MWI Organizational Ombuds Panel Manual: Completing Matters and Visitor Records in Salesforce

Select the category or categories that best represent the prominent issues, concerns, questions, or feedback shared by the visitor.

A single Matter may contain multiple issues and therefore may require multiple MWI reporting categories.

View the MWI Data Categories .

This field helps modify concern categories when there is an added component related to a visitor’s experience, identity, or background.

Provide a brief paragraph describing the visitor’s concern or concerns.

Include enough detail to support the selected reporting categories while maintaining confidentiality.

If the Matter reflects a theme, pattern, or trend you have observed in previous Matters, briefly describe it.

If no pattern exists, leave the field blank.

Examples:

• Managers not being open to constructive feedback.
• Lack of cultural sensitivity from managers.
• Unclear application of work-from-home policy.

Select the direction of the relationship between the visitor and the individuals, groups, or systems involved.

• Up: Concern involves an individual, group, or office with authority over the visitor.
• Down: Concern involves an individual or group over whom the visitor has authority.
• Parallel: Concern involves individuals or groups at the same level.
• Self: Concern is intrapersonal.
• Other: Concern involves policies, systems, or other factors.

Select the level of impact based on the number of people affected, severity of the issue, and level of involvement.

• High: Affects many constituents, involves senior leadership, includes significant policy or legal concerns, or presents substantial reputational, financial, or mission-related risk.
• Medium: Affects multiple constituents, involves mid-level leadership, or includes some policy concerns.
• Low: Involves a single visitor or has minimal impact on others.

Select all categories that describe how the visitor’s concern is affecting, or could affect, the organization.

If no listed category applies, select Other and describe the impact in the designated field.

Select all actions taken to assist the visitor.

If you took an action that is not represented in the available selections, choose Other Action and describe the activity performed.

Provide a brief paragraph describing what the visitor ultimately did and how the situation changed.

Sample outcome:

If the visitor becomes unresponsive and the outcome is unknown, enter Unknown.

Use this field to provide additional detail beyond the selected Ombuds Actions.

Example:

Document any institutional resources, offices, programs, or services to which the visitor was referred.

If no referral was provided, enter N/A.

Use the No Info button only when you have no information about the visitor or the situation that prompted the outreach.

When this option is selected, the Matter can be closed without completing Matter fields, and the visitor will not receive a feedback survey.

If you have any information from an initial contact, voicemail, email, or web submission, complete the Matter to the best of your ability using available information. For fields that cannot be completed, select N/A when appropriate.

Enter as much visitor information as possible into the Contact Information section.

• All identifying information will be redacted once the Matter is closed.
• A last name is required to begin creating a Visitor record.
• If a visitor wishes to remain anonymous, enter Anonymous in the Last Name field.
• Additional information such as an email address and phone number may be added later.

Salesforce includes a feature that allows you to pull visitor information from the Potential Visitor database.

1. Open the Matter.
2. Click the dropdown arrow next to the Edit button.
3. Select Find Visitor Information.
4. Search using the visitor’s name or email address.

Select the visitor’s preferred method of communication.

Contact preference also determines how visitor surveys are delivered after a Matter is closed.

If a visitor contacts you after a previous Matter, mark them as a Return Visitor.

Indicate whether the visitor is returning regarding:

• The same concern discussed previously.
• A completely different concern.

If a visitor submits a webform before meeting with the ombuds, their submission will appear in the Visitor Submission field.

Review this information before your initial meeting whenever possible.

The Ombuds Notes field functions as a personal notepad while you are working with a visitor.

A Person of Concern is an individual whose behavior may have negatively impacted one or more visitors and whose conduct may not otherwise be adequately addressed through existing organizational channels.

Identifying a Person of Concern helps the ombuds team and MWI evaluate whether broader organizational attention may be warranted.

Consider using this field when:

• Visitors are afraid to raise concerns directly.
• Prior interventions have not been effective.
• Formal processes appear ineffective or are perceived as protecting the individual.
• The behavior is sufficiently serious that organizational leaders may need to be informed.

Use this field to record verbal or written feedback shared by visitors regarding their experience with the ombuds resource.

Visitors will also receive a formal feedback survey when their Matter is closed.

Ask visitors how they learned about the ombuds resource.

Record that information in the Referral Details field to help track outreach and engagement efforts.

If demographic information is not available through the Find Visitor Information feature, ask the visitor how they identify in the following areas:

• Race or ethnicity
• Gender
• Generation or age group
• Length of employment at their institution

Explain that demographic information is anonymized and will not be shared with the client in a way that could identify the visitor.