The venue and room setup needs careful consideration and planning. Wherever possible, arrange for the mediation to take place in a private and confidential environment where the parties will not be seen or overheard by other colleagues. An off-site venue is always preferable unless you have the facilities to do this in-house safely and ideally in a different location. This is an additional cost but it is one that is well worth it. The parties will be nervous enough and meeting off-site will help to ensure that they are more comfortable and also more focused on the meeting. If you are in the work environment, there is a danger that minds will wander to "to-do lists", particularly if they can't resist checking e-mails during breaks.

You will also need to have two rooms set aside or at the very least, areas where you can break out and speak to the parties separately should this need arise. Bear in mind that some partition walls between rooms or offices can be very thin...