I have gotten a few questions about the UNLV Ombuds Office 2023 Annual Report, particularly about trends—how have concerns brought to the office shifted over the past three years? So I would like to take some time to discuss what I see when I look at the numbers, focusing on three big takeaways.

First, I would like to share a little information about where those numbers come from and how they are tabulated. The International Ombuds Association maintains a list of Uniform Reporting Categories that incorporate most of the issues that might be presented to an ombuds. From them, it is possible to track the general areas of concern that visitors bring to the office without compromising the confidentiality of their specific issues.

We also track general demographics of who uses the office at the college/division level, mostly to gauge whether the Ombuds Office is effectively serving all parts of campus and all categories of employees and students.

Takeaway one: Who?

I’ve put together a chart showing the changes in visitors as a percentage of the whole in 2022 and 2023. Note that in every category the absolute number of people seen rose; more people in every group saw the Ombuds in 2023 than 2022. But some groups grew more quickly than others.

Administrative and academic faculty accounted for under half of all visitors, though when including their respective leaderships, that percentage rises well over the halfway mark. I think that more of those in leadership positions used the office in 2023 because they were looking to forestall problems rather than only reacting once a complaint had been brought to them. That is not a bad thing. I am also struck by the large increase in the number of students seen. Note that in 2022, we included both graduate and professional students in the same category, but in 2023 there were enough of both groups to separate them out. The final category includes alumni, prospective students, parents, community members, and others who cannot otherwise be classified.

Looking at this, I see an office that is serving more groups across campus, delivering on its promise to be accessible to all. Our increased outreach, it appears, has resulted in greater visibility and usage of the office.

Takeaway two: What?

Communication with one’s supervisor (or supervisee), as in 2022, was the top concern brought to our office in 2023. The percentage of those reporting a problem with supervisory communication actually rose from 38 percent (2022) to 49 percent (2023). So, despite many workshops purporting to help participants hone their communication skills, more people had issues with their supervisors’ communications.

It’s a truism but it has some value to repeat that we are only as good as our worst moment. Someone may work sedulously to speak and write with kindness and clarity, but that single frayed-attention snap brings it all crashing down. Even the greatest of communicators have off days. And sometimes we get so preoccupied with what’s going on and what we need that we don’t take the time to, perhaps, express ourselves in the best possible way.

I’m not trying to excuse perceived poor communication; I’m just saying that I understand how a well-intentioned person might miscommunicate. Which makes talking about communication that much more important.

Also, I have found that while the presenting issue might be something related to processes or procedures, the underlying issue is often a failure of trust, respect, and communication. Are all issues communication issues? No. Many people have concern with policies, or processes, that are perfectly communicated that they happen to not be fond of. But I would say that the majority of the interpersonal issues I see stem more from the way people speak with each other than what they are saying.

Takeaway three: How?

Climate has been a perennial concern, as frequent climate surveys have demonstrated. This is logical. After all, people want to work where they feel appreciated and welcome. And climate continues to be a concern, though the percentage of people citing overall campus climate as an issue fell from 9.4 percent in 2022 to 4.3 percent in 2023. That seems to indicate that, overall, people feel better about UNLV, or it may be that the large Cost of Living Adjustment that many faculty and staff received last summer made things easier to bear.

I like to say, though, that the macroclimate across campus matters less than the microclimate within units, simply because we spend more time interacting with the people immediately around us than with those across campus. It’s like the old “90 percent of all accidents occur within a mile of the home” (might be off on that estimate) argument. We are more likely to have problems with our own unit simple because that is where we usually are. And while concerns about departmental climate fell (12 percent to 10.5 percent), we can still make meaningful changes here.

I could (and will) write a lot more about this, but changing small, local climates is both easier and harder than shifting the campus. Easier, because there are fewer people involved and it is easier to take direct action. Harder, because much of the change centers on behaviors, and those can be hard to change. That does not, however, mean, that we shouldn’t try. After all, UNLV like any educational institution is founded on the belief that people can change. Students learn valuable skills and get degrees that indicate a mastery of concepts. So even though it might be a challenge to shift how we treat each other on a daily basis, it is ultimately worth it.

Where to start? As Ombuds, I stand ready with a plethora of interactive, skill-honing workshops that at the very least can get us talking about how we can change together. We also have facilitations for groups who want to consider their shared norms and behaviors—in other words, what is acceptable and what isn’t. We are ready for you to reach out to discuss scheduling.

And if you would like to talk one-on-one with a neutral, impartial third party about a climate concern (macro, micro, or in between), you can visit me.  The Ombuds Office remains available to you for a wide spectrum of interpersonal, organizational, and communication issues, whether within groups or as an individual. If you are having an issue and are uncertain where to go, our office is an excellent zero-barrier first stop. There really is no issue too big or too small. You have nothing to lose and quite a bit to gain.

If you would like to talk off-the-record and confidentially about any work- or campus-related concern, please make an appointment with the Ombuds. Our door is always open.

David G. Schwartz

UNLV Ombuds