By Doriana Vintila, Ombuds - OMV Petrom S.A.

We can all agree that speak up culture is an essential characteristic of a people-oriented inclusive organization. Forbes said it, and I think they said it well in a very insightful article on the benefits of creating a speak-up culture at work [1]. Undoubtedly, most companies have evolved from the initial purpose of speak-up, which was to protect them from wrongdoings, and moved towards making people feel respected, empowered and safe. A work environment where members of the staff, irrelevant of their position, feel safe bringing their ideas to work every day will grow and flourish. Speaking up is very much about learning and improving, becoming a better version of what was yesterday – both individually and collectively.

But having a speak-up culture is more than just having policies and hotlines in place. People often refrain from speaking their minds for a variety of reasons that have nothing to do with the availability of tools do so, or where those tools are placed (with HR, Compliance, the Ombuds etc). I’ve more than once heard people say that they won’t criticize a coworker because they don’t want to hurt their feelings or put their friendship at risk. However, isn’t holding back doing exactly that? That is where valuing a true speak-up culture comes into place: the belief that your suggestions, constructive criticism and openness will be perceived as an act of goodwill, both by colleagues and especially by management.

By Christina Tay

Director of Services - Restorative Resolution 

Over the past few years, I have been thinking thematically about the tension between being dependable as a organizational ombuds and the unintended consequence of dependency developing with a user of the service.  In a previous role, I had attended a potential client’s senior leadership team meeting with our organization's business development manager and we were attending to promote the value and benefit of providing ombuds services. One of the senior leaders asked “What do you do if one of the staff becomes dependent on you as a practitioner or the service you are here to promote”? As we had a very limited amount of allocated time I responded “One of our key roles as a practitioner is to empower individuals through the sharing of knowledge and tools to move towards being able to manage the situations they are experiencing.”  It has been a few years since that question was posited and it is a topic that I have continued to consider.

One of the senior leaders asked “What do you do if one of the staff becomes dependent on you as a practitioner or the service you are here to promote”?

In a past role, I was working in an organization that employed a few thousand employees.  One of the requirements of the role was to continue to promote the service to the widest possible audience across the organization.  I started to observe that once some users of the service connected with the ombuds they were inclined to return for multiple individual sessions and while the subject may have slightly changed between sessions it did raise thoughts about the possibility of dependency.  On one hand, I see the absolute value of providing as much support as an individual requires but this has to be balanced against ensuring that there is sufficient time and energy available to an expanded base of users.

By Shannon Lynn Burton, PhD
University Ombudsperson, Michigan State University

Dear Ombuds Colleagues,

I am writing to solicit articles for the September 2023 Just Resolutions e-newsletter. This edition centers on the work of ombuds and it would be wonderful if we had several individuals interested in writing!

Article submissions would be due to me by July 31st, 2023, for editing before they are forwarded to ABA for publication. However, an early submission of an article is always encouraged.

Articles have a wide range of content from interviews to book reviews and more! They run approximately 750 words in length (3-5 pages double spaced). For information on types of articles, please see the ABA Guidelines for Publication: https://lnkd.in/g9XQs7ww

Additionally, you are welcome to review the September 2019, 2020, and 2021 and November 2022 editions:

• September 2019: https://lnkd.in/gFnGxwXS
• September 2020: https://lnkd.in/g2Ax_BqT
• September 2021: https://lnkd.in/ghd-3Nt6
• November 2022: https://lnkd.in/g7Mza-bC

If you have an idea of what you would like to write about, but want to talk it through with someone, please let me know that as well. I am always happy to discuss potential articles.

In the interim, please feel free to reach out to me with any questions you might have, as well as let me know if you plan on writing a piece. I want to be supportive of our authors and knowing who is writing ahead of time allows me to do so! You can reach me via e-mail at [email protected] or by phone at (517) 353-8830.

