HR & Ombuds: What's the Difference

The chief people officer said, ‘we have that already’. 

Recently, I spoke with an entertainment company about installing an Ombuds program. As I shared the Ombuds role, the chief people officer stopped me.  He said, we already have that.

Curious, I asked a few more questions.  While the concept of an organizational Ombuds has been around since the 1960’s,very few companies today know what an Ombuds is, much less, invest in this valuable organizational wellbeing resource.Turns out that he did not have an Ombuds.  He had an ethics officer as part of his human resources team, not an organizational Ombuds.

What is an Ombuds, anyway?

Nothing delights me more than sharing what the Ombuds role entails (except maybe how to say it: Ahms-bud).  The International Ombuds Association defines an Ombuds as:

An organizational ombuds is an individual who serves as a designated neutral within a specific organization and provides conflict resolution and problem-solving.

I define an organizational Ombuds as a conflict management expert who serves a dual purpose with an organization: 

-to provide a neutral, safe, confidential space for employees to share their experiences, interests and concerns and get guidance to the resources or coaching to find a workable solution 

-while offering senior leadership a glimpse into employee experience, sharing hidden issues and trends that enable leadership to make informed decisions, reduce burnout and increase trust and retention.

That’s a mouthful so I coined the term ‘Ombuddy’, a friendly person who helps employees navigate their workplace, manage conflict and increase their EQ and communication skills. Ombuds bridge the communication between employees and leadership.

What’s the difference between Ombuds and HR?

Great question.  The difference between HR and Ombuds lies in purpose, perception and practices.

Purpose

Traditionally, the purpose of HR was to guide employee lifecycle from recruitment to hiring to onboarding, training and termination. HR was there to keep the company running smoothly.The role has evolved over time, though.  According to a McKinsey & Co, HR has a new purpose after the pandemic to help companies to find its purpose, live its values and scale. HR leaders are part of the business strategy conversation. But in both of those explanations, HR is focused on the company, not the employees.

The purpose of Ombuds is to find the best resource or solution possible for both the employees and the company.  Ombuds are people-focused but not advocates for employees.

Perception

This is hard to say, but it’s true.  Employees have a negative perception of human resources.  An HBR survey found that employees would prefer to talk with their manager or a friend about workplace issues before going to HR. That’s startling when you consider that 47% of employees don’t feel safe sharing frustrations with their manager and believe their manager will not advocate for them.

37% of employees believe that HR is more concerned with compliance than advocating for them. I believe based on the conversations I’ve had with employees over the years that the number is actually higher.

How do ombuds inspire trust in the people who contact us? As humans, we learn to trust someone through a series of experiences with them, or past experiences in the same context. Here’s an example.

Have you ever had a valet park your car? Think about it. You hand over property worth tens of thousands of dollars to a perfect stranger. Why?

You see the podium with the pegboard of keys. The person is wearing a jacket that says valet on the back. You’re in front of your favorite restaurant who hired the valet company. These are all trust triggers. Indicators that you can trust this situation and act accordingly.

How do ombuds build trust with callers? We hand them the reigns. We explain the process of working with an ombuds so callers know that our discussion, and even the fact that they called, will be kept confidential. We won’t tell a soul unless we learn they plan to hurt someone, themselves, or commit a crime. Callers control:

• when we meet
• what we discuss
• whether or not the ombuds has permission to talk with others about the situation
• the outcome or next steps in the conversation
• when the conversation ends

Our role is to help employees become more resourceful and to empower them to solve their own issues. People work better when they feel they have control over the work and work life.

Practice

HR professionals are skilled at many things: recruiting, onboarding, training, benefits/compensation, employee planning.  They possess good communication skills.  But many HR professionals report that they don’t possess conflict management skills. Typically, HR helps employees learn how to resolve conflicts by sending them to training or suggesting books to read.

Some HR folks find managing employees conflicts  to be a time-consuming task that detracts from their abilities to be more strategic inside their organization.

Ombuds are typically conflict management experts who are also knowledgeable about emotional intelligence and coaching.  A large part of the role is helping visitors to find options for resolving whatever issues they present.  Ombuds frequently coach on how to handle disputes with co-workers and managers.

Ombuds also host facilitated discussions, which are similar to mediation, to assist employees to clear the air, share intentions and find a way to move forward.  Employees tend to be more open and candid because conversations with the Ombuds are confidential.

Companies that have an Ombuds program and a HR team benefit by having an informal and formal process for addressing work-related issues, which increases the levels of employee engagement and trust.  People are more productive when they can focus on work instead of work conflicts.

If you think an Ombuds program might be a good fit for your company, let’s talk