29 July, 2026

Over the past several weeks, I have spoken with many ombuds who feel misunderstood and, at times, under attack. Concerns about confidentiality have been especially prominent.

The ombuds role is both unique and frequently misunderstood. How ombuds operate—and why confidentiality is so essential to building trust and effectiveness—is not always well understood. Confidentiality is fundamental not only to supporting stakeholders, but also the organization.

Data security is critical for Organizational Ombuds. Many offices have developed excellent relationships with your IT departments to ensure data is both secure and independent from other systems. Many of you discourage email contact from visitors to protect their confidentiality and/or use 3rd party scheduling software like Calendly or Doodle. And many of you have retention policies that help manage confidential information.  

Yet as a field, we also heavily rely on exit surveys as a method to follow up with visitors regarding the impact of the ombuds, and there are offices that can only send those surveys out through mainstream organizational platforms. Given the number of technology breaches in today’s world, we encourage you to explore other channels to connect with visitors post-meeting, and to audit both your tech systems and digital communications for any new vulnerabilities.

In 2023, we alerted ombuds to the digital footprint Microsoft Teams leaves and encouraged ombuds to review Zoom or other virtual platforms for similar footprints. In 2025, we encourage you to review both your intake and post-meeting procedures, including surveys, for any possible digital footprint.