Best Wishes,
Shannon Lynn Burton, Ph.D.
University Ombudsperson | Michigan State University
Editor | ABA Just Resolutions September 2023

By Doriana Vintila
Ombuds
PetrOmbudsman Department,

Ombuds have been around for quite a while now, in all areas of activity, either private or part of the public health or educational systems. However, from my experience of almost a decade since the opening of the Ombuds office in OMV Petrom, I feel that when people have a complaint, they still have a hard time deciding where to place it in their organization. This is because there are usually many functions in the same organization that deal with complaints, and there is more clarity needed on what each of them can do to help the individual. Most certainly, there are quite a handful of differences in the way Ombuds operate, as compared to formal functions.

This is the reason why our Ombuds team decided this year to film a short video, picturing our Ombuds Director and our company’s Compliance Director, as they answer some of the most frequently asked questions on how we conduct our activities. The result was a mirror interview between the Ombuds and Compliance Departments. Of course, this could be adapted and done as a mirror interview between Ombuds and any other function in an organization, be it HR, Legal, Trade Unions and so on.

By Mary Rowe,

I am writing a note after listening to a number of Organizational Ombuds (OOs) these past few months. Several OOs report cases characterized by verbal attacks that seem unusual: employees who intimidatingly refuse an order, unafraid of being accused of insubordination. Undergraduates who loudly and insultingly reject faculty rights to set the requirements and rules in a college classroom. Students who insult the race or religion or ethnicity of staff and faculty and visitors to their school. Senior managers who loudly express bitter hate for each other. Visitors who insult their ombuds and their organization for having an ombuds. Bullying that is ratcheting up to being totally unacceptable.

Several OOs have noted that the nation is losing many professionals, for example those who no longer wish to serve as teachers, nurses, doctors and other caretakers. 

By Twillea Evans-Carthen, 
University Ombuds Officer, Director of Ombuds Services, 
California State University, San Bernardino,

California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB) celebrated Ombuds Day 2022 by creating a creative approach to have students, staff, faculty, and community celebrate their campus ombuds by stopping by the office of Ombuds Services to meet the campus ombuds, learn about the program, and have a conversation over cookies with the ombuds. The Ombuds informed the community how each year on the second Thursday during the month of October, people from around the world take time to 

celebrate the role of the Ombuds. The CSUSB Office of Ombuds Services celebrated this year by recognizing and bringing forward the 2022 theme: Ombuds: Resilience, Respect, Resolve.

By Ish Baki, Americas Ombudsman - Mars,Inc.,

Attendees at the Southwest Ombuds Symposium, hosted by Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Ombuds Office, met at the Laboratory’s Dorothy McKibbin Conference Center in Santa Fe on Aug. 25 and 26.  The Symposium brought together 19 attendees from across New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado. "The group has been meeting virtually approximately once per month since 2020," said Cindy Mazur, the Lab’s Ombuds manager. "By the end of 2021, we felt the strong need to meet in person, hence the decision to plan a symposium."

Ethics and Audit Division Director Rachel Schroeder kicked off the first day of the event. The day also included an address from the featured speaker, Chief Justice Emeritus of the Navajo Nation Robert Yazzie. Chief Justice Emeritus Yazzie led with a discussion of the Navajo tradition of peacekeeping. "The Navajo principles, which bring resilience to the life of everyone, align with that of the work of organizational ombuds as impartial peacemakers who work toward building relationships and trust when people feel harmed or hurt," said Elisa Enriquez, senior associate ombuds at the Lab. Other activities included an opportunity for the attendees to share similarities and differences in how they do their work, and discussion around common challenges and best approaches to the work ombuds do.

By Jennifer Schneider, Mary Rowe, Tim Hedeen, and Hector Escalante, IOA Practice Survey Sub-Committee

IOA recently released the 2022 Practice Survey Report. The data shared in the report were gleaned from IOA’s Practice Survey, which was administered back in the spring. The report includes information about participants’ organizations, caseloads, issues, services and accomplishments.  

The 2021 calendar year brought many unique challenges that affected the work of ombuds. The IOA Practice Survey team added items that addressed the effects of COVID on ombuds work with visitors and with their organizations. These data suggest that over half of the most serious cases managed by ombuds were related to the pandemic. Concerns around work/life balance, return to work or school, safety and flexibility consumed much of the ombuds time during that year.

By Phyllis Coven,
Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman
The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman

My road to becoming an ombudsman was a long one and the more I learn about being an ombudsman, the more I see that it is really the culmination of my 30 years of public service working in the immigration arena.

