Stephen Koppekin, founder of Koppekin Consulting Inc. has spent decades developing the craft of easing workplace tension. Stephen’s background in law provided him with the foundation for his expertise. Matched with 40+ years of direct field work, Stephen has perfected his ability to communicate and negotiate in order to achieve the best results.
Opportunity
A client owned a large business and often relied on inconsistent hiring procedures. His process? Half of the client’s employees were direct hires and employees of the company while the other half were hired as outside contractors. Both groups worked together in the same environment.
The sticking point: A disgruntled employee group had filed a lawsuit against the client in hopes that the irregular hiring structure would be dissolved.
Approach
Stephen listened carefully to the client’s concern and after his initial review of the case, he realized he was able to identify the root of the problem. He sat down with the client and the two combed through the client’s entire employment roster. With Stephen’s guidance, they were able to ameliorate all of the existing hiring problems.
In addition, Stephen was able to guide the client to an attorney who he had worked extensively with in the past. Stephen’s vast knowledge of various attorneys and firms is an immeasurable benefit to clients. Stephen’s referral was well suited for the dispute and handled it efficiently. In the end, the plaintiff withdrew the complaint; a wonderful result for all of the parties involved.
Results
If Stephen’s client had hired a large firm to handle the negotiation process, the entire outcome might have ended differently. To start, the tension between the client and the disgruntled group might have escalated faster than necessary. Worse, the client may never have changed his hiring practices which would have led to future disputes.
“My culture is not one that says ‘load all the bases and bring in the big guns!’ If I have to, I will. But in my years of experience, I’ve found that 90% of the time you can get the results you want by weaving in between the baselines.”
Stephen’s astute approach allows him to utilize the least expensive way a client can resolve the problem. This gives the client favorable results at a fraction of the cost. If you’d like to learn more about Stephen’s work, reach out to him at stephen@koppekinconsulting.com.
