MWI Ombuds Resource – Sample Communication Assets

Please find sample materials designed to help inform a tailored ombuds communications plan for your organization. Some clients prefer to draft their own materials and can use these for reference, while others prefer that MWI tailor existing materials based on our experience supporting other clients. MWI is committed to working with each client to design and deliver content that fits their culture and helps their constituents understand the ombuds resource.

Blogs and Articles

These are samples of brief blogs/articles that provide an overview of the ombuds service, why someone would engage with the service, and what it looks like practically when doing so. These can be shared via existing newsletters, published on an intranet site, distributed by email, or in whatever way makes the most sense within your organization. It is recommended that articles be distributed at least quarterly to maintain awareness of the resource.

Leadership Announcement

Please find sample language our clients have used to shape their own message from leadership. This message is usually sent when the program launches and demonstrates support for the ombuds resource from the highest level of leadership.

Draft Leadership Announcement – 1 With a focus on how the ombuds program works
Draft Leadership Announcement – 2 With a focus on how the ombuds program contributes to the culture of the organization

Differentiating the Ombuds Team from Other Resources

This is a sample chart that shows how the ombuds resource functions compared to other institutional resources. This can be a helpful reference to help differentiate the ombuds from other resources and can serve as a guide for the ombuds team as they walk visitors through the various options.

Employee Contacts Grid – sample

Flyer

For organizations with people working in-person, flyers are a helpful awareness-building tool. While this is one example, flyers are tailored to organizational branding norms and cultural context.

Ombuds Team Flyer – sample

Communications Plan

Here is an anonymized example of a communication plan an MWI client has used to guide a successful launch of their ombuds program.

Communication Plan – sample

Ombuds Presentation

This is a draft of the slide deck the ombuds teams use during initial webinars and meet and greets where they explain the service and introduce themselves to build understanding of the service and trust with potential visitors.

Ombuds Presentation – sample

Lunch and Learns

MWI has seven Lunch and Learns you can offer to your client. These workshops are designed to be one hour and they provide skill building as well as a reminder of the ombuds team resource functions. Workshops include:

Interactive Listening Skills
Finding Alignment on Different Perspectives
Influence Without Authority
Receiving Feedback
Harassment, Discrimination, and Retaliation – How Ombuds Support Visitors
From Bystander to Upstander
How to Have a Productive Difficult Conversation at Work

Speak with Josh to learn more or to schedule a train the trainer so you can be prepared to present these workshops.

Visitor FAQ’s

This document is tailored to each client and posted to the MWI hosted website for visitors as they learn about the ombuds function.

Visitor FAQ’s

Visitor Feedback Survey

This is the text of the survey that is sent to visitors once their case is closed. It is a voluntary survey that we use to gauge the effectiveness of the program and gather feedback about areas of improvement.

Visitor Feedback Survey

Data FAQ’s

This document outlines what data we collect and how we use it in aggregate to illuminate issue themes or trends while maintaining the confidentiality and anonymity of visitors.

Data FAQ’s

Questions?

Contact Dana Hinojosa, MWI’s Director of Strategic Engagement, at dhinojosa@mwi.org or 617-895-4032.