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Handling complaints
properly is an important part of good customer care. It
shows that you:
 | listen to your users'
views; |
| learn from your
mistakes; and |
| are continually trying
to improve your service. |
This guide sets out a
framework for handling complaints, and gives examples of
good practice from public services. It is intended for all
public sector organisations that deal with members of the
public.
Part 1 opens with a
definition of a complaint and explains why complaints
matter. The rest of Part 1 is divided into three chapters.
Key points are:
I Access to the complaints
procedure
| Encouraging complaints
and compliments by advertising your procedures and making
them easy to use. |
| Telling all your users
about your service standards and how to complain if you
do not meet them. |
| Making it clear that
you welcome complaints and comments and will use the
information to improve your services. |
| Allowing for users who
have special difficulties, for example, those with a
reading disability or whose first language is not
English. |
| Carrying out surveys to
check that your system really is easy to use. |
II Handling
complaints
| Encouraging front-line
staff to 'own' complaints. |
| Having clear written
procedures that focus on sorting out complaints
quickly. |
| Consulting staff and
users when drawing up and revising complaints
procedures. |
| Making sure that the
procedures are fair to staff and users, and that
information is treated as confidential. |
| Recognising the
importance of good communication skills when recruiting
and training staff who handle complaints. |
| Making sure that all
staff, especially those who have most contact with users,
know your policy and receive training. |
| Drawing up a menu of
remedies and making sure that staff and users understand
the options, including the role of any
ombudsman. |
| Supporting your staff,
and getting senior managers' commitment to handling
complaints properly. |
III Results
| Recording all
complaints and analysing them to understand users' views
and the improvements they want. |
| Publishing information
at least once a year on:
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the number and type of complaints;
- how quickly they were dealt with;
- users' satisfaction; and
- actions taken as a result.
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| Passing information
from complaints to policy makers. |
| Taking advantage of new
information technology, including putting your complaints
procedure on the Internet. |
| Having complaints
reviewed by someone not responsible for the person or
service complained about. |
Part 2 gives advice
on setting up arrangements for reviewing complaints, and
examples from existing independent reviewers. It is intended
mainly for government departments, their agencies and
non-departmental public organisations that have a direct
link with the public but are not under the control of a
regulator.
It covers review
arrangements for complaints about maladministration and
failures to meet service aims and targets. It does not cover
formal appeals about decisions based on statutory
requirements or complaints about policy.
Part 2 is divided into two
chapters. Key points are:
I Background to reviewing
complaints
| A complaints review
system should be quite separate from line
management. |
| It is important because
it helps show users that you take complaints seriously
and aim to deal with them fairly. |
| What you call your
review system does not matter, as long as staff and users
understand how it works and see it as
independent. |
II Guiding principles for
reviewing complaints
| Agree the procedure
with the reviewer, include it in the contract and
advertise it. |
| Arrange for the
reviewer to receive training, including how to deal with
the media. |
| Allow enough funding,
but consider keeping costs down by sharing a reviewer
with another service. |
| Define and advertise
who can complain to the reviewer. |
| Define the reviewer's
right of access to your papers and staff. |
| Encourage the reviewer
to follow good practice, such as:
-
recording cases accurately;
- keeping information confidential;
- reporting his or her decision direct to the
person who has complained and to you; and
- carrying out user satisfaction
surveys.
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| Accept the reviewer's
recommendations or advertise why you have rejected
them. |
| Set up a formal system
for the reviewer to pass comments and recommendations on
practice and policy to senior management who can take
action to put things right. |
| Make sure that the
reviewer advertises his or her role in relation to the
ombudsmen, the options for further review and how to get
it. |
Annex A to Part 2 gives
examples of current arrangements for reviewing complaints,
with names, addresses and contact numbers.
This guide applies to
public services in Great Britain. Northern Ireland public
services have their own guide.
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