What Is an Ombuds?

This element of our work includes fact finding and researching the situation to help those involved solve problems and resolve conflict.

We teach organizational members about university policies, procedures, and the rationale for decisions; conducting workshops in client communication or conflict prevention; addressing community and professional groups on rights.

We advise senior and middle management regarding problems and proposed actions for resolution and prevention.

On occasion, living and working bring rage, grief and bewilderment to everyone. Managers and employees often feel there has been “no one to listen.” Possibly the most important function of an ombuds (complaint system) is to deal with feelings.

Many employees do not know how the university determines promotions, transfers, or benefits, or how it deals with problems in the workplace like harassment. It is therefore very important that the Ombuds be prepared to give out information, and make referrals to helping resources, on a one-to-one basis, at a time and in the fashion needed by an individual with a problem.

Many employees and managers face tenacious problems with only three alternatives in mind: to quit, to put up with their problem, or to start some formal process of complaint, or suit or investigation. These are not the only alternatives. The Ombuds will help a visitor develop and explore and role-play new options, then help the visitor choose an option, then follow-up to see that it worked. And in many cases, the best option may be for the person with a problem to seek to deal with it effectively on his or her own.

Sometimes a visitor will opt for a go-between. This is especially true where one or more parties need to save face or deal with emotions before a good solution can be found. This is the most common type of intervention reported by ombuds practitioners.

At other times, a visitor will choose the option of meeting with others, together with the ombuds. Like shuttle diplomacy, this usually happens on an informal basis. However, the "settlements" of shuttle diplomacy and mediation may be made formal by the parties involved.

Investigation of a problem or a complaint can be formal or informal, with or without recommendations to an adjudicator - for example, to a grievance committee or to a line or senior manager. All four of these investigatory options are reported by ombuds practitioners, and are more or less common depending on the company and the ombuds.

This function is very rare for the ombuds. Here, the classic phrase about ombuds practitioners is likely to obtain: “They may not make or change or set aside a management rule or decision: theirs is the power of reason and persuasion.”

A critical function of the ombuds is to receive, perhaps analyze, then pass along information that will foster change in the university. Where policies are outdated or unintelligible, or new problems have arisen, or a new diversity appears in the employee pool, an ombuds may be a low-key, steady-state change agent. This function also provides a mechanism for dealing with some very difficult confidentiality problems.