Office of the Corporate Ombudsman

2019 ANNUAL REPORT

Table of Contents

A Message from the Corporate Ombudsman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Constituent Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Figure 1. All Constituents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Figure 2. Internal and External Constituents by Fiscal Year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

External Constituents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Figure 3. External Constituents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Internal Constituents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Figure 4. Internal Constituents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

ReasonsforContactingtheOmbudsmanOffice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Figure5.IssueIdentification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Figure 6. Issues – Yearly Comparison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Issues Per Organizational Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Figure 7. Issues Per Organizational Unit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Figure 8. Issues Per Unit – Yearly Comparison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Ombudsman Office Actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Figure 9. Ombudsman Actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Contact Information: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Back Cover

FY18AnnualReportIOfficeoftheCorporateOmbudsman1

A Message from the Corporate Ombudsman

TheOfficeoftheOmbudsmanwaslaunchedinOctober2007inaccordancewiththeGovernanceModernizationActof2007.OurOfficewascreatedwiththeintentionandfocusofbeingasafeandconfidentialresourceforallpersonsimpactedbytheAmericanRedCross,itsworkplace,missionandservicestosharetheirconcerns.SinceOctober2007,wehaveprovidedresources andsupporttonearly6,200constituents;reachedover17,375constituentsthroughconflictresolution,education,outreach,andfacilitation;andaddressedapproximately15,900issues.

IampleasedtopresentthetwelfthannualreportontheactivitiesandinitiativesoftheOffice oftheCorporateOmbudsmanforfiscalyear2019—fromJuly1,2018toJune30,2019.This reportreflectsconcernsandinquiriesbroughttotheOmbudsmanOfficefrombothinternalandexternal constituents.

InFY19,theOmbudsmanOfficeprovidedresourcesandsupported1,868issuesraisedby994constituents.Throughoutreach,trainings,andgroupfacilitationswewereabletoreachanadditional1,175volunteers,employeesandpartnerswhilesupportingourdonors,recipientsofourmission-relatedservices.TheOmbudsmanOfficehelpsidentifytrendsandemergingissueswithintheorganization to inform leadership about matters that may impact the organization.

TheissuesraisedwiththeOmbudsmancompriseasmallsliceofdatafromself-selectinginternalandexternalconstituents.Moreover,theroleoftheOfficeoftheOmbudsmanistoprovideinformaldisputeresolutionandmediation,andtoprovideguidanceonhowbesttoraiseoraddressissueswithintheorganization.Whilewedonotinvestigateordeterminetheveracityoftheissuesraised,weadvocateforafairprocess.

TheofficeofInvestigations,ComplianceandEthicsinvestigatesallegationsofwrongdoinginadministrative,civilandcriminalmatters.TheofficeofInvestigations,ComplianceandEthicsprovidesoversightoftheWhistleblowerhotlinesandfullysupportsanyemployee,volunteerormemberofmanagementwhoreportsfraud,waste,abuse,RedCrosspolicyviolations,illegal, unsafeorunethicalconduct,oranyothermisconductwithintheorganization.

AfewadditionalenhancementswemadethisyearincludesuccessfullylaunchingtheinauguralOmbudsDayeventatnationalheadquartersinWashington,DCandonlineforremoteemployeesandvolunteerstopromotetheservicesoftheOmbudsman’sOfficeandouruniquerole.Additionally,usingtrendinginformation,wepublishedarticles,resourcesandactivitiesontheintranetfortheworkforcetoaccess.Andwecontinuetosupportthedisputeresolutionprocessasthedesignatedconfidential,neutral,informalandindependentofficeintheAmericanRedCross.

Lookingtothefuture,therewillbeincreasedoutreachensuringaccessibilityandawarenessoftheinformalresourcesavailabletoallconstituents,andenhancedcollaborationwiththeformalpartsofthe organization.

Sincerely,

JacquelineVillafañe,Psy.D.,CO-OP®

Corporate Ombudsman

2

Constituent Profile

ItisimportanttonotethatanincreaseordropinthenumberofcontactswiththeOmbudsmanOfficedoesnotnecessarilyindicategrowingorreducedproblemsintheorganization.

