Certified Workplace Mediation Specialist (CWMS)

The Certified Workplace Mediation Specialist (CWMS) credential is issued by the Conflict Management Institute (CMI) upon completion of a 20-hour, live, instructor-led certification approved for 20 SHRM PDCs and 20 HRCI recertification credits. Holders have demonstrated proficiency in CMI's 7-Stage Mediation Framework: upholding neutrality, confidentiality, self-determination and voluntariness; moving parties from positions to interests; recovering from impasse; and drafting durable agreements.

To earn the CWMS credential, holders completed 20 hours of training: 16 hours of live, instructor-led cohort sessions and 4 hours of structured take-home assignments. Requirements include demonstrating a complete Mediator Introduction and the 4 Pillars of mediation; serving as mediator in Representative Practice Scenarios, including impasse recovery; designing a workplace case study that separates parties' positions from their interests; and drafting a durable Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).