{"47426":{"#nid":"47426","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Ombuds Program Offers Ear, Alternate Resolutions","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETech\u0027s ombuds program is a confidential, neutral, informal and independent conflict resolution and management resource open to assist any member of the Georgia Institute of Technology community. Georgia Tech classified staff ombudsman John Schultz has held this position since January 2006, drawing on his extensive background of both employee relations and as a corporate ombudsman. Following are some questions and answers about his philosophy, his work, and his experience.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECan you give us some of your background?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EI graduated from St. Johns University in New York in 1973 with a BA in Government\/Politics.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EMy first job out of college was as a budget planner for Grumman Aerospace on Long Island in 1974. I then worked for several different aerospace companies as a financial analyst, an industrial engineer, a manager of internal controls, manager of program planning and control, Ombudsman and Employee Relations Manager.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EMy human resources background has really benefited me a lot and has been augmented by my further schooling in mediation and alternative dispute resolution. I still mediate for the court system in Gwinnett County, and I\u0027m a member of the University System of Georgia chancellor\u0027s advisory group for all alternative dispute resolution issues. I\u0027m also one of the senior mediators for the Board of Regents.\n\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhen did you start at Tech and in what capacity?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EIn June of 1998, I started as an employee relations coordinator, working for Russ Cappello. When I was there, Employee Relations basically handled employment concerns, disciplinary actions, unemployment claims and the Georgia Tech Impartial Board of Review. We would reach out to interpret procedure and policy for management, and advise management on disciplinary steps to take, in any\nissue. Employee Relations handled concerns\/issues in a formal manner.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow long did you serve in that capacity?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EI did that until June 2004. When Russ retired, I assumed all of Employee Relations\u0027 duties until December 2005. I became the classified staff ombudsman in January 2006.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat would you say is the main difference between Employee Relations and the ombudsman?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe neutrality, informality and strict confidentiality are the basic distinguishes between the two offices. I view myself as an advocate of what\u0027s fair and right versus an advocate of either an employee or management. In my job, I inform both non-management and management employees that they may have erred in a specific situation.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhy did you make the transition from Employee Relations to Staff Ombudsman?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EI believed in the ombudsman concept and there was a specific job opening. Additionally, I had five years\u0027 previous ombudsman experience at Rockwell International\u0027s Tactical Systems Division in Duluth. When Dr. Jean Fuller, the previous GT staff ombudsman retired, I was appointed to the position by Chuck Donbaugh, AVP of Human Resources.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn August of 2008, the office moved into the Office of the President, reporting through the Office of the Provost.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIncluding myself, the campus has a total of four ombudsmen. We have a graduate student ombudsman, Professor Emeritus Dr. Russ Callen. Then there are two faculty ombuds, who also handle post-docs. They are Dr. Narl Davidson, a professor-emeritus and former associate dean for the College of Engineering, and Professor Emeritus Dr. Edward Thomas, former chair of the School of Physics. Although the other three ombuds are part-time, they are on campus regularly.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhile each of us may be contacted regarding any issue, my focus is primarily classified staff and Administration.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow does the ombudsman process start?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EAny individual-any employee-may contact us through any means and can make an appointment to see us. They can come at any point [in the process] they want. They can come when they initially have a problem, when they\u0027re in the middle of trying to get something done or toward the end. We allow them to basically vent, to say whatever they want to say. We\u0027re nonjudgmental, we listen and we present options to them on how to resolve their issues.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EIf indeed they want our direct intervention, we will inform them that they may lose their anonymity. However, none of us acts on their behalf until they are comfortable with what we intend to do-we try to empower them to get their supervisors involved because we can\u0027t actually fix their problem for them.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ESpecifically, what I normally do when employees come to me [is to] listen to them and try and empower them to do something for themselves. If not, I will tell them I need to get the person with whom they have the issue-their supervisor, co-worker, or other employee-involved. If they say OK, then I will approach the person from the standpoint \u0022This person came to see me, they presented some concerns and I really would like to get your side of the story.\u0022 This is especially effective in an employee and supervisor issue because I know there are, at least, two sides to every story and I want to maintain my role as an advocate for fair and right vs. the employee or management advocate.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EAfter getting the other side of the story, and if I feel it would help, I will suggest we either mediate or allow me to facilitate a conversation or discussion between [the two]. I am also a registered mediator with the state of Georgia, so that helps me in this regard. More than likely, I will facilitate a discussion, but sometimes we\u0027ll have a formal mediation where there is an agreement written up.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat are some of the caveats people should know?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EWe are not an office of first notice. For example, if a young lady came to me and said she was being sexually harassed, we would listen to what she had to say, but if she really wanted it handled or resolved, or she wanted to put the Institute on formal notice, we would direct her to go to someone in Employee Relations Services.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EIf they don\u0027t follow our direction or guidance, they cannot come back and say \u0027We put Georgia Tech on notice because we told the ombudsman.\u0027 We\u0027ll tell them that we instructed them where to go to file a complaint but did not officially receive the complaint.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThis is in an effort to keep confidentiality, because that is so tantamount to this whole process. Once you lose that, you really lose your effectiveness-people won\u0027t trust you. The biggest publicity we receive is by word-of-mouth.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIn what capacity do managers and supervisor seek your advice?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EMostly when administrators, managers, directors or AVPs [associate vice presidents] contact me, since they know I have an employee relations background, they want advice and counsel on\nalternatives to termination or disciplinary action that would could damage the employee career-wise. We\u0027ll sit and chat, and I\u0027ll present different options in an effort to rehabilitate the employee.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECan you talk generally about your caseload?