InFY19,994constituentsreachedouttotheOmbudsmanOffice,andreceivedresourcesandsupporttoaddresstheirinquiriesandissuescomparedto1,107constituentsinFY18.Thedecreaseinconstituentcontactswasprimarilyduetoaslightlylessactivehurricaneseasonin2018thantheprevious year.

Figure1illustratesthenumberandcompositionofinternalandexternalconstituentswhocontactedtheOmbudsmanOfficeinFY19excluding1,175recipientsfromoutreach,groupfacilitationsand training .

Figure 1 . All Constituents (994 Total)

FY18AnnualReportIOfficeoftheCorporateOmbudsman3

InFY19,50percentofcontactsreceivingOmbudsmanresourcesandsupportwereinitiatedbyexternalstakeholders,while43percentwereinitiatedbyinternalstakeholders.Theremaining7percentofcontactsidentifiedas“anonymous”represents64contactscomparedto63anonymouscontacts in FY18.

Externalconstituentcontactsarecategorizedasgovernment,currentpartners,suppliers(prospective),blooddonors,financialdonors,servicemembersandthegeneralpublic.Internalconstituentcontactsarecategorizedasemployees,volunteers,formeremployees,formervolunteers,currentcontractors,andretirees.

Figure2illustratestherelationshipofinternal,externalandanonymouscontactssincetheOmbudsmanOfficebeganitsreportinginFY08.

Figure 2. Internal and External Constituents by Fiscal Year

4

External Constituents

InFY19,atotalof503externalconstituentscontactedtheOfficeoftheOmbudsmanwithconcernsorinquiriesandreceivedsupportandresources.Wedonotreportdetailedinformationonthosethatwishtoremainanonymous,andtheyarenotincludedinthispartofthereport.

DuringFY19,RedCrossdonorsaccountedfor12percentofallconstituentscontactingtheOmbudsmanOfficeand23percentofexternalconstituents.Ofthe118donorsreachingouttotheOfficeoftheOmbudsman,103wereblooddonorsand15werefinancialdonorswithvariousconcerns. It should be noted that the blood donor contacts are from a base of nearly 2.7 million volunteerdonorsnationwide.

Figure 3 illustrates the various types of external constituent contacts.

Figure 3 . External Constituents (503 Total)

*InFY18,therewere377constituentsrequestingresourcesrelatedtotheHurricaneHarveyImmediate Assistance program.

FY18AnnualReportIOfficeoftheCorporateOmbudsman5

Internal Constituents

InFY19,275currentemployeescontactedtheOmbudsmanOffice.Employeescomprised52percentofinternalconstituentsand28percentofallconstituentstotheOmbudsmanOfficeinFY19.Wedonotcollectdetailedinformationonthosethatwishtoremainanonymousandtheyarenot included in this part of the report.

Leaderisdefinedassomeonewhosupervisesmultipleteamsorisinanexecutiverole.Amanagerisresponsibleforaprogram,supervisesworkgroupsorteamswithdeliverables.Acontractemployeeisgenerallyhiredforaspecificjob,foradefinedperiodoftime,ataspecificrateofpay.AmeriCorpsparticipants,temporarydisasteremployeesoranemployeecontractedthroughathird-partyagencyhave been categorized as contract employees for data purposes.

Figure4reflectsinternalconstituentsbycategoryandrolewithintheRedCross.

Figure 4 . Internal Constituents (427 Total)

6

Issues

Reasons for Contacting the Ombudsman Office

InFY19,atotalof1,868issueswerebroughttotheattentionoftheOmbudsmanOffice.Theissuesare represented according to the uniform reporting categories promulgated for the organizational ombudsmanfieldbytheInternationalOmbudsmanAssociation(IOA).ThereportingcategoriesaredesignedtoclassifythetypesofissuesforwhichpeopleuseOmbudsmanservicesandhelpidentifytrends for consistent reporting.

