A communication alternative: this ombud's for you.

Let's set the record straight right from the beginning; the word, 'ombudsman,' has at least three strikes against it. First of all, those of us who work for companies with offices in Asia must be prepared to explain this strange-sounding word of Scandinavian-derivation. Secondly, even most English speakers are probably not familiar with the term, and lastly, 'ombudsman' can be considered sexist. So, for now, 'ombudsperson' it is, at least until a better alternative comes along -- and we'll look at this naming issue in more detail later in this article.

In recent years, companies have seen the benefit of creating environments conducive to open communication. Progressive managers have realized that the best systems in the best companies won't work if one bad manager retaliates against an employee who raises an issue. And, even among the best employees at the best companies, there may be individuals who do not feel comfortable challenging fellow employees or managers on sensitive issues. Enter the corporate ombudsperson.

An ombudsperson is a neutral individual who listens, counsels, arbitrates and investigates to solve problems between employees, employees and managers, and managers and other managers. According to the Ombudsman Association, McLean, Va., a high proportion of the cases involve career concerns: performance evaluations and rewards, promotions and demotions, career development, terminations, transfers and reassignments, disciplinary measures, probation, job grading, job security, and retirement. In the U.S., there are something like 200 companies with corporate ombudspeople, many of whom belong to the Ombudsman Association (see sidebar). National Semiconductor, based in Santa Clara, Calif., a company of 27,000 employees in the U.S., Europe, the Middle East and Asia, recently became one of this select group of U.S. companies with a corporate ombuds program.

Setting up a program

The initiative to set up an ombudsperson program at National came from a "Corporate Action Team" of employees from around the world. Prior to hiring an ombudsperson, however, there was a host of questions that needed answers. Would this person report to Employee Communication, or to some other internal organization? What are the legal considerations? How would employees access the ombudsperson? What skill set would be required of the individual who ultimately would be chosen for the position, and finally, and this speaks to the naming issue, what should this position be called?

Because the company is aggressively creating a total quality team environment, the senior executive sponsoring this initiative asked me to head a team to attempt to answer these questions. Other members of this team were a director of human resources, a corporate attorney, and an employee-member of the corporate action team. Two and a half months after the formation of the team, a corporate ombudsperson was hired from internal applicants.

An ombudsperson for a large defense industry company led me to the Ombudsman Association which, I learned, has an impressive 400-page "Ombudsman Handbook" available to new members. This invaluable book examines all of the issues listed above -- and more. It's been compiled by the association's members and it's replete with case studies and background information on everything from logistics to legalities. Any company considering an ombudsperson program needs this handbook as a reference.

Requirements of the job

The Ombudsman Association Code of Ethics helps to define the position: "The ombudsman, as a designated neutral, has the responsibility of maintaining strict confidentiality concerning matters that are brought to his or her attention. The only exception, at the sole discretion of the ombudsman, is the instance of threat to physical safety of others and/or threat to company assets. The ombudsman has the responsibility to ensure that any records or files pertaining to confidential discussions with clients are safe from inspection at all times by other employees, including management at all levels..."

So where in the organization does a neutral individual report? He or she needs a neutral home -- one that isn't shared with line management. Some companies choose support organizations such as legal, or finance. A logical choice is employee communication. Human resources is ruled out in many companies because employees may come to the ombudsperson precisely because they haven't achieved satisfaction from their human resources representatives.

In the case of National Semiconductor, the team opted to have the ombudsperson report directly to the chief administrative officer (CAO), a senior vice president who reports directly to the president and CEO. This was done for three reasons. First, it was determined that the CAO office is neutral, without specific allegiances that could potentially compromise confidentiality requirements. Second, the message to the employee population would be clear; the position is serious with high level visibility. Last, for the ombudsperson to have the power necessary to resolve issues between all levels of employees and management, he/she must have CEO endorsement of the position and, if necessary, direct access to him.

The attorney member of the team studied the chapter on legal issues in the Ombudsman Handbook and other sources and suggested that most considerations were "ethical," rather than "legal." He summarized: 1) An ombudsperson may reveal confidences if his/her client waives right to confidentiality. This is critical because in many, if not most instances, the ombudsperson may have difficulty solving a problem unless he/she can speak about the issues to another individual -- such as a manager. 2) An ombudsperson may reveal confidences to his/her support staff, as necessary, to accomplish his/her mission. This exception is similar to the need for support staff in a doctor's office to have access to confidential records. 3) An ombudsperson may be required to reveal confidences by means of a valid court order. Companies with an ombudsperson program, therefore, should agree not to subpoena the ombudsperson to produce records, or to testify. 4) An ombudsperson should maintain confidentiality even if his/her client has revealed the same confidential communication to a third party who is not bound to keep that information confidential.

With the job fairly well defined, the next step was to determine how employees would access the ombudsperson. This may not be an issue in companies with one or two major locations, but it is certainly a consideration in a multinational company with plants and offices throughout the world. Obviously, employees could feel free to call, fax, use E-mail, or even write a letter. The team opted for all of these options and one more. The model was IBM's Speak Up! program, in which employees send written comments to administrators who forward them on (minus the name of the correspondent) to appropriate managers for action. By combining the two programs, employees throughout the world use local language forms to send a request to either the ombudsperson, or to the local human resources manager. International publicity for the position and the function would be made through the usual employee communication vehicles -- the company newspaper, videos and posters. In addition, when the fiscal year budget was determined, money was set aside for travel to all of the sites.

