Indiana
Conflict Resolution Institute
Project: United States Postal Service
United States Postal Service (USPS) – The National REDRESS® Evaluation Project
For several years, the Institute has been involved with a comprehensive evaluation of the USPS employment mediation program, REDRESS® (Resolve Employment Disputes Reach Equitable Solutions Swiftly). This massive research project entails evaluation of two related programs, REDRESS® I and REDRESS® II. This research has been well received by both academics and practitioners and is frequently cited as a model evaluation project. This work was recognized with the presentation of the Willoughby Abner Award to Lisa B. Bingham on August 24, 2002. This award is presented by the Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR) for excellence in research on dispute resolution in labor and employment in the public sector.
When REDRESS® I was first implemented as a pilot program in October 1994, the National Program Manager (then Alternative Dispute Resolution Counsel) contracted with the Institute to design an independent evaluation of the pilot program. This research has grown into an eight-year collaboration between Indiana University and the USPS. Renewed funding for research continues from the USPS. Work continues on both the REDRESS® I and REDRESS® II evaluations; descriptions and updates of each are provided below.
REDRESS® I
The REDRESS® I evaluation project is undertaken in conjunction with the USPS Headquarters Human Resources Department, and examines informal Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) complaints of discrimination. The study is a multi-year “before and after” evaluation of the implementation and administration of REDRESS® I. The REDRESS® I evaluation project consists of many different studies which allow for triangulation, comparison, and validation of the research. Among the studies are:
Climate and Conflict Management at the USPS
Researchers at the Institute have completed interviews with postal employees to determine the impact of REDRESS® I upon climate and conflict management at the USPS. Institute researchers traveled to Cleveland, New York and San Francisco, to interview three different samples of USPS employees, all randomly selected participants from all levels of the organization. Researchers conducted confidential one‑on‑one interviews with 217 respondents and transcribed the interviews. A data entry protocol for coding the qualitative interview responses was designed and a database was constructed. Data entry is complete. Data analysis and report writing is almost finished. ICRI contracted two faculty members at Kennesaw State University, Susan Summers Raines and Timothy Hedeen, to collaborate on completing the reports.
Exit Surveys
The Institute is measuring the impact of the REDRESS® I program by collecting data from participants in mediation sessions. All participants in REDRESS® I mediations fill out confidential exit surveys and mail the surveys to the Institute. Thus far, the Institute has received and entered over one hundred thirty thousand exit surveys. The exit surveys allow Institute researchers to determine how satisfied participants are with the mediator, process, and outcome of the mediations, and understand the parties’ perceptions of each other and the dispute. Institute staff continue to perform data entry and analysis of exit surveys. The longitudinal design of data collection and analysis allows researchers to examine the program over time and applied a wide array of quantitative and qualitative analytic techniques to the data. The result is the production of research that is generalizable beyond the context of the Postal Service and valuable to both the theory and practice of ADR.
Data Tracking Surveys
The Institute collects information from mediators about the number of Exit Surveys distributed to REDRESS® I participants in order to track response rate information. This information is entered into a database and compared with the exit survey information for research validity. Calculations demonstrate a response rate in excess of 75%, an extraordinarily high response rate in social science research.
Dispute Resolution Specialist Surveys
Institute staff conducted an e-mail survey in 1999 of USPS Dispute Resolution Specialists to elicit detailed information about the REDRESS® mediation experience. In 2000, the research was presented at the International Association of Conflict Management (IACM). The study found that implementation of transformative mediation in the USPS was successful. The information was useful in providing feedback to the United States Postal Service Headquarters and also in the design of a mediator survey. This study has been published in the Hofstra Labor and Employment Law Journal.
Mediator Surveys
The Institute has collected and analyzed data from a survey of mediators to assess their perceptions of transformative mediation and its application in the USPS. Their responses will be used to assess the implementation of REDRESS® I and to gain a better understanding of transformative mediation in practice. Data entry is complete and analysis is ongoing. A manuscript was presented at the June 2002 meeting of the International Association of Conflict Management and is currently under review at the International Journal of Conflict Management. Other manuscripts are in draft.
Conflict Management and USPS Supervisors
This dissertation research explores how USPS Supervisors manage conflict in the workplace. A target group of supervisors was randomly selected from the main postal plant facility in Indianapolis, Indiana. These USPS supervisors were interviewed about their conflict management techniques and strategies and the impact of training and mediation on these practices. Lisa Marie Napoli completed and successfully defended the dissertation. She is currently preparing additional publications from this dissertation research.
Complaint Filings
Institute staff have maintained a database containing data on formal and informal EEO complaints before and after the implementation of the REDRESS® I mediation program. This dataset is broken down by zip code, accounting period (13 per year), and fiscal year. An analysis showing a statistically significant drop in formal filings after the implementation of the program was published this year by the Review of Public Personnel Administration. Recent analyses show a continued decline in the number of formal EEO complaint filings in the USPS.
Cost Benefit Analysis
Institute staff members have collected data and begun analysis for a cost benefit analysis of the REDRESS® I mediation program. The USPS is collecting internal data for use in this analysis.
