Staff Ombudsperson
The staff ombudsperson serves as a neutral representative and an advocate for fairness who can provide information, referrals and guidance to overcome workplace problems and challenges. The ombudsperson also serves as a contact for employees to report concerns in instances where they are uncomfortable reporting them through their traditional chain of command or for other ethical concerns. The staff ombudsperson receives and triages the ethics hotline reports received through EthicsPoint, which is a third party vendor. The ombudsperson does not handle actual investigations.
The ombudsperson is neither an advocate for any individual nor the organization, but rather, an advocate for fairness.
The staff ombudsperson also provides guidance and resources to help facilitate the establishment and structure of employee resource groups (ERGs) to ensure sustainability. The ombudsperson provides support to the ERGs and actively participates, identifying opportunities for improvement and change.