Regardless of your company, the ombudsperson must demonstrate specific critical skills. For example, the person chosen for this position must have the ability to get along well with individuals of different backgrounds and positions. He/she must feel comfortable working with all levels of management, and be a skilled problem solver. Also, this person should be highly organized because employees must learn to trust that they will receive a timely answer to their requests for assistance. In National Semiconductor's case, the team opted to require that the ombudsperson be a long-term employee who is familiar with the organization, structure and environment of the company.

So what's in a name?

The team spent hours debating the name issue. How about employee advocate? That was vetoed because this is not an advocate position; this person must be absolutely neutral. We looked at acronyms -- for example, director of the CARES (Confidential Alternatives Result in Employee Satisfaction). That was higher on the list than employee advocate but it was also turned down for two good reasons. Employees would not always be satisfied (after all, the ombudsperson may recommend actions that don't satisfy the client) and the acronym works in English, but not in other languages. The team eventually decided to stay with the Scandinavian word and promote it within the company. As for the gender issue, because a male was ultimately hired, National opted to call this person an "ombudsman."

The ombudsman who was hired, David Steenhausen, has worked for National Semiconductor for 18 years. Because he came from the marketing department, and his background is not human resources or counseling, he is learning-by-experience training. In addition, in late July, he attended the Ombudsman 101 course offered in Washington, D.C. by the Ombudsman Association.

Any company even thinking about an ombudsperson program must wrestle with a potential contradiction in terms. Why would a company with an open communication environment need a person, who by the very nature of the position, can escalate issues around managers and the existing human resources organization? The only answer can be that systems are not 100-percent perfect. Organizations must be willing to create alternatives to their accepted processes. The National Semiconductor team discussed this issue at great length. The guidelines we eventually developed state that the ombudsperson should encourage but not require employees to attempt to resolve their problem(s) through their normal human resources or management chain. As such, when the ombudsperson begins working with employee clients, he or she always asks if they have considered their existing problem resolution channels. One executive at National half-seriously suggested offering the ombudsman a large bonus in five years if, by the very nature of the problems he solves, and the systems he puts in place, his job becomes unnecessary. Time will tell whether a person in this position can help a company achieve this ultimate vision of employee communication.

An ombudsperson does provide an avenue of internal dialogue, yet the individual cannot automatically create trust within an organization. That can only come if the company allows -- in fact, promotes -- communication and honesty at all times with employees. The ombudsperson's role is invaluable, however, as a key communication program in an overall environment of openness.

Mark Levine is senior manager, employee communication, for National Semiconductor in Santa Clara, Calif.

OMBUDS RESOURCES

Listed below are the name, addresses and organizational affiliations of members of the Ombudsman Association who have indicated they would be available for consultation about the ombudsman function. Write to them for further information about the services they will offer.

-- Dawn Duquet, consultant, 118 Bathurst, Pointe Claire, PQ, Canada H954Z8

-- Louis R. Garcia, chief ombudsman TIAA-CREF and president, Ombudsman Association, 730 3rd Ave., New York, NY 10017

-- Eugene T. Herbert, Ombudsman -- International Monetary Fund and Ombudsman Association executive director, P.O. Box 1246, McLean, VA 22101-1246.

-- Lewis Redding, assistant personnel manager -- MIT Lincoln Laboratory, 244 Wood St., Lexington, MA 02173-0073.

-- Vincent Riley, ombudsman, The World Bank, 1818 H. St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433.

-- Mary Rowe, special assistant to the president, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Room 10-213, 77 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02139

-- Carole M. Trocchio, franchise liaison manager, The Southland Corporation, 2711 N. Haskell Ave., Dallas, TX 75204

CREATING AN OMBUDS PROGRAM

The recommendation to create an ombudsperson position at National Semiconductor in Santa Clara, Calif., came from a "Corporate Action Team" of employees who were charged with studying the results of an employee survey and developing improvement recommendations for the company's management. Eighteen employees from U.S. plants, as well as plants and/or offices in Malaysia, Singapore, Israel, Hong Kong and the U.K. spent two weeks in the corporate headquarters, eventually recommending eight improvement suggestions for the company, including the ombudsperson program. The recommendations were accepted in early March and David Steenhausen, an 18-year National Semiconductor employee, started work as ombudsman on June 1.

THE OMBUDSMAN ASSOCIATION

The Ombudsman Association was formed in 1984 so that individuals in the role could meet, share experiences and learn from others. The association holds an annual conference, sponsors research to study the function and effectiveness of ombuds programs, and sets standards for the profession. To become a member, an individual must be acting as a neutral party and must be willing to subscribe to the Association's code of ethics. Members come from major corporations in the U.S. and Canada, as well as from public sector organizations, educational institutions and health care facilities. Besides the annual meeting, the association sponsors "Ombuds 101" for individuals entering the profession. The Ombudsman Handbook will be sent to new members. For more information, contact: E.T. Herbert, executive director, Ombudsman Association, P.O. Box 1246, McLean, VA 22101-1246.