Transformative and Interactional Justice
As the REDRESS® I program is based on the transformative model of mediation, researchers had an opportunity to conduct a unique statistical analysis on the ability of various ‘transformative’ or interactional justice factors to explain participant satisfaction. Researchers found that the addition of transformative/interactional factors to the procedural justice model significantly enhanced its power to explain participant satisfaction. This research is the first field test of the interactional model of justice. It was presented at the annual meeting of the International Association of Conflict Management, as well as at the American Society for Public Administration 64th National Conference. The manuscript is currently being prepared for submission to an academic journal. Researchers continue to work on this project, and will soon begin using a sophisticated structural equation model to explain the connections between various aspects of distributive, procedural and interactional justice.
Time Series Analysis
Researchers at the Institute have conducted a time series analysis of the REDRESS® I program to examine resolution rates, participant satisfaction levels, and other information over time. The results of the study show remarkably high and consistent levels of participant satisfaction with the mediators, outcomes, process, and party relationships over the five years examined. There are also high and consistent levels of case resolution. A manuscript of the findings is in preparation.
Comparison of Employee and Supervisor Perceptions of REDRESS® Mediations
Researchers are currently examining and comparing the perceptions of USPS employees and supervisors involved in REDRESS® I mediations. Initial data analysis shows some interesting similarities and differences in how the two groups perceive the REDRESS® I process, mediators, and outcomes, as well as how they understand their relationships to each other. Manuscripts are in preparation.
Publications generated from REDRESS® I research:
Bingham, L. B., G. Chesmore, Y. Moon, and L.M. Napoli (forthcoming 2003). “Mediating Employment Disputes at the United States Postal Service: A Comparison of In-house and Outside Neutral Mediators.” The above cited ROPPA paper is to be reprinted with permission in Samuel Estreicher, ed., Alternative Dispute Resolution in the Employment Arena: Proceedings of the New York University 53d Annual Conference on Labor, __-__. Kluwer Legal International.
Napoli, L.M. (2003). “USPS Supervisors and Conflict Management Techniques: Evaluating Training and Mediation Interventions and Dimensions of Gender.” Unpublished PhD. dissertation, Indiana University (on file with author).
Bingham, L.B. and D.W. Pitts (2002). “Research Report: Highlights of Mediation at Work: Studies of the National REDRESS® Evaluation Project.” Negotiation Journal 18(2): 135-146.
Bingham, L.B., K. Kim, and S. Raines (2002). “Employment Mediation: Exploring the Role of Representation at the USPS.” Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution 17(2): 341-378.
Bingham, L.B. (2002). “Why Suppose? Let’s Find Out: A Policy Research Program on Dispute Resolution.” Journal of Dispute Resolution (1): 101-126.
Bingham, L.B. (2002). “REDRESS® at the USPS – A Breakthrough Mediation Program.” ACResolution 1(3): 34.
Nabatchi, T. and L.B. Bingham (in review 2003). “Expanding Our Models of Justice in Dispute Resolution: A Field Test of the Contribution of Interactional Justice .” Conflict Resolution Quarterly.
Napoli, L.M. and L.B. Bingham (in preparation, 2003). “Conflict Management Techniques in the Workplace: the United States Postal Service.”
Presentations made on this research:
March 2002: Lisa-Marie Napoli presented her dissertation research on a panel session entitled "Using Collaboration to Deliver Public Service." American Society of Public Administration’s 63rd Conference, Phoenix, Arizona.
June 11, 2002: David Pitts, “Individualism, Collectivism and Transformative Mediation.” International Association for Conflict Management, Park City, UT.
June 11, 2002: Tina Nabatchi, “Expanding our Models of Justice in Dispute Resolution: A Field Test of the Contribution of Interactional Justice.” International Association for Conflict Management, Park City, UT.
October 2002: Lisa-Marie Napoli, “Conflict Management Techniques and the USPS Supervisors.” Association for Conflict Resolution [poster session], San Diego, CA.
March 18, 2003: Tina Nabatchi, “Transformative Mediation in the USPS.” The American Society for Public Administration 64th National Conference, Washington, DC.
REDRESS® II
The second part of the National REDRESS® Evaluation Project focuses on REDRESS® II, a new program in the USPS Headquarters Law Department. REDRESS® II is designed to mediate formal EEO complaints of discrimination at the Administrative Judge level. The research design is unique in that information is collected on a case-basis, allowing us to examine data from individual cases, as well as from all cases in the program. Thus, we can conduct analyses at the individual case level and across the entire case population. Data collection and analyses are ongoing, and some preliminary analyses have been presented at academic and professional conferences.
Presentations made on this research:
April 2002: Lisa Bingham, participated on a panel titled “Mediation in the Administrative Hearing Process: How Effective is it for Formal Complaints of Discrimination?” American Bar Association, Section of Dispute Resolution, Seattle, WA.
Click here to see an New York Times article about the REDRESS® Program
Indiana Conflict Resolution
Institute
Last updated:
July 30, 2004
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ICRI Administrator
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