27 Jun Businesses Also Need Conciliation
Businesses Also Need Conciliation: An Opportunity to Preserve the Value of SMEs
Private conciliation is an effective tool to help businesses resolve disagreements between shareholders, directors and management teams, while contributing to preserving the value of the business project.
Today, 27 June, marks the International Day of Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises. It is an excellent opportunity to recognise the contribution that SMEs make to our economy, but also to reflect on an aspect that too often remains in the background: the way differences between the people involved in the same business project are managed.
When we think about a business, we usually talk about products, services, clients, turnover or results. However, behind every business there are people. And it is precisely the relationships between those people that, in many cases, ultimately determine the future of the organisation.
Disagreements may arise at any time. Between shareholders who no longer share the same vision for the business. Between directors who hold different views on how the company should be managed. Within family businesses where personal relationships become intertwined with business responsibilities. They may also arise between management teams, employees, clients or suppliers. They are part of the reality of every organisation.
When this happens, it is common to believe that there are only two options: take the dispute to court or allow time to pass in the hope that the situation will eventually improve. Experience shows that there are other ways of helping to preserve both the business and the relationships between the people involved.
Business mediation is one of those tools. It provides a confidential environment in which the parties can restore dialogue and work together to reach a solution.
There are situations, however, in which differences have become so deeply rooted that the parties need something more. This is where private conciliation becomes especially valuable.
Unlike mediation, conciliation allows the conciliator, after listening to the parties and reviewing the available documentation, to prepare a technical proposal for resolution aimed at facilitating an agreement.
This proposal does not impose any decision, nor does it replace the parties’ own wishes. Its value lies in providing an impartial, structured and well-founded assessment of a situation that, in many cases, those involved are no longer able to analyse with the necessary perspective.
The real value of a technical proposal for resolution is not found solely in the document delivered to the parties. It begins much earlier. It is built through careful listening, a thorough analysis of the available documentation, the identification of each party’s interests and the ability to produce an objective proposal based on both legal knowledge and an understanding of the business reality.
Private conciliation can be particularly valuable when disagreements arise between shareholders, conflicts emerge between directors, succession issues affect a family business, differences exist regarding the valuation of a company or its shares, or whenever any other situation threatens the proper functioning of an organisation.
Based on my experience as a lawyer, mediator and conciliator in Barcelona, I believe that private conciliation remains a largely unknown tool within the business community, despite the significant value it can provide in many situations. It is not simply about improving communication between the parties. It is also about providing professional judgement, objectivity and a technical proposal for resolution that helps those involved evaluate possible alternatives and make informed decisions from a broader perspective.
On the occasion of the International Day of Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, I believe it is also worth remembering that protecting a business is not only about managing its financial resources effectively. It also means preserving the relationships between the people who make that business possible.
Because a business is much more than its balance sheets. It is a shared project. And when disagreements arise, managing them appropriately is also a way of protecting its future.
Conflicts are part of the life of every business. What often makes the difference is the way they are addressed. Mediation and, in particular, private conciliation provide both a framework and a methodology capable of preserving not only the value of the business project but also the relationships between the people involved.
If your business is facing disagreements between shareholders, directors or other people with responsibilities within the organisation, mediation and private conciliation can provide an effective alternative to facilitate agreements, preserve the value of the business project and, whenever possible, avoid court proceedings.
Daniel Sererols Villalón
Lawyer · Conflict Mediator · Conciliator
Specialised in mediation and private conciliation in the fields of business, family and community disputes.
Barcelona
Tel. +34 661 463 306
