Shiv Martin's Blog

High-conflict complainants challenge fairness, wellbeing, and efficiency in complaints handling. By embedding inclusivity, procedural fairness, and WHS protections, organisations can safeguard staff, maintain trust, and strengthen justice processes. Explore practical strategies and training to manage querulous complainants safely and effectively.

Facilitated conversations provide a structured, neutral way to resolve workplace disputes across government, healthcare, education, and corporate settings. Discover how they work, when to use them, and why they can save time, stress, and cost compared to formal complaints processes.

Conflict at work is inevitable, but it doesn’t have to derail your business. Discover how mediation, facilitation, and coaching can transform difficult conversations into stronger teams, healthier systems, and long-term business resilience.

True change management is as much about navigating human behaviour as it is about rolling out systems. While it may be easy to change back and forth between technology systems, team culture is much harder to bring back once lost, and nothing threatens a team’s cohesiveness like organisational change.

Explore how mediation, leadership coaching, and Social Identity Theory offer practical ways to rebuild trust in institutions. A must-read for mediators, conciliators, and government dispute resolution professionals.

If you manage a body corporate or strata community, you already know: conflict is not a matter of if, but when. From noisy neighbours to funding disputes, shared living brings together a wide range of personalities, expectations, and values all within the confines of complex regulations and laws.

In every workplace I visit, whether it is a government agency, a school, or a fast-growing business, I see the same pattern. Teams do not fall apart because of one big blow-up. They start unravelling when hard conversations are avoided by leadership for too long. Time and time again, I see that the single business factor that impacts team culture is the ability of leadership to connect and earn the trust and respect of their team. 

Whether you're a practising mediator looking to upskill, preparing for your NMAS accreditation, or simply curious about how mediation works behind the scenes, this article offers practical insight you can apply right away.

If you’re working in a school, you already know that conflict is part of the job. Whether it’s between colleagues, leadership teams, or with parents, tensions can bubble up quickly. If your work wasn’t already hard enough education children and managing their behaviour, dealing with grown ups can be just as challenging, if not hard at times. In my work supporting schools as a mediator and trainer, I’ve seen how powerful it can be when staff have the right tools to respond ear

Explore why cultural competency is essential for mediators and complaints handlers. Learn strategies to provide cultural safety, navigate cross-cultural conflict, and build inclusive resolution processes.

In recent mediation and conciliation workshops, I’ve been faced with a deceptively simple question: should cameras be on or off in online meetings? And when we have the option, should we insist on in-person mediation or allow online engagement?

Preventing workplace conflict starts well before tensions surface. Clear expectations, open dialogue, and a culture of accountability form the backbone of a harmonious work environment. Shiv Martin Consulting supports HR professionals and team leaders in tackling issues like bullying and employee grievances through early intervention and strategic planning. The goal isn’t just to manage disputes, but to reduce the need for mediation by addressing problems before they take roo