DiReCT & KOMPASS
Verfahrenswahl Tools
"Conflicts in the workplace often leave those affected at a loss. With the COMPASS tool, the Round Table Mediation and Conflict Management of German Business provides orientation and clarity so that conflicting parties know where to turn and what they can do. The tool provides real added value and is also anonymous and free of charge."
Dr Marco Buschmann, Federal Minister of Justice, March 2023
Development of tools for process selection
Having recognised that conflicts between companies are often negotiated in procedures that are not optimally suited to their resolution, the Institute for Conflict Management, together with the Round Table Mediation and Conflict Management of the German Economy (RTMKM), decided a few years ago to improve the selection process for conflict resolution procedures. As conflict parties are usually not (fully) aware of the range of possible procedures and their differences, and there is too little practical experience of many possible procedures, and also because the characteristics of the future conflict are usually not sufficiently predictable at the time the contract is concluded, conflict parties often choose procedures that do not help them to resolve their specific conflict case.
To address this problem, IKM and RTMKM have developed the procedure selection tools DiReCt and KOMPASS. To a certain extent, this is a Wahl-O-Mat for conflict resolution procedures for B2B conflicts (DiReCt) and conflicts in the workplace (KOMPASS). By answering a series of conflict-related questions, the tools enable legal and HR departments to find out which procedure (court proceedings, arbitration, mediation, conciliation, etc. or group coaching, team development, mediation, clarification assistance, etc.) best fulfils the procedural interests of the parties involved.
The IKM's role in the development of the two tools consisted of conceptualising, developing and moderating sounding boards and carrying out test runs. The tools have been very well received by the professional community and are available to use free of charge at www.rtmkm.de.