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Edition 2027 · effective 1 January 2027

For workplaces & hr

Conflict at work is the most expensive problem nobody budgets for.

Team breakdowns, manager–employee conflict, concerns nobody raises, change that people resist. Workplace mediation, facilitation and an independent Ombuds address conflict early, when it is cheapest and most human.

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§ 01What you really need

Five needs, in your words.

Drawn from how people in your position actually describe the problem, not from procedure.

(Needs)

Early resolution

Before grievances, sick leave and resignations.

Confidentiality

People speak honestly only when it is safe.

Fairness

A process both sides trust.

Insight

Patterns leadership can act on.

Culture

Skills that prevent the next conflict.

What usually goes wrong: moving people around instead of resolving issues; using formal grievance as the first step; making the HR team both judge and mediator.

(Avoid)

Frame your question Commissioning guides

§ 02The cost of waiting

What the evidence says.

Sourced and dated. Use the calculator to estimate your own.

£28.5bn

Annual cost of workplace conflict to UK employers, about £1,028 per employee.

Acas, Estimating the costs of workplace conflict (2021) · 2019 ↗
9.7m

UK employees who experienced conflict at work in one year; 485,800 resign as a result each year.

Acas, Estimating the costs of workplace conflict (2021) · 2019 ↗
20%

Employees worldwide who are engaged at work; disengagement cost an estimated US$10tn, about 9% of global GDP.

Gallup State of the Global Workplace 2026, via Kyodo News PR Wire · 2025 ↗
2.8 hrs

Time each US employee spent dealing with conflict every week, about US$359bn in paid hours.

CPP Inc. Global Human Capital Report, via EHS Today · 2008 ↗

Estimate what a conflict is costing you →

§ 03Evaluation for you

3 questions people in your position bring to an evaluator.

A workplace complaint: is the process right01People & workplacesClarity DeepView™Has this complaint been handled through a fair and suitable process, and does it need a properly constituted independent investigation?Fairness of a restructuring02People & workplacesClarity Snapshot™Is this restructuring process fair, consistent and in line with its own criteria?An independent culture review03People & workplacesEvaluation PanelWhat is the real culture here, and where does it put people or performance at risk?

§ 04Situations you may face

4 situations where a Neutral helps.

Team conflict01WorkplaceFacilitation · MediationA team that used to work now spends its energy on itself.Manager and employee breakdown02WorkplaceMediation · OmbudsTwo people who must work together every day no longer trust each other.A concern nobody raises03WorkplaceOmbuds · Neutral EvaluationPeople see something wrong, but do not trust the channels to say so.Change and restructuring04WorkplaceFacilitation · Mediation · ConciliationThe organisation must change. The people it changes need a voice in how.

§ 05Roles that fit

The Neutral roles people like you use most.

  1. MediationCan we reach an agreement we both choose?01
  2. FacilitationHow does a group move forward together?02
  3. OmbudsWhere can someone raise a concern safely and informally?03

§ 06How we can help

Evaluation services for people in your position.

Fixed quote after scope review, or staged for complex matters

Clarity DeepView™

A full Independent Neutral Evaluation™ with the twelve-part report of the Handbook (NP 6.3): mandate, evidence, issue-by-issue analysis, risk and uncertainty, calibrated conclusions and stated limitations. Sold against a specific question and deliverable, not a template.

Fixed quote after conflict and scope review

Clarity Snapshot™

A short, reasoned written view on a single, precisely framed question, within tight limits agreed at scope review: a small document set, no interviews and no findings of fact on contested evidence. It is not a substitute for a full evaluation, an investigation or regulated specialist work.

Programme fee

Evaluation Capability

Developed consultatively: evaluation policy and governance, clauses, a panel of pre-cleared evaluators and training in commissioning and using evaluation well.

First stepsFor workplaces & hr
Three thingsto do this week.
01 Offer workplace mediation as an early option
02 Train managers in everyday neutrality
03 Consider an independent Ombuds
Clarity first · keep options open · make fairness visible

§ 07Frame your question

Describe it. Get the evaluation question.

Written for workplaces & hr. Leave out names and confidential details.

Write in your own words. Leave out names and confidential details.

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The answer

Choose who you are and ask anything. The engine answers from the institution’s own guidance, in plain language.

§ 08Read next

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