The 12th Annual Report by the Ombud is now available on CDS at this address. I hope you enjoy reading it. This year, for the first time, the full, detailed version is accompanied by a more concise PowerPoint version giving the key points.

The annual report is a key part of the Ombud’s mandate:

“The Ombud shall issue an annual report on his/her activities to the Director-General. This report shall contain anonymous, statistical information with respect to matters brought to his/her attention, including their nature and status or outcome, as well as a general assessment of the operation of the Office of the Ombud.”

First and foremost, the Ombud’s annual report is a tool that ensures transparency and facilitates communication with the CERN community that the Ombud serves. Among the wealth of information it contains, you’ll find the demographics of the 151 visitors to the Ombud’s office during the year and a statistical analysis of the 205 issues that were discussed, in strict compliance with the confidentiality requirements. You will also find the results of a survey conducted amongst the visitors to find out to what extent their expectations had been met by their visit to the Ombud. 

The report is also a chance for the Ombud to set out some observations and insights inspired by a year of active listening, analysis of situations and informal conflict resolution. 

Finally, the Ombud also proposes pragmatic, simple actions aimed at helping to resolve the most acute and most frequently raised problems, as well as those that appear to be systemic. 

The Ombud’s observations and proposals are submitted to the Director-General and the Enlarged Directorate, who may, if they wish, take them up or use them for inspiration. This year’s report was also presented to the CCP, the Standing Concertation Committee of Management and Staff Association representatives, on 6 April and will be presented to TREF, the Tripartite Employment Conditions Forum, on 10 May. Both occasions are great opportunities to discuss the Ombud’s analysis of the systemic trends reported. 

In addition to these formal presentations and exchanges with the Ombud’s stakeholders, each and every one of you can, individually, reflect on the observations and proposals that are particularly relevant to your working environment. 

The key messages that I would like to convey this year are the following:

• 95% of the respondents to the feedback survey said that they would recommend a colleague facing a challenging situation to discuss it with the Ombud.
• There is still a long way to go for informal dispute resolution to be fully integrated into the CERN culture. Mediation is effective and I often suggest it in the case of conflicts. Unfortunately, the offer is only rarely taken up. 
• Only 11% of visitors have allowed the Ombud to take informal action. The reasons given are the fear of negative consequences for their career and/or a feeling that it will serve no useful purpose. The Organization needs to make it safer for people to express concerns and disagreements in a constructive and respectful way.
• Lack of respect and breach of the Code of Conduct are embedded in the vast majority of the issues discussed with the Ombud, whatever the category. From the Ombud’s point of view, we need to find ways to realign our Laboratory’s culture with the stated values. 

You may have questions about my report, or wish to discuss some of the observations or the actions I’ve proposed. Please don’t hesitate to send me your feedback and questions. I will be pleased to discuss them with you. 

                                    Laure Esteveny

I want to hear from you – feel free to email ombud@cern.ch with any feedback or suggestions for topics you’d like me to address. 

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