Top Ten Findings
2024 IOA Practice Survey
Jennifer Schneider PhD, Timothy Hedeen PhD, Mary Rowe PHD, and Hector Escalante Meza EdD
The International Ombuds Association (IOA) surveyed organizational ombuds around the world regarding various aspects of their practice during the 2023 calendar year. The team responsible for creating the instrument and analyzing results selected a top ten list of interesting findings from survey responses:
- Organizational ombuds work in many different configurations.
- 58% served in full-time ombuds positions; 42% were less than full time.
- 89% were employees of the organization, while 11% were contracted.
- Participants represented all sectors.
Organizational ombuds work in many sectors of the world economy and in many cultures. They may be self-employed, paid by a focal organization or organizations, or paid by contractors who provide ombuds services to organizations (or individuals). This taxonomy describes aspects of OO employment for ombuds who practice as closely as possible to the IOA Standards of Practice (SoP).
2. Organizational ombuds are geographically situated all over the world.
- Ombuds from the United States, Canada, Latin America/Caribbean, Asian-Pacific, Australia/New Zealand, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Africa, and the Middle East participated in the IOA Practice Survey.
3. Ombuds report helping organizations to manage some very serious concerns.
The ombuds office is a zero-barrier space where members of the organization can discuss concerns that they may be reluctant to raise elsewhere. The organizational ombuds can help visitors understand options for reporting these concerns formally, and they almost always can alert leaders to the concerns while protecting the identity of the individual(s) who raised them. The following graph represents the percentage of full-time organizational ombuds who reported observing these serious issues during 2023:
- Some ombuds cases are handled quickly while some require long, hard work.
- Ombuds reported that 28% of cases required less than one hour.
- 67% of cases required between 1 and 100 hours.
- 5% of cases required more than 100 hours.
The time that is needed for handling a case or doing a systemic review varies and does not necessarily relate to the seriousness of the case. Occasionally a concern will come in that needs immediate, safe transfer to leadership or a compliance officer—and the ombuds offers an effective option, consonant with confidentiality, that gets the information where it needs to go. This process sometimes takes only minutes. Thus “seriousness and “time spent” are not synonymous.
Most of ombuds’ work is not “one and done.” Organizational ombuds often spend time understanding complex issues, and often meet with visitors and stakeholders several times to understand and address patterns of concern appropriately. In addition, most of the cases and systemic reviews that take more than 100 hours do relate to serious issues and are saving the time of other managers.
5. Ombuds learn of their “most serious” cases from many sources, including supervisors and organizational leaders.
- 37% of ombuds learned of “most serious” cases from a supervisor.
- 18% of ombuds learned of “most serious” cases from a senior officer within the organization.
While most concerns are raised by persons who feel harmed or targeted, ombuds report learning about issues from a wide range of sources including bystanders, supervisors, organizational leaders, and compliance officers.
6. Ombuds provide safe and credible space for bystanders to share observations.
- 39% of ombuds heard about their “most serious” cases from peers or bystanders
Organizational ombuds also provide space for those not directly involved in a matter to share concerns. When asked from whom they learned of their most serious cases, 38% of full-time ombuds responded that they heard first about issues from peers of the person(s) involved or bystanders. Bystanders’ observations are often powerful indicators of serious or potentially serious issues. While many bystanders may be hesitant to raise matters not directly affecting them to more formal channels, they may find safety in the confidential and informal space that is the ombuds office.
7. Ombuds work with compliance offices to address systemic issues.
- 97% of ombuds work with compliance offices
Organizational ombuds are key players in comprehensive, integrated conflict management systems. Ombuds should not and do not work in total isolation. Survey data show that almost all full-time ombuds work with compliance offices—such as legal, Title IX and human resources—to help them to identify, address and manage systemic concerns.
