AboutTimmy Chou Expertise I am a experienced Mediator and a partner in a management consulting firm. As a mediator I work as a third-party neutral and specialize in partnership/shareholder disputes, management/labor issues, company culture difficulties, and family-owned business problems. I can help describe why alternative dispute resolution may be a good choice for you. As an experienced management consultant I may be able to offer creative ideas to help resolve your organizational and business problems and disputes. "If you say conflict, I say opportunity".
I have been at my present job and have received "exceed expectations" for all thirteen years. I work ten months and when I left my job for the summer in June, I respectfully told my employer that I am interviewing but that I would give ample notice if I did not return. I also asked for my last two evaluations from 2004-2005, and 2004-2006. I have my other ones from all of my jobs and like to keep my personal file updated for new opportunities.My employer was not happy with the fact that I decided to look for other employment and test out the waters so to say. She assured me with another administrator that my last two evaluations would be sent to me by July. I waited until the first week of office and wrote her an email stating that perhaps it was an oversight but that I did not receive my paperwork. Another administrator who never supervised me wrote back and said she is in charge of getting my "missing" evaluations. I called her today and was told that they cannot find them and we will have a meeting when I return. I do not want this meeting--I want my paperwork.
What can I do? I am just getting the run-around.
Cindy
Answer Thank you for your question!
The Allexperts site was not responding earlier so I apologise for the delay in responding.
Mediators act as neutral third parties to disputes and never "get involved" in judging the merits of conflict, but merely use special techniques to help the parties decide how to negotiate their own settlement.
The case you describe here is a typical workplace dispute presentation. I am not a lawyer and cannot mediate this with you alone but I can respond to your question from my
business consulting experience.
It may be useful for you to consider that right and wrong are not always the most useful places to begin in dealing with these sorts of problems. There are lots of ways people can screw with you if they have a mind to and there is little you can do about it.
I would have probably recommended you get these documents prior to notifying the company of your intended departure, nor is it always the best idea to talk too much about your alternative employment plans.
My advice is to try your best to use some "carrots" before you consider any "sticks".
The facts are that, even if you have received glowing performance reports for 13 years, when you deal with a company you deal with people--and it appears to me that certain people are offended or mad and are dragging their feet.
There is no law that anyone HAS to give you copies of reports, though there may be a company policy to do so, therefore you have very little actual leverage. You can get mad and threaten, but you will likely not advance your cause.
I suppose you could threaten a lawsuit or something, but this is not something I recommend you do, as it could become a real cat fight, take a long time and cost alot of money. You may be in the right, but you should count the cost to yourself in seeking justice. It would be a tough road.
These are some ideas. Feel free to follow up with additional questions.
For your information, the pros and cons of the types of dispute resolution methods follows.
GOOD LUCK!
Arbitration, Mediation, and Litigation
Arbitration: the referral of a dispute to one or more impartial persons for final and binding determination outside of the judicial system
Benefits of Arbitration:
Confidential, no public record
Limited exchange of documentation, information
Quick, don't have to wait for a court date
Arbitrators have expertise in the subject matter and are trained in conflict resolution
Cheaper than litigation
Preserves business relationships
Negatives of Arbitration
It's a compromise, no %100 winner
Complex arbitration can be costly
If not satisfied, may litigate the arbitration procedure
Poor results with an unskilled arbitrator
Both parties must agree to cooperate in the process
Mediation: the process by which parties submit their dispute to a neutral third party (the mediator) who works with the parties to reach a settlement of their dispute.
Benefits of Mediation:
Neutral mediator can objectively suggest alternatives not considered before
Parties are directly engaged in negotiating the settlement
Can be quicker than litigation
Less costly than litigation
Preserves business relationships
85% of American Arbitration Association cases mediated find successful solutions
Negatives of Mediation
may not reach a binding decision
unskilled mediator
Litigation: using the judicial system to resolve disputes
Benefits of litigation:
a clear winner and loser
uses a prescribed set of procedures
more predictable outcomes
is final
Negatives of Litigation:
waiting for court dates can do more harm
usually more expensive than mediation and arbitration
part of the public record
