By Liz Hill, MWI’s Director of Communications and Development
Most organizations give employees different ways to raise concerns and get help, including HR, managers, employee relations, ethics and compliance channels, employee assistance programs, and other resources.
But even with good resources in place, employees don’t always know what they want to do when something challenging happens at work. They may know exactly where to go but aren’t sure they’re ready to go there. Or they may have no idea which resource, if any, makes sense.
They may be trying to figure out what they want to accomplish, what their options are, what might happen if they raise their concern, or whether there’s another way to approach it. And if they do decide to raise it, they may want help thinking through how to do so effectively.
When people aren’t sure what to do, concerns can go unaddressed. A difficult working relationship can deteriorate, a misunderstanding can grow into a larger conflict, or an issue the organization would want to know about may never reach the people who could help address it.
Sometimes, people simply need a place to talk through what’s happening, consider their options, and decide what next step makes sense for them. That’s where TrustPoint comes in.
What is TrustPoint?
TrustPoint is MWI’s organizational ombuds service, designed to give employees and leaders an independent, confidential place to work through workplace concerns, understand their options, and decide how they want to move forward.
It complements an organization’s existing resources, such as HR, compliance, and EAP, by adding an organizational ombuds resource with a distinct role. Ombuds help people think through difficult situations, prepare for conversations, identify resources, explore possible solutions, and make informed decisions about what they want to do next. They do not investigate, make decisions, or take sides.
TrustPoint adheres to the International Ombuds Association Standards of Practice and Code of Ethics and is built around the principles of independence, confidentiality, impartiality, and informality. Those four principles matter. But if you’ve never worked with an ombuds, they may not tell you much about what actually happens when someone contacts one. So, let’s take a look.
It starts with a conversation
When someone contacts a TrustPoint ombuds, they don’t need to know exactly what they need or decide in advance whether they want to make a report, address the problem directly, involve someone else, or take any action at all. The ombuds starts by listening and helping the person make sense of the situation. What happened? What matters most to them? What would they like to be different? What have they already tried? What options might they have?
From there, the conversation can go in lots of directions. The ombuds might help someone think through the possible benefits and consequences of different options, find the right resource within the organization, prepare for a difficult conversation, consider how someone else might see the situation, or practice what they want to say. They might explore ways to resolve a conflict or simply help someone sort through a complicated situation before deciding what, if anything, they want to do.
The ombuds doesn’t investigate the concern, decide who’s right or wrong, or tell the person what they should do. Instead, the ombuds helps people better understand their situation, their options, and how they might move forward so they can make an informed decision. What happens next remains up to the individual.
It works alongside the resources you already have
Organizations need HR, legal, compliance, ethics hotlines, employee relations, managers, employee assistance programs, and other resources. Each has an important role, and an organizational ombuds has a different one.
Because TrustPoint is an independent, confidential, impartial, and informal resource, people can talk through a situation without automatically starting a formal process or committing themselves to a particular course of action. Sometimes that conversation helps someone use an existing organizational resource more effectively.
Someone hesitant to approach HR may leave an ombuds conversation prepared to do exactly that. Someone unsure how to raise an issue with a manager may leave with a plan for the conversation. Someone considering a formal complaint may decide that’s the right next step or discover another option that better addresses what they want to accomplish. And someone who didn’t know where to turn may leave knowing which resource can help.
The point isn’t to steer people away from existing resources. It’s to help them make informed choices about whether, when, and how to use them, while also exploring other constructive options that may be available.
The organization benefits, too
When people have a place to work through concerns, consider their options, prepare for difficult conversations, and find the right resources, some problems can be addressed before they become harder to resolve. People are better equipped to navigate workplace challenges, and that can help existing organizational resources work more effectively.
Individual conversations remain confidential, but that doesn’t mean concerns necessarily stay within the ombuds office. With the individual’s permission, an ombuds may help bring a concern forward, facilitate a conversation, or work with others in the organization to help address an issue. The individual remains in control of what information can be shared.
Because ombuds hear from people across different roles, teams, levels, and locations, they have a unique vantage point on what people are experiencing at work. Across those confidential conversations, themes and patterns can also emerge. Without identifying the people who contacted the ombuds or revealing confidential information, the ombuds can share anonymized insights with organizational leaders. Those insights can help leaders recognize recurring concerns, understand where people are struggling with a process or policy, identify emerging issues, and see opportunities to strengthen the organization.
The ombuds doesn’t replace employee surveys, reporting systems, HR data, or other sources of organizational information. It adds something different: a perspective shaped by confidential conversations with people who may not otherwise share what they are experiencing. That’s part of what makes an organizational ombuds a resource for both the individual and the organization.
What TrustPoint brings to the organization
TrustPoint gives organizations a team of experienced organizational ombuds, providing flexibility, responsiveness, and greater availability across locations and time zones.
Our ombuds also take the time to get to know the organizations they serve. They meet regularly with key stakeholders to understand the organization’s culture, structure, policies, resources, and emerging needs. They build trust and awareness of the program through presentations, workshops, written communications, and other outreach so employees and leaders understand what the ombuds does, how to reach one, and when the resource might be useful.
Behind that team is MWI’s broader support and infrastructure. SOC 2 Type II security controls help protect program data, while dedicated technology and data expertise support secure data collection, analysis, reporting, and customized dashboards.
Together, these resources allow TrustPoint to adapt to an organization’s needs while maintaining the independence and confidentiality that are fundamental to the ombuds role.
Making organizational ombuds easier to understand
Over the coming months, we’ll share more about how TrustPoint works, what organizational ombuds do, how they work alongside HR and other organizational resources, what organizations can learn from the concerns people bring forward, and what this work looks like in practice.
Sometimes people simply need someone to help them figure out what they can do.
How MWI Supports Organizations
TrustPoint works with existing organizational resources to help address workplace concerns early, before they become harder and more costly to resolve. By giving employees and leaders an independent, confidential resource to work through concerns and identify constructive paths forward, TrustPoint can help prevent problems from escalating and support more effective responses to workplace challenges.
Learn more about TrustPoint.
