About one third of employees observe misconduct in the workplace.
Some will confront the offender directly. Some will report the misconduct to management.
Others won’t report it at all. And that last category is larger in organizations without a confidential and informal reporting channel, usually staffed with one or more organizational ombudsmen.
An ombudsman program allows employees to raise concerns in an informal way. The organization is not put on notice of the wrongdoing without the permission of the employee. For many employees, this is the safe harbor they need to talk things through, to understand their options, to decide if it is safe to formally report the wrongdoing.
From the organization’s perspective, an ombudsman program provides psychological air to employees and sheds light in the dark corners.
We can’t address the risks we don’t see.
For more, check out the International Ombudsman Association‘s website.
The Ethical Leader 
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