8. Ombuds get critical information where it needs to go.
While the International Ombuds Association’s Standards of Practice require that ombuds protect confidential information, ombuds are committed to supporting the organization and getting critical information where it needs to go. When asked how they helped with communications in their most serious cases in 2023, full-time ombuds reported the following:
A few ombuds reported breaching confidentiality either because they were required to do so by their organizations (4%) or because they perceived an imminent risk of harm (5%). These facts underscore the point that ombuds can and will breach confidentiality if they judge this to be necessary to prevent harm.
9. Ombuds help leaders.
In addition to the ombuds’ responsibilities to receive and respond to concerns, they are committed to proactively helping leaders lead. Of full-time ombuds who responded to the survey:
- 95% helped organizational leaders and managers to be seen as approachable, fair and inclusive
- 96% coached leaders about managing conflict
- 95% looked into matters informally, potentially reducing the number of formal complaints
10. Ombuds make critical contributions to organizations.
The IOA Practice Survey highlighted key accomplishments reported by organizational ombuds across many countries and across many sectors. These findings affirm that organizational ombuds:
- Foster important bridges between colleagues, units, and agencies: Most (75%) full-time ombuds reported that they helped foster an important "bridge" between colleagues, units or agencies
- Improve morale and retention: 71% of full-time ombuds reported that they contributed to improvement in morale or retention in a department or unit
- Identify significant new issues or patterns of concern: 68% of full-time ombuds reported identifying a significant new issue or pattern of concerns that were not well known or were being ignored
- Contribute to changes in policies, procedures, and organizational structure:
- 55% of full-time ombuds reported contributing to a change in a procedure
- 43% of full-time ombuds contributed to a change in policy
- 21% reported that their work had likely resulted in a change in organizational structure
- Bring attention to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging: More than half (53%) of full-time ombuds reported that they contributed significantly to increased attention to diversity/equity/inclusion/belonging.
- Reduce the risk of reputational harm to the organization: Half (50%) of full-time ombuds reported contributing to a significant reduction of reputational risk for the organization or individuals by settling a serious dispute
- Contribute to the safe handling of early warnings or whistleblowing: 46% of full-time ombuds reported effective safe handling of an "early warning" or whistleblowing
- Reduce costs associated with lawsuits or formal complaints: 39% of full-time ombuds reported contributing to significant cost savings from reduction in lawsuits or formal complaints (under FOIA, EEO, OSHA, etc.)
- Help prevent disastrous outcomes to conflict, including criminal activity: 37% of full-time ombuds reported a high probability of having helped to prevent a likely disastrous outcome
- Help to save lives: 20% reported a high probability of having helped to save a life
I want to thank the authors for compiling and sharing these valuable insights from the 2024 IOA Practice Survey. As I begin my fourth year as an ombuds, following over 20 years in mediation, data like this is invaluable. It deepened my understanding of the organizational ombuds' role and highlighted how we contribute meaningfully to visitors and the broader organization. Thank you again for providing such important information.
Dear Jennifer and Colleagues, I’ve got lots of questions on an interesting data set! 1. I’m interested in the study design. How was the survey distributed? Was the survey sent to all IOA members? Only IOA members who are organizational ombuds? What was the participation rate? How many participated? Were the respondents (those that participated in the survey) reflective of the population (i.e., all those that received the survey)? 2. The number of hours to resolve a case (question #4) may need a closer look. Is it possible to use different intervals to show the number of hours it takes to resolve a case? Anecdotally, for me, the mode number of meetings with a visitor is probably 1 -- but that initial visit typically lasts more than one hour (and would be “buried” in the way you present the data). 3. Same question #4. 5\% of cases took more than 100 hours? That doesn’t seem very efficient and would create bottlenecks in the typical Ombuds Office! 4. What did you learn that was surprising? For me, the responses to question 1 were surprising. I thought I was one of the few ombuds who worked part-time! Keep up the great work! Thanks! Scott
Excellent data. Thank you to the team for your work putting the survey together, gathering the data, and sharing the results!
Thank you! This will be very helpful for a panel presentation I am participating in next month. I appreciate your efforts in gathering, preparing and disseminating this information. Well done.
very insightful. thanks you for the research and the report.