ItisimportanttonotethattheissuecountreflectsindividualcontactstotheOfficeoftheOmbudsmanraisingmultipleconcerns;trainingsandgroupfacilitationstoaddressorganizationalissues;andissuesraisedbyconstituentswhohavereachedouttotheOfficeoftheOmbudsman.

Figure 5. Issue Identification

All Issues Identified Under IOA Uniform Reporting Categories

(1,868 Total)

*ThetopfiveissuesinServices/AdministrativeIssuesare:(1)QualityofServicesprovided,(2)ResponsivenessTimelinessofresponse,(3)AdministrativeDecisionsandtheInterpretation/ApplicationofRules,(4)BehaviorofServiceProvider,and(5)Other/GeneralInquiries.

ThecategoryofServices/AdministrativeIssuesisdefinedasanyquestion,concern,issueorinquiryaboutservicesoradministrativeoffices,includingfrominternalandexternalconstituents.

FY18AnnualReportIOfficeoftheCorporateOmbudsman7

Figure6illustratestheissuesraisedacrossthepastthreefiscalyears(FY17-FY19)

Figure 6. Issues – Yearly Comparison

*ThespikeinissuesintheServices/AdministrativeIssuescategoryinFY18isreflectiveofconstituentinquiriesrelatedtotheHurricaneHarveyImmediateAssistanceprogram.

**NotethatServices/AdministrativeIssuesinquiriesandconcernsincluderequestsfromexternalconstituentsseekinginformationonserviceswhichareoutofthescopeoftheredCrossmission,questionsregardinghowtheAmericanRedCrossissupportingvariousglobalhumanitarianissuesandothergeneralinquiries.

8

Issues Per Organizational Unit

Figure7reflectsthenumberandpercentageofissuesraisedinFY18pertainingtoRedCrossorganizationalunits.InFY18,HumanitarianServicesincludes:InternationalServices,DisasterCycleServices,ServicetotheArmedForces,andtheOfficeofVolunteerServices.BiomedicalServicesincludesinquiriesandconcernsrelatedtoBiomedicalRegions,NationalTestingLabsandBiomedicalServicesHeadquartersoperations.IssuesandconcernsrelatedtospecificcorporatedepartmentshavebeendesignatedtoNationalHeadquarters(NHQ).Allissuespresentedbyaconstituenthavebeenattributedtotheidentifiedprimaryunitofconcern.

InFY18,generalquestionsareassociatedwiththeorganizationalunit.Therewere26questionsfromthegeneralpublicinquiringaboutRedCrossservicesthatwerenotmissionrelatedorrelatedtoacorporatedepartmentspecificallyandhavenotbeenassignedtoanorganizationalunit.

Figure 7 . Issues Per Organizational Unit (1,868 Total)

NotethatinFY19,Preparedness,Health&SafetyServicesisnowTrainingServices.

FY18AnnualReportIOfficeoftheCorporateOmbudsman9

Figure 8 illustrates issues in relation to the Red Cross organizational lines of service from FY17 through FY19.

Figure 8. Issues Per Unit – Yearly Comparison

*ThetopthreeissuesforHumanitarianServicesare:EvaluativeRelationships,Organization,StrategicandMissionRelatedIssues,andServices/AdministrativeIssues.

10

Ombudsman Office Actions

Asanenhancementtootherpartsoftheorganization,andwhenappropriate,theOmbudsmanOfficerefersconstituentstoappropriatedepartmentsforformalresolution.InFY19,wehelpedfacilitate116referralstoformalpartsoftheorganizationsuchasConcernConnectionLine,HumanResources,OfficeofGeneralCounselandconnected266constituentstovariousdepartmentsintheRedCross.Wecoached,providedprocessandtrainingconsultation,researchedpolicyandprovidedinformationto335constituents.Also,mediationwasprovidedtosevenconstituentgroups,andvirtualshuttlediplomacywasdeliveredto31constituentgroupswhereresolutionswerediscoveredandembraced,preventingaformalgrievanceandcomplaintfrombeingmade.

