One quarter of 2023 is in the books. Let that sink in for a moment. In another three months, half the year will be gone, with so much yet to do. For better or worse, I have a quarterly report to help quantify just how much I’ve done (or haven’t done) on a tri-monthly basis. All of which is my way of inviting you to take a few minutes with me while I share what we have been up to in the office. Yes, that means that our quarterly report covering the first three months of 2023 has been released.
The bread and butter for any ombuds office is its individual consultations. This quarter was interesting: while the total number of contacts, or individual meetings, with visitors was slightly less than last year’s, the average number of contacts per month was slightly higher. March, in particular, had fewer visitors in 2023 than 2022. The most likely explanation is that last year we had significant traffic around the just-brought-back merit pay system, as departments and individuals navigated the process of (re)determining structures for determining what was meritorious and how merit should be awarded. While there are quite possibly folks who aren’t going to be happy with their merit award this year, there seems to be more clarity around the process.
What’s notable to me is that the first quarter of 2023 has the highest number of contacts in any quarter since the first quarter of 2022, suggesting that more people feel compelled to visit the Ombuds Office in the first three months of the year. Part of the reason, I think, is that this is faculty annual evaluation season, and between the anticipatory anxiety of January and early February to discussions about peer review and rejoinder in March, there are a lot of things to discuss with a neutral, confidential third party. And, as I like to say, that’s what I’m here for.
Another thing that I find interesting is the ongoing shift in who is using the office. In 2021, 37 percent of visitors were academic faculty, followed by administrative faculty (21 percent) and classified staff (15 percent). In 2022, there was a shakeup, with 36 percent of visitors coming from the administrative faculty, 26 percent from the academic faculty, and 11 percent from the classified staff. In both years, the balance of visitors were from leadership positions, graduate and undergraduate students, temporary employees, and community members.
Thus far in 2023, administrative faculty are still the most common visitors (32 percent), with academic faculty at 19 percent and classified staff at nine percent. But undergraduate students now represent 15 percent of contacts, a major increase. This seems to be due more to word of mouth and referral than concerted marketing (I suspect that UNLV Today is not daily reading for most undergrads, but I could be wrong).
I’ve been doing some research into ombuds history for a writing project, and I find it ironic that, historically, colleges and universities initially adopted ombuds to address student concerns, and only later hired them to work with faculty and staff. At UNLV, the pattern—at least this quarter—seems to be moving in reverse. In any event, whatever the group someone belongs to, informal conflict resolution is often a valuable option to consider.
The gender of ombuds visitors remained in line with earlier patterns, as 65 percent of visitors were women, 34 percent men, and one percent non-binary or “other.” Speaking with ombuds from around the world at the recent International Ombuds Association annual conference, this is a fairly typical distribution. In other words, it doesn’t look like I am doing anything specific that makes the office more attractive to women or less attractive to men, at least nothing that other ombuds aren’t doing. Still, it is important for me to say again that I see this as an office that is equally welcoming to anyone who wants to discuss an issue. Along those lines, racial and ethnic demographics continued to hew to the same general proportions as the broader campus population.
Back in 2021, a plurality of contacts (40 percent) took place remotely. Reflecting the “return to campus” that has happened since then, in the past three months 63 percent of contacts took place in person. Remote and telephone options are still available—a combined 29 percent of meetings happened that way—but most visitors prefer to meet in person.
As in past quarters, the top concern—voiced by 65 percent of visitors in the first quarter of 2023—was communication with their supervisor or supervisee, followed by respect and treatment in an evaluator relationship. Department and organizational climate issues, concerns about performance appraisal, peer communication, and compensation rounded out the top concerns. Money might not buy happiness, but it certainly seems to be a cause for unhappiness among a sizable portion of employees.
In other words, if we could speak more precisely and respectfully to each other, made people feel more welcome, and paid them better, the Ombuds Office would be getting less traffic. It sounds glib when put like that, but the first two points aren’t bad things to aspire to. Along those lines, the Ombuds Office held 11 workshops and guided discussions last quarter, in addition to five informational presentations about the office itself.
Workshops are highly interactive, with the instructor (me) introducing a topic before queuing a group discussion or exercise. This style seems to resonate with participants; feedback is great, and people actually look like they are enjoying themselves. If you are interested in scheduling me for a free workshop with your group, you can start by looking at the list of sessions on our website, and follow up by contacting us.
But you might already be in a conflict and think that it is too late to change. Maybe, maybe not, but it helps to have someone to talk to. Luckily, at UNLV, you have someplace where you can talk about the issue without judgment or any permanent record. Whether you are a student, faculty member, or other UNLV employee, the Ombuds Office has many resources available to help you through any conflict or communication issue you might be facing. If you are having an issue and are uncertain where to go, it is an excellent zero-barrier first stop.
If you would like to talk privately and confidentially about any work- or campus-related concern, please make an appointment with the Ombuds. Our door is always open.
David G. Schwartz
UNLV Ombuds