Category: Article
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Have we forgotten the Code of Conduct?
Have we forgotten the Code of Conduct? Every year, the Ombud writes a report taking stock of the past year’s activities, which is addressed to the entire CERN community. This annual report is above all an opportunity to make observations, shed light on matters and, wherever possible, propose some remedial actions. I’m currently in the
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Have you encountered excluders?
Have you encountered excluders? This week marks the International Women’s Day – a day that I always want to celebrate in some way. Last year I shared with you my experience of being a woman at CERN in the 1990s. As I was exploring a new angle to gender diversity at CERN – a topic
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No, don’t do anything!
No, don’t do anything! My first duty as Ombud is to listen actively to the visitors who, in my office, explain the challenging situation they’re facing. Listening actively to them enables me to understand the situation, measure the impact that the problem is having on them and get a sense of what their goals are.
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CERN’s psychologists are here for you
CERN’s psychologists are here for you Among the various support channels that CERN makes available to its community are the Medical Service’s two independent psychologists, Katia Schenkel and Sébastien Tubau (https://hse.cern/content/psychologist). I had the pleasure of meeting them to prepare this article. Consulting a psychologist is often perceived by the colleagues who come to see
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A brain-friendly approach to providing feedback
A brain-friendly approach to providing feedback Much has been written by my Ombud predecessors, at this time of the year when performance reviews take place, on how to approach these discussions and how to provide feedback, whether top-down or bottom-up. You may wish to have another look at their analysis and advice, which remain very
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Mutual learning: let’s give it a chance in 2023!
Mutual learning: let’s give it a chance in 2023! As 2023 starts, let me wish you all a great year and assure you all of my support! The CERN community is very keen – and rightly so – to underline that collaboration is in our DNA. This is something that I am particularly proud of,
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Let’s make the most of the end-of-year break
Let’s make the most of the end-of-year break As the year draws to a close, many of us will be thinking about the good and the not so good developments of the last 12 months – in both our private and our professional lives. This year has brought us all plenty of bad news, not
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Books and plenty more besides…
Books and plenty more besides… The Ombud’s office is a large office in the Main Building (room 500-1-004), close to one of the entrances to the Main Auditorium. It’s fitted out in a way that allows me to receive visitors comfortably and in a relaxed and pleasant environment. When I took up my duties –
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I hope I won’t need to come and see you
I hope I won’t need to come and see you When I took up the position of CERN Ombud in April 2021, I was faced with a variety of reactions when I told my colleagues the news: Of all the reactions, the one that struck me the most was the last one: “I hope I
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The harm that misunderstandings can cause
The harm that misunderstandings can cause The origin of the word “misunderstanding” is clear: it combines the prefix “mis-”, meaning badly or wrongly, with the noun “understanding”. So a misunderstanding is when something has been understood wrongly. Very often in the Ombud’s Office, when visitors come to see me about a conflict and we explore