Figure9demonstratestheactionstakentobringcasestowardsresolution.

Figure 9. Ombudsman Actions

Ombudsman Office Actions

TheOmbudsmanOfficeprovidesanindependent,neutral,informalandoff-the-record, confidentialandalternatechannelofcommunicationforallconstituentstobringforwardand resolveworkplaceissuesandconcernswithoutfearofretributionatanylevel.InFY19,theOmbudsmanOfficeengagedin42activitiesrelatedtooutreach,trainingandgroupfacilitation,reachingapproximately1,175employees,volunteersandpartners,andprovidedsupporttotheSpanish speaking constituents.

OneoftherolesoftheOmbudsmanOfficeistoprovide“upwardfeedback”toleadershiptoproactivelyaddressworkplaceandservicedeliveryissueswhilemaintainingtheconfidentialityofindividualcommunications.Inthisway,theOmbudsmancanserveasavaluableearlywarningsystem for the Red Cross to identify trends and systemic matters to help Red Cross leadership successfully manage risk and ensure Red Cross values and its mission are not compromised.

OmbudsmanOfficecasesarehandledinavarietyofwaystohelpmeettheneedsofvariousconstituents.Theseincludeconfidentialcoaching,tohelppeoplethinkstrategicallythroughdifficultsituations.Wemayalsopracticeshuttlediplomacy,wherewereachouttoindividualsinvolvedinconflictsordisagreementsindependentofeachothertohelpmovethemtowardamutuallysatisfactoryresolution.Wehavealsobroughtdisputingpartiestogetherandmediatedin-personresolutionmeetings.Asaneutralandindependentoffice,wecanalsoprovideprocessconsultingtoassistindividuals,teams,andleaderstoidentifyconversationaltechniquestoincreasecollaboration,communicationandcreateoptionsforresolvingconflicts.

LeadershavereachedouttotheOmbudsmanOfficeinitsneutralandinformalroleasfacilitatortoaddressteamandgroupeffectiveness,andcollaboration.Throughgroupfacilitationthefollowingissueshavebeenaddressed:teamandgroupdynamicsasitrelatestomanagingchange,interpersonalissuesimpactingteamwork,andreinforcingconflictresolutionstrategiessupportedbytheHumanResourcesteam.

Ombudsman training and group facilitations have addressed topics such as promoting a culture oftrust,improvingteamwork,planningfordifficultconversations,helpingconstituentsidentifyandappreciatecommunicationdifferences,managingeffectivemeetings,developingcriticalthinkingskillstosupporteffectivedecision-making,increasingaccountabilityandempowerment,andembracing facilitative leadership.

TheOmbudsmanOfficeprovideddirectsupporttothe2018hurricaneseason,providingsupporttotheWorkforceCareTeammembersduringdisasteroperations.AdditionalsupportwasprovidedtoteamsintheareasofDiversity&Inclusionwithissuesrelatedtorace,age,gender,sexuality,andmanaginganinclusiveworkenvironment,workplaceharassmentprevention,andgenderequityissues.Wesupportedvariousorganizationalinitiativessuchascrucialconversationtraining,InsideOutCoachingandrestructuringwhilereinforcingtheRedCrossvaluesandguidingbehaviorsintraining,groupfacilitation,andwhenhelpingconstituentsevaluateresolutions.

Aswecelebrateourtwelfthyear,theOfficeoftheOmbudsmanremainscommittedtoservingtheAmericanRedCross,itsemployees,volunteers,donors,partners,government,suppliers,andthegeneralpublicinacapacitythatreflectstheOfficeoftheOmbudsmanCharter.

Contact Information:

Mainnumber:(202)303-5399|Tollfree:(866)667-9331|Fax:(202)639-9825

Email: ombudsman@redcross.org

redcross.org/Ombudsman

22630-0211/19

2007-2019

6,200Constituents

15,900Issues

Another17,375ReachedthroughOutreach,Training

and Facilitation