Executive summary

Introduction

This report presents the results of the Evaluation of the Ombuds and Informal Resolution Services Office (OIRSO) within the Department of Justice Canada (Justice Canada). The evaluation covers fiscal years from 2020-21 to 2022-23 and examines issues related to relevance, design and delivery, effectiveness and efficiency.

Program Description

Justice Canada’s Organizational Ombuds was established in 2021, following a report by the Privy Council Office recommending that all departments put in a place an Ombuds-type function. Although Justice Canada already had an Informal Conflict Management System (ICMS), it was amalgamated with the newly established Ombuds to form what is now known as the Ombuds and Informal Resolution Services Office (OIRSO).

OIRSO is comprised of an Organizational Ombuds, ICMS practitioners, and support staff. OIRSO reports directly to the Deputy Minister and is functionally independent of the administrative structure of Justice Canada. OIRSO serves all Justice Canada employees, at all levels of the organization (including executives, managers and supervisors) regardless of work location or employment status.

OIRSO’s mandate is to provide Justice Canada employees and managers with a safe and independent place where they can speak freely without fear of judgement or reprisal, about a variety of concerns affecting them in the workplace.

OIRSO’s key functions and activities include:

  • Providing impartial, confidential, informal and independent services to discuss work related issues and explore options to help resolve and manage conflicts;
  • Providing informal conflict resolution services, processes and tools (e.g., consultation, coaching, mediation, training);
  • Identifying systemic issues and trends within the Department and informing senior management;
  • Providing outreach activities and presentations; and,
  • Collaborating with key partners and stakeholders (e.g., Human Resources [HR], union representatives, senior management).

Findings

Relevance

The evaluation found that OIRSO is aligned with departmental and government commitments to promote healthy and safe workplaces and help in the resolution of conflict by providing Justice Canada employees with a safe space to discuss work related issues. There is also a continued need for OIRSO services due to ongoing experiences of workplace conflict by some Justice employees; an increase in service demand; and the provision of an essential function within the Department.

Design and Delivery

OIRSO is functionally independent of the administration and management structure of Justice Canada. This governance structure enables it to operate in accordance with its guiding principles and supports a neutral and safe space for employees to access a centralized group of informal conflict resolution services in one Office.

OIRSO was found to be supportive of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) and Gender-based Analysis (GBA) Plus and has begun to integrate these analytical processes and principles in its activities and initiatives. It tracks, identifies, and shares trends and systemic issues related to EDI and GBA Plus through Annual Reports and Quarterly Dashboards, and through its upward feedback to senior managers. Although the majority of OIRSO evaluation survey respondents agreed that OIRSO services are reflective and supportive of EDI, and most of those who accessed OIRSO services did not experience any barriers in obtaining those services, some felt that the Department needs to do more to address EDI-related issues and barriers.

OIRSO actively collects and monitors performance and activity data using various methods, which assists in reporting on emerging trends and issues, along with service use. This enables OIRSO to gain insight into continuous improvement opportunities for service delivery and mitigate emerging issues before they escalate. However, further efforts can be made to strengthen data sharing, collaboration and reporting practices, while maintaining client confidentiality.

Effectiveness

OIRSO is actively being promoted through promotional materials and awareness presentations and, although awareness of OIRSO has increased, findings suggest awareness among employees could be improved. OIRSO’s awareness raising efforts have resulted in a large majority of Justice Canada employees having at least a slight level of awareness of the Office. However, there are still some employees who are not at all aware of OIRSO, and awareness levels vary amongst specific subpopulations. OIRSO has also acknowledged a lack of common understanding of the Ombuds and the ICMS’s role; a lack of awareness of services; and challenges related to managing expectations about OIRSO’s role, limitations and the impact they can have. 

Conflict in the Department has been steady, and much of that conflict is dealt with informally. OIRSO effectively supports employees to address workplace conflict by helping them navigate available resources and make informed decisions. Over a third of OIRSO evaluation survey respondents indicated that they used OIRSO’s services, and referrals to other sources of assistance are happening in a reciprocal manner. Most OIRSO clients were satisfied with the services they received and were likely to refer others to the Office. However, some people indicated they were unlikely to use OIRSO services in the future. This could be due to uncertainty around OIRSO’s mandate and guiding principles, such as: concerns with fairness and neutrality; fear of or experience with retaliation and reprisal; concerns about confidentiality; and perceived lack of independence. 

Overall, OIRSO is having a positive impact on employees’ well-being by collaborating with others in the Department and increasing the capacity to address workplace conflict. OIRSO has developed collaborative working relationships with stakeholders and works alongside them to identify departmental issues and trends and to develop tools and resources to respond to client needs. The Office was also found to be effective at using its upward feedback mechanism to provide recommendations to senior management and it contributes to driving cultural change in the Department.

Efficiency

Informal processes, such as ICMS, are perceived to bring benefits, such as being timelier, requiring fewer resources, and are less adversarial; compared to formal processes that involve the effort of more people, taking more time, and can negatively impact well-being. Though it was not possible to quantify the cost savings in the case of services provided by OIRSO at Justice Canada, the literature indicates that the provision of informal conflict resolution results in cost savings compared to more complex formal processes.

OIRSO was also found to deliver its services in an efficient manner. The Office has met its service standard for responding to requests and has been able to deliver more services with only a slight increase in expenditures, resulting in lower cost per activity delivered. Although OIRSO has been able to increase the number of activities it delivers with a limited increase in financial expenditures, sustainability may become a concern if growth rates continue along the same trajectory.

Recommendations

Based on the findings described in this report, the following recommendations are made:

Recommendation 1: OIRSO should review its communication strategy to enhance awareness and ensure that materials provide the best information on the Office’s roles and responsibilities, and clearly communicate how it operates within its mandate and the four fundamental principles of confidentiality, informality, impartiality, and independence. 

The evaluation found that some employees have a perception that OIRSO is not necessarily independent, impartial, confidential, or able to ensure employees will not experience reprisal, all of which can influence uptake of services. Justice Canada employees must be sufficiently aware and understand the Office’s ability to provide a safe space to increase trust and impact culture change in the Department.

Recommendation 2: OIRSO should continue to collaborate with partners to find opportunities to strengthen reporting on activities and trends and improve information sharing while maintaining confidentiality.

The evaluation found that stakeholders look to OIRSO for key information and trends in the Department, but that there is interest in more data transparency and data disaggregation, where possible. Additionally, there was some interest in OIRSO integrating and centralising data originating from other areas of the Department. These interests must be balanced with OIRSO’s fundamental principal of confidentiality.