My journey started when I worked as an attorney for the territory of American Samoa and later the California Department of Justice, where I was exposed to cases (both big and small) and how outcomes impact lives. I then was privileged to serve as a deputy associate attorney general for the U.S. Department of Justice, working as the liaison to the former U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). My understanding of the complexities of operating the immigration system was deepened in my next job as director of international affairs at INS where I was responsible for asylum, refugee, and international office operations.

By Mary Rowe, Timothy Hedeen, Jennifer Schneider, and Hector Escalante,
Practice & Compensation Sub-Committee of the IOA Research & Assessment Committee

Why Are Data about the Most Serious Cases (MSC) Important to Organizational Ombuds?

MSC have several important characteristics:

1)    The most serious cases in an ombuds office entail high potential costs—and major gains or losses of possible benefits—for all constituents involved in these cases, including their organization. The value of the organizational ombuds (OO) office is sometimes very apparent, for constituents and the organization, after an OO helps to identify, assess, and help to manage a serious case.

By Ronnie Thomson,
Corporate Ombuds - Sandia National Laboratories

Have you ever felt the excitement of a new adventure plus the doubts of whether you’re ready? What is the purpose of that internal voice murmuring doubts? Perhaps it’s a catalyst to bring your best self, pursue excellence, and watch the beauty of the adventure unfold. Or maybe that catalyst is spurring you to ask for support. Upon the one-year anniversary of the Sandia Ombuds Office Re-launch, I am reflecting on my current adventure with its mountain-top highs and valley lows, plus the pursuit of excellence and the support I have found. I’m hoping that my sharing this reflection will be of help to you.

Beginning at the Trailhead 

The Sandia National Laboratories Director re-launched and chartered the Sandia Ombuds Office to again provide the workforce with an independent, informal, impartial, and confidential resource. Admirably, the Labs Director even made suggestions to strengthen the agreement before he signed it. Sandia’s Chief of Staff located options for the construction of the office in Albuquerque, NM, established the budget, and supported my launch plan which included my own orientation to a whole new world of premier research and national security with a targeted soft launch for virtual and phone visits during the pandemic. For the first few months, my husband remained in Texas as I navigated my new surroundings working at a military base for the first time in my career, having no colleagues working anywhere close to my temporary office (a bit lonely), and house shopping at the peak of a low inventory, high priced market.

By Kazmere Duffey,
Ombuds Specialist - Los Alamos National Laboratory

My name is Kazmere Duffey. I am from Long Beach, California, which is known not only for its beautiful beaches but also as one of the most diverse cities a person may live in or visit. I currently reside and work in Los Alamos, New Mexico. I am an Ombuds Specialist at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

I have an AA in communications, a BS in human services, and an MA in negotiation, conflict resolution, and peacebuilding.

By Shannon Burton, Ph.D., University Ombudsperson, Michigan State University & 
Shereen G. Bingham, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, University of Nebraska Omaha, 

Dear Colleagues,

The IOA Research & Assessment Committee will be developing The Organizational Ombuds Reader with an anticipated publication date during 2023. This Call for Nominations has been revised in the hope of soliciting articles that fall within the scope of organizational ombuds. In the first call for nominations, we recognized that it was not specific enough to the needs of the members of the International Ombuds Association.

By Jennifer Swan and Shannon Burton
JIOA Special Issue Editors

Dear Colleagues,

The events of the past two years have brought issues of Social Justice front and center in the United States. Visitors bring concerns related to the complex issues of identity, marginalization, and inclusion impacting their lives in both the workplace and in the classroom. Shepherding the resulting conflicts generates challenges as ombuds strive to stay neutral while considering the impact of social justice on conflict management.

By Neil Katz, PhD

Responding to a recommendation of the HCAS Faculty Advisory Committee, Dean Holly Lynn Baumgartner has appointed Dr. Neil Katz to serve as the first Ombuds for the faculty and staff of the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences and the Guy Harvey Oceanographic Research Center’s seven departments at Nova Southeastern University’s main campus in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Katz will initially serve collateral duties while he maintains his faculty status as a member of the graduate Department of Conflict Resolution Studies (DCRS) offering masters and doctoral degrees.  The Ombuds will be guided by the IOA standards of practice as he consults with office visitors.

