If every HR professional were to read this book and apply what they learn then I’d be out of a job – and I’d be happy. Why? Because workplace conflict would no longer be damaging businesses or harming people. As a mediator I help people who, for whatever reason, are struggling to work together. They are in pain and the business is suffering. Both could be avoided if HR have the skills and knowledge to intervene at an early stage. That is why I have written this book - to give HR a simple toolkit to enable them to nip conflict in the bud. To me it is like wiring a plug. You can’t justify the effort and expense of calling in a professional, but trying it yourself and getting it wrong could be disastrous. To wire the plug you need basic knowledge about the task, critical skills and a practical process to follow. That is what DIY Mediation offers the HR Manager. The key sections of the book cover are the Issue which explores the critical knowledge needed to understand conflict, spot potential issues early on and appreciate the different ways people respond in conflict situations. Followed by the skills which uncovers the four key skills needed when using DIY Mediation, namely Questioning, Active Listening, Assertive Communication and Impartiality. It is not sufficient to know what the skills are, you also need to apply them. The book supports this by providing helpful tools to make application simple and straightforward. Finally, the process which shows how having the skills is vital but without a process they will be ineffective. This section introduces the reader to the AGREE framework, a model I developed specifically to be a pragmatic process the HR professional can follow to intervene quickly and effectively.