Alternate dispute resolution: know your options Published Sept. 3, 2008 By Terry Hirons Alternate Dispute Resolution TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla., -- In any workplace environment disagreements and disputes are inevitable. The question is how to deal with difficult situations. Some choose to bury their head in the sand and hope the situation goes away, but it never does. The situation normally worsens to the point of impacting productivity and relationships in the work center. Others choose to go to battle, full of emotion with little preparation. This seldom results in success. Some choose to go directly to the complaint stage and file a discrimination complaint through EEO, a Negotiated Grievance Procedure with the Union or an Administrative Grievance Procedure through DP to try and resolve their situation. The common denominator is almost always a lack of communication that could have been prevented altogether. Preperation The proper way to approach any disagreement, dispute or even conversation is to "prepare" for the discussion that is to follow. Preparation involves taking a few minutes to determine and document your position and your interests associated with that position, your best alternative to a negotiated agreement, some options for mutual gain and some objective criteria to apply to the situation. That may sound like a lot of work to have a discussion, but one can't afford not to take the time to prepare for and resolve the situation quickly at the lowest level. Let me explain what's required to prepare for a successful conversation. Interests The first challenge in preparation is to determine a position and identify goals and interests. Interests are needs, why a particular solution is preferred. For any successful discussion interests must be focused on and satisfied. They are the reasons for a position. If an individual can't get past focusing on their position, the conversation will be short lived and result in further disagreement or argument. Just as important as identifying position and interests, is identifying the other person's position and interests. This allows perceptions or assumptions made about the other to be clarified during the discussion. BATNA Another key area to consider prior to any discussion is your BATNA (Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement). What if the discussion doesn't remedy the situation? There are a couple of reasons why considering a BATNA ahead of time is very important. First, options would be considered ahead of time. Second, it helps determine how much emphasis to place in the discussion. If a fallback position or BATNA is undesirable, it tells you to do all you can to solve the situation. On the other hand, if the fallback options are good and the discussion is not going well a fall back will work. Either way, the focus should always be on resolving the situation. Mutual Gain It's safe to say nobody likes to lose, so a goal in any discussion should be to create an environment for mutual gain or a "win-win situation." In order to create this win-win situation, consider more than one way to resolve the problem. Avenues for developing win-win options include brainstorming together, being creative and thinking outside the box, as well as being willing to negotiate by exchanging a low-priority interest in order to receive one of your high priority interests. Unfortunately, many people overlook seeking options for mutual gain and determine there is only one resolution to the problem, their resolution, and the problem is seldom resolved. Objective Criteria Finally, the best way to create a solution that will stand the test of time is by laying a good foundation to build upon. This is done by finding objective criteria both parties can agree upon as the basis for resolving the situation. This may include operating instructions, office policies, past precedent in a similar situation or in the case of buying a used car the always reliable "Blue Book value". The bottom line is, to have a successful conversation, resolve an existing conflict or avoid conflict altogether, take the time to prepare for discussions by applying the steps mentioned above. If by chance a dispute cannot be resolved, the Alternative Dispute Resolution Program is an informal option to resolve workplace disputes.