Vertus Conflict Solutions, founded by trial lawyer and mediator Rubens Tilkian, is a conflict management and mediation consultancy with deep roots in both the legal and human behavioral sciences. Originally established in Brazil, Vertus evolved out of Tilkian’s decades of experience in litigation and his growing realization that even successful legal outcomes often failed to satisfy clients’ emotional and relational needs. This insight catalyzed his transition from courtroom advocate to conflict resolution strategist, focused on prevention as much as resolution.

Vertus was created to help individuals, companies, and families prevent and resolve conflict through a mix of legal strategy, neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), and soft skill development. Tilkian’s vision extended beyond conventional mediation—he saw an opportunity to build a scalable training program that would empower people with lifelong conflict management skills. Now headquartered in Miami, Florida, Vertus continues its mission on an international scale.

With over 70,000 agreements mediated and more than 550 professionals trained, Vertus has become a leading name in the field of conflict resolution. The organization is built on the belief that self-awareness and communication are critical to both personal and professional success. Its training programs are structured to awaken these competencies within learners, giving them the tools to not only manage conflict but also become agents of peace and productivity in their organizations.

Benefits of Training

Vertus Conflict Solutions offers more than conflict de-escalation techniques—it delivers personal transformation. The core benefits of the Vertus training program include reduced workplace turnover, improved productivity, and elevated workplace morale. Unlike traditional mediation services, which intervene after conflict has escalated, Vertus focuses on early-stage prevention through training.

The benefits begin with emotional intelligence and communication. Participants learn to recognize their own behavioral patterns, identify sources of stress and miscommunication, and adopt healthier, more collaborative habits. By developing self-awareness, employees gain insight into how their internal conflicts often influence their external behavior.

The training is also deeply personalized. Vertus assesses each organization’s pain points—whether high turnover, interdepartmental friction, or breakdowns in leadership communication—and builds customized programming around those needs. This approach ensures the training is relevant, actionable, and capable of producing immediate results.

The program also positively impacts retention. Employees who feel heard, valued, and equipped to manage workplace challenges are far more likely to remain engaged and committed. According to Vertus, emotional and interpersonal challenges—not technical failures—are at the root of most employee dissatisfaction. Addressing these proactively improves employee satisfaction and loyalty.

Furthermore, organizations that integrate Vertus training often find a renewed sense of alignment between their leadership and staff. Managers learn not only to handle interpersonal conflict but also to create psychologically safe environments. This elevates team collaboration, reduces absenteeism, and creates a sustainable framework for growth.

In essence, Vertus doesn’t just help teams avoid conflict; it teaches them to grow from it, transforming one of the workplace’s most common stressors into a catalyst for organizational development.

Who Needs to Learn

Vertus Conflict Solutions provides tailored training for three primary learner groups: corporate employees, leadership teams, and family units (including family-run businesses). Within the corporate space, learners range from front-line staff to C-level executives.

Corporate learners typically include team members from departments experiencing high stress or frequent interpersonal friction, such as HR, sales, marketing, and legal teams. Leadership learners often include department heads and managers responsible for creating healthy team dynamics and maintaining productivity.

Vertus also works with family businesses navigating generational transitions, decision-making power struggles, or overlapping personal and professional relationships. Outside the corporate and family business world, Vertus serves individuals in need of personal growth, conflict recovery, or relationship repair.

The diversity of learner groups speaks to Vertus’s adaptable approach. Whether training a single department or the entire workforce, Vertus tailors its delivery to ensure cultural fit, relevance, and long-term behavioral impact.

What Do They Need to Know and Do

Each learner group enters the Vertus program with distinct challenges, but all share a need for increased self-awareness, emotional regulation, and communication skills.

Frontline employees need to understand how personal stressors affect workplace interactions. Training helps them recognize emotional triggers, communicate assertively rather than aggressively, and understand the value of empathy in collaboration. Learners are taught active listening, how to manage expectations, and how to avoid projecting internal problems onto colleagues.

Managers and leadership teams require deeper conflict analysis skills. They need to identify root causes of team dysfunction, discern whether issues stem from personality clashes or systemic flaws, and facilitate solutions that support organizational goals. Leaders also practice neutral listening, conflict coaching, and feedback delivery.

Family business participants often need help distinguishing emotional ties from business logic. Training helps them navigate overlapping roles, communicate across generations, and align on values and goals. The “Rewriting the Script of Your Life” program is particularly impactful for these learners, offering both personal clarity and professional planning.

All learners are encouraged to take ownership of their role in conflict, understand their behavioral patterns through tools like the Enneagram, and recognize when to escalate a situation to neutral mediators. The training instills lifelong skills in empathy, listening, and reflective decision-making.

Training Challenges

Despite its efficacy, the Vertus training program faces several key challenges—many of which are common across soft skills training initiatives.

First is the issue of perception. Soft skills are often undervalued in corporate budgets, even though 93% of employers seek strong communication skills in candidates. Only 35% of companies, however, actively train for these skills. This gap means Vertus must not only deliver training but also educate decision-makers on its ROI.

