Any business, regardless of its niche, is bound to have disputes. If they are not handled correctly or resolved by a trustworthy solicitor, they can lead to a long and drawn out procedure because of litigation and this will cost your business a lot of money. If you’re running a small business, you may never recover altogether. Here is some of the best business dispute resolution advice that you should consider.
Dispute Resolution Procedure
a) Are you disputing with another business, such as a supplier? First, you should contact them to find out if they have their own dispute resolution procedure that you can follow. If not, you can lay out the rules for resolving the dispute. With any correspondence, make sure it’s worded politely and tactfully to avoid any other issues erupting.
b) If the other party doesn’t have a dispute resolution procedure, you can contact them and ask whether they are ready to discuss the matter with you. During the discussion, avoid heating up things and listen to the other party carefully to determine whether or not their view is right. Find out what they want to do about the problem first.
c) If nothing seems to be working, then you can bring in a professional such as an arbitrator or a mediator. The professional will offer neutral advice which doesn’t favour any of the parties involved. The mediator should be able to diffuse the entire situation to keep it from getting out of control and find a solution that none of the parties had thought about.
d) Even after bringing in the professional, a solution might not be present yet. However, it’s prudent for the mediator to point out how litigation might prove disruptive and expensive. On the other hand, it might be time-wasting since most of those litigating processes often drag on forever.
e) At this point if one of the parties still plan on using the other, there is no chance of stopping them. However, it’s good to take some time since they might realise down the line that it is going to be stressful and time-consuming as well as costly. If that happens, it’s easy enough to settle out of court without any worries.
Note that, any business can have disputes between the staff, customers, suppliers or competitors. Having a proper dispute resolution process will always work depending on whether the parties are prepared to settle the matter out of court. It’s also a good idea to look for a good mediator, arbitrator or law firm to act as a neutral party.
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