What is a Conference Ombuds and Why You Need One at Your Next Event
By Josh Hoch, MWI’s Director of Ombuds Services
If you’ve ever attended a conference, you’ve likely experienced the challenge of navigating sessions, meeting new people, and juggling multiple conversations. Between rushing to workshops and managing a packed schedule, it’s easy for misunderstandings and conflicts to arise among attendees. This is where a conference ombuds can help.
What is a Conference Ombuds?
A conference ombuds is an impartial, independent, informal, and confidential resource who helps conference participants manage, address, and surface concerns during events. The ombuds serves as an impartial third party, supporting attendees, speakers, exhibitors, and organizers to create a more positive, fair, and productive conference experience.
Why Do Conferences Need a Conference Ombuds?
Conferences bring together hundreds or thousands of people with different expectations, interests, and backgrounds. Even with thoughtful planning, issues can arise, including scheduling conflicts, misunderstandings, inappropriate behavior, or the general stress of managing many moving parts.
A conference ombuds provides a trusted, informal resource for addressing these concerns before they escalate. Because the ombuds operates confidentially and impartially, participants are often more willing to raise concerns early.
In addition, the ombuds provides valuable upward feedback to conference organizers by sharing anonymized themes and insights. This allows organizers to make real-time adjustments and improve future events without exposing the identities of those who raised concerns.
How a Conference Ombuds Helps During an Event
The role of a conference ombuds is dynamic and responsive to the needs of the event. Here are several ways an ombuds supports participants and organizers:
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Conflict Resolution
Whether it is a disagreement between attendees, a speaker feeling overlooked, or an exhibitor raising concerns, the ombuds provides a confidential space to talk through the situation and explore options. Addressing issues early helps prevent small concerns from becoming larger disruptions.
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Providing Guidance and Support
An ombuds helps participants think through options, clarify next steps, and navigate conference resources or policies. This can be especially helpful for first-time attendees or in unfamiliar situations.
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Supporting Inclusivity and Respect
When concerns arise related to inclusion, respect, or professional conduct, the ombuds provides a confidential space to process what happened and consider informal or formal options for addressing the situation.
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Improving Communication
With many moving parts, communication breakdowns can happen. The ombuds helps clarify misunderstandings and, when appropriate, shares anonymized feedback to help align expectations across groups.
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Sharing Upward Feedback
The ombuds identifies patterns and emerging concerns and shares anonymized insights with organizers. This helps improve both the current event and future conferences.
How Participants Benefit from a Conference Ombuds
For participants, having access to a conference ombuds creates a sense of safety and support during the event.
For example, a first-time attendee who is unsure how to address a concern or feels uncomfortable in a session can speak with the ombuds and explore options without pressure.
Similarly, someone who experiences or witnesses inappropriate behavior can talk through what happened and consider next steps, including informal approaches or formal reporting options if needed.
Conferences are often a significant investment of time and resources. When participants know that an impartial resource is available, it increases trust, confidence, and overall engagement.
Conclusion
While attention at conferences often focuses on speakers, sessions, and networking, a conference ombuds plays a vital behind-the-scenes role. By supporting individuals, identifying emerging concerns, and helping organizers respond thoughtfully, the ombuds contributes to a more positive, inclusive, and well-managed event experience.
To learn more about how a conference ombuds can support your event, visit our conference ombuds services page.
To discuss Conference Ombuds Services, contact Josh Hoch at
617-895-4028,
jhoch@mwi.org, or
schedule a time to speak.
Elise Ramos wrote this article. Elise is an ombuds and program coordinator with MWI. She can be reached at
eramos@mwi.org.
