The costs associated with unresolved conflict among employees within an organization can be crippling. Using an ombudsman to help employees resolve problems they are having with their co-workers or supervisors/managers improves moral, work-force cohesion and reduces the chances that an otherwise manageable problem can morph into an expensive lawsuit.

An ombudsman is an independent information resource, communications channel, complaint handler and dispute resolver. He or she is designated by the organization as neutral and independent and able to offer confidentiality to those who come to them. This last is an important difference from human resources, which may be obligated to report allegations and put in motion government involvement that might otherwise be avoided. I am available to help establish an ombudsman program for your organization; I can also act as an outside ombudsman. https://www.ombudsassociation.org/

Most of the Fortune 500 corporations, the majority of the country’s top private and state universities and many government agencies have robust and successful ombudsman programs; even smaller organizations can establish an ombudsman office. There is no reason why your organization can’t benefit from deploying this extremely effective conflict resolution program.