A study by the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution, a British-based non-profit organization, calculates that mediation saves British businesses £1 billion (US=$1.9 billion) per year in wasted management time, damaged relationships, lost productivity, and legal fees. Since 1990, savings are £6.3 billion (US=$12.4 billion) while costs of the program (that is, mediator fees) are only £8.2 million (US=$16.1 million). Here's the article. A copy of CEDR's report can be found here.
What a bargain!
As mediation is becoming more and more common place in the US, the UK and elsewhere, institutes such as CEDR are able to put pencil to paper to analyze the benefits of ADR. While so many of the benefits are non-economic (such as better work-place relations, improved communication skills) and hard to quantify, studies such as CEDR's gives dispute resolution professionals another way to market their practice: we can save folks money. That's something any CPA or MBA can appreciate.
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