Neil Katz brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the new role including 50 years as a professor at five universities, 37 years of which were with the renowned Maxwell School of Syracuse University where he initiated several conflict resolution programs, served as Director of Training for the Executive Education Program, and conducted workshops for over 10,000 supervisors, managers, union leaders, and employees. In addition, he is the author or co-author of over 60 publications including several on organizational ombuds in higher education, the 600+ page ACUS report on The Nature and Value of Ombuds in Federal Agencies (2016) and three editions of the popular book Communication and Conflict Resolution Skills, which has been in print now for 37 years.  During his professional career in academia, he has received many accolades including the Martin Luther King Jr. Human Rights Award from the Syracuse community for career long commitment to principles embodied in Dr. King’s life and work, the Distinguished College Professor of the Year Award at NSU, and an Award for Distinguished Service to the Field of Conflict Resolution from the Association of Conflict Resolution.

By the 2022 Ombuds Day Committee

We need your help! Please continue reading if you are interested in supporting our “Ombuds Day 2022 Proclamation Request-a-thon” scheduled for August 8^th – 12^th, 2022. Volunteering for this effort is a great way to create awareness and improve understanding of the ombuds profession.  It’s also a great way to meet and connect with other ombuds across the nation.   If you’re interested and short on time, you can skip to the bold text below.

By Doriana Vintilă
Ombuds, PetrOmbudsman Department, OMV Petrom S.A.

Dear colleagues,

During the pandemic period, many organizations were surprised at how quickly their employees adapted to doing their jobs remotely. Psychologists told us that compared to other changes, this one was more easily accepted as it happened under a threat – that of an unknow virus we all needed to hide from.

By Shannon Lynn Burton, Ph.D., University Ombudsperson, Michigan State University

Dear Ombuds Colleagues,

I am writing to solicit articles for the September 2022 Just Resolutions e-newsletter.  This edition centers on the work of ombuds and it would be wonderful if we had a number of individuals interested in writing!

By Elizabeth Hill, J.D., CO-OP®
Associate Director, Ombuds Office at the University of Colorado Boulder

Greetings! In October 2021, Caroline Adams, Jenn Mahony, and I established a LinkedIn Discussion Group called OmbudsLinked. It is an independent forum, not affiliated with any of the ombuds associations. The purpose is to create space for all types of practicing ombuds regardless of model, sector, standards of practice, etc. to congregate, network, share information and ideas, build camaraderie, and unite the profession. It is also a closed group, which will hopefully allow members to speak freely without judgment or scrutiny of individuals outside the ombuds profession. Accordingly, members must be invited by a member or request to join. The group administrators monitor the requests to join.

What does the engagement look like?

Each week the administrators, Caroline Adams, Rob Behrens, Elizabeth Hill, and Jennifer Mahony, offer the following:

Ombudsperson, Graduate School at Virginia Tech, 
Independent Voice Blog Editor

What should a single-person ombuds office do when a member of their community contacts the ombuds office about a matter, but the ombuds determines that they have a conflict of interest in working with that individual? 

An inquiry of just this type was recently raised with the IOA by an individual that encountered that situation with their ombuds. In this case, the ombuds told the individual that they could not provide assistance to them. The Ombuds apparently did not explain the basis for the conflict of interest nor suggested any other means to provide assistance to the individual who considered themselves one of the constituents served by the ombuds office. The individual contacted IOA because they thought that the ombuds may have acted improperly and wanted to raise the issue with the IOA. Since the ombuds involved in this situation is not COOP certified and there is no relevant procedure for investigating the conduct of non-certified IOA members, it was established there is no basis for the IOA to become involved. 

The dilemma presented in this case surely is not unique. While it is likely not appropriate in most situations to disclose to an individual the basis for the conflict of interest, is there nothing that the ombuds can do to help an individual receive assistance? Because this may be a recurring problem for single-person ombuds offices, we thought we would offer a suggestion here that an ombuds may want to consider and invite IOA members to suggest other possible options.