of what has gone wrong and how the other side may be feeling.  Mediation is not a legal process concerned with rules and regulations, but a common sense and practical process in which people work to find their way to a sensible solution.

AIMS does not represent any party in mediation, so we encourage parties to bring supporters or advocates where appropriate. However, we believe that the parties themselves are best placed to present their interests, so we also ensure that any supporters are clear about their role.
 
The benefits

• Mediation can help solve a problem without offending the other party
• Feelings and emotions can be acknowledged
• Mediation gives individuals time and space to talk about their issues and for the other side to hear them
• Mediation can provide an opportunity for individuals to look beyond their own version of events and to understand the dispute from a wider perspective
• Where communication, friendship or a working relationship has broken down, mediation can help repair the damage
• Mediation is a confidential process – all conversations that you have with the mediator will be in confidence
• There is nothing to lose by coming to mediation and all other options remain open
• Difficulties can be addressed quickly and in a positive way before those involved become more entrenched and the situation worsens.
• The outcome of mediation is always within the control of the parties involved, which is empowering for older people and promotes independence.

Mediation and Complaints Procedures

Where disputes arise, managers sometimes find themselves having to think about alternatives to using the in-house complaints procedure, which is usually the first port of call when direct negotiation fails to resolve matters. No matter how user-friendly the complaints procedure is, it is evident that positions often become entrenched at this stage. As the process continues, parties become defensive and communication suffers. If a dispute proceeds all the way through a complaints procedure, there are precious few choices at the end of it if the dispute remains unresolved.

Incorporating independent mediation, either at an early stage in the complaints procedure, or as an alternative to the procedure itself, can take the heat out of the complaint and prevent damage to communication and ongoing relationships.

Conclusion

It is AIMS’ experience that disputes arise in retirement housing for a variety of reasons. It may be that problems of inter-dependent living can cause conflict among residents and can become a problem for the manager, who is faced with varied demands from residents with differing needs and interests. It may be an issue of individual personality clashes between residents and managers, or of expectations about services that are not met, or of a complaint that has simply not been resolved in spite of everyone’s best efforts.

Where disputes do arise, between residents or between residents and managers, AIMS firmly believes that mediation should be considered early on. It keeps control of the dispute, and its resolution, within the hands of the parties and enables them to find the best way forward that meets the needs of managers and residents alike. Phrases like “give and take”, “being heard” and “negotiation” may sound nebulous, but where responsible management seeks to meet the requirements of older people whose home represents more than bricks and mortar to them, mediation should be positively considered.

If you would like to discuss mediation in general or any particular situation, please feel free to contact us at AIMS - we are a resource for managers as well as residents! 

To contact AIMS:

Address:
AIMS
Age Concern England
Astral House
1268 London Road
London SW16  4ER

Telephone:
0845 600 2001
(lo-call helpline,
open 9.30am-4.30pm
Mon-Fri)

Email:
AIMS