Margaret Bouchier, Director of Advanced Working Solutions Limited, is a leading employment mediator, facilitator, trainer and investigator.
Her interest in team dynamics and collaborative workplace development originated from her work as operations and production manager with creative teams in the graphic design field throughout the ‘90s and early 2000s. Her chance attendance on a Mediators’ Institute of Ireland (The MII) accredited mediation programme in 2002 struck a chord and, in 2004, following more focused training in organisational and workplace mediation, she founded Working Solutions, a private practice specialising in mediation and associated interventions.
In addition to her mediation qualifications – M.MII, CertEM, MSSc – Margaret has continued to develop in related areas of conflict coaching and integrated ADR organisational design, to better support organisations and parties to constructively manage workplace issues.
Since 2004, Working Solutions has become a trusted provider of effective interventions to complex and sensitive employment situations, with client organisations including Government Departments (ROI), semi-state bodies, private sector organisations (financial services/information technology/services industries), hospitals, healthcare providers, academic institutions and voluntary organisations.
Margaret is an experienced trainer having devised and delivered a broad range of training programmes through Working Solutions and Erwin Bouchier Professional Solutions including: Accredited Employment Mediator Training; Conflict Skills for Managers; Negotiation Training; Dignity at Work Training; and Teambuilding.
Since 2006, Margaret has been actively involved in the development of mediation in Ireland and internationally through her roles in The Mediators’ Institute of Ireland (The MII), The Elder Mediation International Network (EMIN) and more recently, the Kennedy Institute Workplace Mediation Research Group (KIWMRG). Margaret is the proud recipient of the EMIN 2016 Sheeren Award for her contribution to the development of standards in elder mediation.
Qualifications:
- M.MII; CertEM; MSSc (WBL Mediation Studies)
Relevant Positions / Affiliations:
- Advanced Working Solutions Limited: Founder and Director: March 2016 to present
- Working Solutions: Founder and Principal: 2004 to March 2016
- Erwin Bouchier Professional Solutions: Founder and Partner: 2014 to present
- Chambers Ireland/Courts Service Business and Commercial Mediation Scheme: MII Nominated Mediator: 2015 to present
- Elder Mediation International Network: Director and Chair of Ethics Committee: 2012 to present
- Kennedy Institute Workplace Mediation Research Group: Co-Founder and Member: From 2014
- The Civil Liabilities and Courts Act, 2004: MII Nominated Mediator: April 2005
- The Mediators’ Institute of Ireland: various roles incl. Executive Committee Member, Council Member, Communications Director and Registrar: 2005 to 2012
Memberships of Professional Bodies:
- The Mediators’ Institute of Ireland: Practitioner Member
- Elder Mediation International Network: Certified Elder Mediator
- International Mediation Institute: Certified Member
- Irish Commercial Mediation Association: Member
Presentations
Margaret is a regular contributor at conferences including:
- International Network of Financial Ombudsman 2018 Conference: Dublin, Ireland: Balancing Confidentiality and Transparency in an Ombudsman Mediation Service: Co-Presenter
- The Mediators Institute of Ireland 2018 Annual Conference: Grow Your Own Research (Interactive workshop): Co-Presenter
- The Elder Mediation International Network 2018 World Summit, Bristol, UK: The Fundamental Role of Ethics in Elder Mediation
- The Mediators’ Institute of Ireland, 2016 Annual Conference, Dundalk, Ireland: Workplace Mediation – Building a shared awareness and understanding of underlying needs and interests (Interactive workshop)
- World Mediation Summit, 2016, Madrid, Spain: Bridging the Gap Between Workplace Mediation Research and Practice (Co-presenter)
- The Elder Mediation International Network, 2016 World Summit, Linz, Austria: The Ethics of Intervention in Elder Mediation
- The International Academy of Law and Mental Health, 2015 Congress, Vienna, Austria: Developing Ethical Standards in Elder Mediation
- Union Syndicale Federale, 2015 Congress, Dubrovnik, Croatia: Conducting a Fair and Valid Investigation in the Irish Workplace
- The Mediators’ Institute of Ireland, 2015 Annual Conference, Dublin, Ireland: Using Research to Shape the Future of Workplace Mediation in Ireland (Co-presenter)
- The Kennedy Institute, 2015 Research Seminar, Maynooth, Ireland: Bridging the Research-Practice Divide (Co-presenter)
- The Elder Mediation International Network, 2014 World Summit, Halifax, Canada: The Role of Standards and Ethics in Elder Mediation