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe four ombuds just presented our annual report to Provost Gary Schuster and\u0026nbsp;Executive\nVice President Steven Swant. From June 2008 through August 2009, we had about 165 cases total, but the majority were staff-related. Most of the staff cases deal with workplace disputes between supervisors and employees, and administrator\/management counseling.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow would you describe the resolutions?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EI would say most cases have a positive outcome. I don\u0027t remember any cases that have gone to litigation. How we measure our effectiveness is to look at how many cases go to the Georgia Tech Impartial Board of Review, the Equal Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or actual litigation. For faculty, we measure how many cases go to the Faculty Status and Grievance Committee. We\u0027re looking at other means to measure our effectiveness.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWould you say that cases resolved before going to these boards are a success?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EIt depends upon when the employee comes in. If the employee comes in early on, we have a real expectation of success. Occasionally-more than I would like to see-they come in very late in the disciplinary process. Disciplinary action is already under way, and employees will come in and try to plead their case. While we will address that particular issue they come in for, we cannot reverse the\ndisciplinary action that has been taken, nor can we prevent any further disciplinary action from being taken.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe Institute won\u0027t allow retaliation to an employee for their use of this program. However, if an employee violates a rule or has performance issues after they have visited me and the supervisor either initiates disciplinary action or takes the next step of disciplinary action, this is not retaliation.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow much of what you do is knowing policy and procedure, and how much helping people talk through their issues?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EI probably spend more time talking and interfacing with people. Sometimes I\u0027ll get an employee come in with concerns, we\u0027ll talk about it and then I\u0027ll present some options. There\u0027s a time when I may say, \u0027Maybe the problem is with you, and here\u0027s why.\u0027 I\u0027ll explain and take my time, so hopefully they\u0027ll understand. After that, sometimes they may become concerned, wondering who will know they were here. Even though we have no reprisals for coming here, people still may be concerned their supervisors will find out.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EI let them know this is a confidential process. If this is something that only they need to resolve, no one\u0027s going to know about it. I have a motto for employees:  I tell them, \u0027If I can\u0027t help you, I won\u0027t hurt you.\u0027\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe ombudsman program is so necessary for a campus this size. An office where people can go to a safe haven and say what they want to say.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThere are only two areas where I am compelled to break confidence: If a person tells me that they are going to commit suicide or if they are going to hurt someone else. And I have had no cases of that.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIf you know of abuse of the p-card, for example, is it still confidential?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EYes, it\u0027s still confidential. What I will do, though, is encourage the person to meet with Internal Auditing and I\u0027ll even go with them, just so they know it\u0027s the right thing to do. I have done this on several occasions.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHave you ever received any backlash from managers or administration?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ENo. I have had a question or two where people have asked \u0027Why do people want to come to see you, but they won\u0027t talk with me?\u0027 My pat answer to them is \u0027Are you creating an atmosphere where folks feel freely to talk with you without any reprisal?\u0027 In this office, it\u0027s guaranteed.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EI would hope that managers and supervisors realize the ombudsman\u0027s office is not an enemy. We\u0027re put into place, like Pearl Alexander and others are in place, to be the first lines of defense to protect the Institute from lawsuits or bad publicity. I tell them, \u0027You\u0027d rather have a phone call from me than from an\nattorney or an investigator, right?\u0027\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EEvery day I come in here, I have to believe that the Georgia Institute of Technology, as an entity that has been in existence for more than 100 years, wants to do the right thing each and every time. Having said that, I realize some people within this Institute may want to cut a corner or act in an improper manner toward an employee. Those are the individuals I want to help.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat are the benefits of the reorganization, putting the ombuds offices under the\nOffice of the President?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EWell, for an ombuds program to be effective for all Institute constituencies, it must report to the highest office.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\n\n\u003Cstrong\u003ERoughly what is the percentage of employees vs. supervisors coming to you?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EProbably 75 to 25 employees to supervisors.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"Georgia Tech staff ombudsman John Schultz uses his background in employee relations and mediation to help Institute employees plot a course through difficult situations.","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Obmudsman John Schultz helps Tech employees with difficult situations."}],"uid":"27191","created_gmt":"2009-11-30 10:39:33","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:03:49","author":"Robert Nesmith","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2009-11-30T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2009-11-30T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"47471":{"id":"47471","type":"image","title":"Staff Ombudsman John Schultz","body":null,"created":"1449175348","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:42:28","changed":"1475894442","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:40:42","alt":"Staff Ombudsman John Schultz","file":{"fid":"190124","name":"Ombuds.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Ombuds_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Ombuds_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":41960,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Ombuds_0.jpg?itok=Diqb4Izl"}}},"media_ids":["47471"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.provost.gatech.edu\/units\/ombuds\/","title":"Georgia Tech Obmuds Program"}],"groups":[{"id":"1183","name":"Home"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EJohn H. Schultz\u003C\/strong\u003E, Classified Staff\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:john.schultz@carnegie.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejohn.schultz@carnegie.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EProfessor Emeritus J. Narl Davidson\u003C\/strong\u003E, Faculty\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:narl.davidson@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Enarl.davidson@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EProfessor Emeritus Edward Thomas\u003C\/strong\u003E, Faculty\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:edward.thomas@physics.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Eedward.thomas@physics.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EProfessor Emeritus W. Russell Callen\u003C\/strong\u003E, Students\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:russ.callen@ece.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Eruss.callen@ece.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}