Not a Member?  Become One Today!  HR Magazine: Order in the
Hearing   7/1/2001  By Carolyn Hirschman   HR Magazine, July
2001Vol. 46, No. 7  Employers have the right to require
mandatory arbitration, but how can they do so without provoking
an uproar from employees?  It's inevitable: Conflicts arise at
work. And when they do, it's up to human resource professionals
to possess the wisdom, patience and fairness to nip these fights
in the bud and get employees to move on. If left unchecked, on-
the-job disagreements easily can result in bad feelings, high
turnover and costly litigation.  One method to help bury the
hatchet: a well-designed alternative dispute resolution (ADR)
program. ADR programs typically begin with informal discussions,
then move on to mediation and other techniques; formal
arbitration is considered a last resort. The most difficult
disputes usually end up in arbitration, which generally is
faster and less expensive than litigation. What's more,
employers can force workers to use this form of