Second, is the expectation of instant results. Many organizations bring in Vertus during a crisis—high turnover, plummeting productivity, or internal disputes—and expect immediate resolution. However, the transformation that Vertus provides is behavioral and incremental. It often requires more than one training session to see lasting change.

Third, psychological resistance among participants is another barrier. Self-awareness training requires humility, vulnerability, and a willingness to confront uncomfortable truths. Not every participant is ready or willing to engage at this level, and facilitators must skillfully balance encouragement with boundaries.

Fourth, systemic misalignment often limits training impact. Without executive buy-in or structural follow-up, training results may be short-lived. Vertus often provides post-training consulting to help reinforce behaviors and build internal champions for cultural change.

Finally, quantifying success remains a challenge. While improvements in morale and communication are often visible, translating these into measurable ROI (e.g., reduced turnover or increased productivity) requires deliberate planning and long-term tracking.

Training Best Practices

Vertus adheres to several best practices that make its training program effective and sustainable. One of its core strategies is to begin with customized diagnosis. Rather than applying a generic curriculum, Vertus initiates each engagement with interviews, department-specific assessments, and conflict diagnostics to understand the root causes.

This diagnostic approach is paired with an emphasis on confidentiality, allowing employees to speak candidly. As a result, training programs are built with empathy, inclusion, and trust at their foundation. Vertus designs tailored modules that vary by department, role, and emotional maturity of participants.

A second best practice is experiential learning. Vertus uses role-play, personality profiling (Enneagram), and scenario simulations to immerse learners in real-world conflict situations. These activities are emotionally engaging and deeply reflective, ensuring learners move beyond theory to internalization.

Follow-up consulting is another practice that distinguishes Vertus. Post-training, they offer ongoing coaching, leadership alignment, and periodic check-ins to ensure that new behaviors are reinforced and organizational culture evolves in tandem.

In terms of the LatitudeLearning Training Program Roadmap, Vertus is positioned in Stage 3: Skill Development and beginning to expand into Stage 4: Individual Performance. While initial stages (e.g., self-directed onboarding) are covered with foundational concepts, the majority of the Vertus program is designed to develop repeatable skills and transform learner behavior.

By bridging the gap between emotional intelligence and organizational performance, Vertus helps organizations evolve from reactive conflict management to proactive performance improvement.

Training Workstreams

1. Organizing Users: Vertus segments users by department, seniority level, and specific conflict resolution needs. In a typical corporate setting, training cohorts are built from the ground up—frontline staff, department managers, and leadership teams all receive tailored experiences. Confidential intake surveys and one-on-one interviews inform this segmentation.
2. Organizing Content: Training modules are organized by topic (e.g., active listening, emotional intelligence, negotiation), complexity (introductory vs. advanced), and outcome (team restoration vs. personal development). Modular delivery ensures each learner gets relevant and progressive instruction.
3. User Experience (UX): Vertus emphasizes an emotionally safe learning environment. Sessions often start with icebreakers and open sharing before moving into theory or practice. Reflection activities and emotional checkpoints allow learners to process and apply content meaningfully. UX is empathetic, personalized, and immersive.
4. Creating Content: The training content is continuously refined based on feedback, new psychological research, and client outcomes. Vertus frequently updates its library with improved case studies, refined exercises, and new diagnostic tools. Updates are guided by observed organizational behavior shifts and participant feedback.
5. Managing Users: Learner access is granted based on role, group need, and readiness. Participants are onboarded in waves, often starting with departments in crisis or transition. Leadership typically receives training both as participants and as program sponsors to maximize cultural alignment.
6. Managing Enrollments: Assignments are based on departmental needs and diagnostic interviews. For example, if a sales department struggles with collaboration, they might receive “Navigating Life Conflicts,” while leadership teams engage in “Turning Conflicts into Opportunities.” Customized learning paths ensure every user is assigned appropriate material.
7. Tracking Progress: Progress is monitored using pre- and post-assessment tools, participant feedback, session observations, and follow-up interviews. Metrics include changes in productivity, absenteeism, engagement scores, and turnover rates. Qualitative tracking also plays a role via anonymous testimonials and manager observations.
8. Rewards and Incentives: While Vertus doesn’t use gamification, it builds intrinsic motivation through psychological recognition and peer validation. Many organizations reward participation by recognizing growth in team meetings or through internal communications. Learners report increased confidence, job satisfaction, and clarity.
9. Improving the Training Program: Continuous improvement is central to Vertus’s approach. Feedback loops after each engagement inform future delivery. Facilitators meet regularly to discuss adjustments, and curriculum evolution is part of the company’s DNA. Insights from U.S.-based clients are now informing program adaptations for cultural nuance.
10. Measuring Success: Success is measured via a mix of qualitative and quantitative metrics. Key indicators include reduced turnover, improved productivity, decreased employee complaints, and higher team morale. Longitudinal tracking allows Vertus to evaluate training efficacy over 6-12 months.

Summary

Ultimately, the Vertus training program succeeds not by ticking checkboxes, but by sparking internal transformation and shifting organizational cultures. It’s a training model grounded in emotional intelligence, structured learning, and a deep belief in the human capacity to grow.