Co-Founder of Bravely on Why Organizations Need Ombuds

In an article contributed to Forbes, Sarah Sheehan says that the allegations of sexual harassment and pay disparity in the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign exemplified the need for organizations to have an Ombuds. Sheehan is a co-founder of Bravely, an online company that offers an independent and external Ombuds service. She says that Sanders' promises of new promises to address the problems, calls to mind the concept of an Ombuds: 

...a designated neutral party whose major function is to provide independent, impartial, and confidential assistance to employees within government, organizations, and even the military. (If you’ve worked at a large organization like Coca-Cola or Amex, perhaps you’re familiar with the term.) Ombuds are not required to report their conversations to leadership, giving people the opportunity to be open and honest about the challenges they’re facing—especially women who might otherwise fear retribution or retaliation.

So why is a third party so critical to this kind of conflict resolution? "The goal of the independent resource is to have an expert that's outside of the institutional structures that someone can safely go to and say, 'I'd like to share my experience confidentially,'" says Rebecca Johnson, a lobbyist who worked to prevent sexual harassment within on Capitol Hill. [Source] Beyond government, this same thinking applies to organizations across industries. If women feel like they have someone to share their concerns with, they’ll be more likely to go forward when they’re dealing with an issue that’s impacting their productivity, engagement, or worse, safety.

(Forbes.)

Related posts: Tech Startup Aims to Outsource Ombuds Services.