We highly regard four key principles: Informality, Independence, Impartiality, and, above all, Confidentiality. This last principle is not just important; it's crucial to our work and your trust in us.  This means you can be confident that we will not discuss or distribute any information about you to another person without your consent (unless there is a threat against yourself or others). We usually take notes during their work. These documents are not public and will be destroyed securely afterwards.

Whakawhanaungatanga

We acknowledge that you have been having difficult conversations with the people around you, and for some, you do not know what to do. When you are dealing with distressed people and you feel stuck, be present and listen.  Please refer people to other resources on this website, and know that we are on hand to help you manage the strong feelings that surface.

When attending a mediation, facilitation or coaching session, we encourage you to have support during any process. Here are some tips to get the best support for your purpose.

Being neurodivergent means being different from a neurotypical person. These are some of the things that a neurodivergent person may experience within the workplace: it may look like you get in trouble for asking questions, bringing things to management or letting them know that something may be going on within the company. Neurotypical people may think their colleague struggles in their job, doesn't socialise with the team enough and has high outputs that outperform others. People who are neurodivergent find they can be given extra work because of their high performance and an inability to say no.

Sports integrity requires expert help to keep the peace. Invest in an Ombuds programme.

Organisational Ombuds as change agents in the green economy.

Burnout is real for Ombuds as much as it is for our visitors. In this piece, Amanda Dean and Wayne Marriott discuss how busy we should be, that maintains self-care.

This initiative works on several levels. People simply engage in the amount of activity they are comfortable contributing. It’s crucial that people choose to participate in the process of making a diverse and inclusive society as much or as little as they are comfortable. Over time, folk will find discussing hard topics easier as they increase skills in respectful discourse.

You must know where the line is and be careful not to cross it, because once you share something, there is no going back.