Complaint handling resources

‘Organisations should have designated, sufficient resource assigned to take responsibility for complaint handling, including liaison with the relevant Ombudsman and ensuring complaints are reported to the governing body (or equivalent).’ (Paragraph 4.1 of the Complaint Handling Code)

It is for individual organisations to determine the best way use their resources to deliver effective complaint systems. However, organisations should ensure any complaints systems are able to:

• Resolve complaints at an early stage.
• Easily access relevant information to reach sound decisions; and
• Provide centralised oversight of complaints data across all services.

Model complaint handling service structures

Below we set out four possible models for structuring complaints systems.

Each approach presents benefits and risks: examples are highlighted below but you should consider which benefits and risks apply to your organisation and how these are mitigated. These are best managed through effective scrutiny, strong corporate leadership and good relationship management between those responsible for managing complaints systems and the services subject to the complaint.

Dispersed

Complaints are received and handled by individual services but there is central oversight of complaints performance data. This may suit a organisations where it would be disproportionate to have a single point of contact for complaints and cross service interactions are made easier due to low staff numbers and well established cross organisational working arrangements.

Possible benefits:

• Services well placed to identify demand
• Services well placed to provide quick resolution to complaints as complaint handling being provided at point of delivery
• Places ownership on services to manage complaints effectively and improve services
• Services able to move resources to deal with sudden unexpected rises in complaints.

Possible risks

• Challenging to ensure consistency across services, especially in accepting complaint, standard of response and how data is collected.
• Difficult to identify complaints involving more than one service area and provide a co-ordinated response.
• Lack of control over how complaint data is recorded. Individual services able to manipulate data to present positive impression of performance.
• Lack of centralised ownership of end-to-end complaints process and complainant experience.
• Accepted practice of services goes unchecked and unchallenged through complaints process.
• Harder to drive cultural change across organisation in relation to complaint handling
• Large proportion of staff require complaint handling training as part of both induction and ongoing development.

Semi dispersed

Complaints are received centrally and then passed to individual services to respond to. Stage 2 complaints may be dealt with by someone senior within the same service or another service area. There is centralised oversight of complaints data. This approach may suit organisations where there is a need to support co-ordination of complaint handling systems centrally but it would be disproportionate to for complaints to be responded to centrally, for example because this would require a significant restructure of the organisation, or because complaints can be handled within existing resources at service level.

Possible benefits:

• Greater consistency in identifying complaints through central point of contact.
• Easier to identify complaints about more than one service area.
• Services well placed to provide quick resolution to complaints as complaint handling being provided at point of delivery.
• Control over how complaints data is recorded.
• Places ownership on services to manage complaints effectively and improve services.
• Services able to move resources to deal with sudden unexpected rises in complaints.

Possible risks

• Inconsistency of standard of responses depending on culture within individual services. No oversight of end-to-end process across the whole organisation.
• Difficult to provide a co-ordinated response to complaints about more than one service as may need to have systems in place setting out who will lead on the response.
• Accepted practice of services goes unchecked and unchallenged through complaints process.
• Harder to drive cultural change across organisation in relation to complaint handling without strong leadership at the top of the organisation.
• Large proportion of staff require complaint handling training as part of both induction and ongoing development.
• Requires strong relationship management between complaints team and individual services

Semi centralised

Complaints are received centrally and then passed to individual services to respond to. Stage 2 complaints are dealt with by a centralised complaints service. There is centralised oversight of complaints data. This approach may suit organisations where there is a need to have flexible resources to manage demand at stage 1 but maintain central ownership of sending final responses to ensure consistency across the organisation. The centralised complaints team could be embedded across different services but managed by a central corporate lead.

Possible benefits:

• Greater consistency in identifying complaints through central point of contact.
• Easier to identify complaints about more than one service area and provide a co-ordinated response.
• Services well placed to provide quick resolution to complaints as initial complaint handling being provided at point of delivery.
• Places ownership on services to manage initial complaints effectively.
• Control over how complaints data is recorded.
• Greater oversight of the end to end process across the organisation.
• Accepted practice of services can be checked and challenged at stage 2.
• Easier for complaints systems to hold individual services to account where fault is found.
• Smaller proportion of staff need training in complaint handling.
• Services able to move resources to deal with sudden unexpected rises in initial complaints.

Possible risks

• Inconsistency of standard of responses to initial complaints depending on culture within individual services potentially leading to more escalations to stage 2.
• Harder to drive cultural change across organisation in relation to end to end complaint handling without strong leadership at the top of the organisation.
• Centralised complaint service may be unable to cope with sudden increases in casework due to lack of flexibility of resource.
• Requires strong relationship management between complaints team and individual services.

Centralised

All complaints are received and dealt with centrally. Stage 2 complaints are dealt with by a different officer and signed off by senior officer. There is centralised oversight of complaints data. This approach may suit organisations where complaint numbers can be managed by a single team and there is an identified benefit to having centralised control over the quality of all complaint responses.

Possible benefits:

• Consistency in identifying complaints through central point of contact.
• Easier to identify complaints about more than one service area and provide a co-ordinated response.
• Consistency of response and control over timescales.
• Control over how complaints data is recorded.
• Greater oversight of the end to end process across the organisation.
• Accepted practice of services can be checked and challenged.
• Easier for complaints systems to hold individual services to account where fault is found.
• Easier to drive cultural change across organisation in relation to end to end complaint handling.
• Smaller proportion of staff need training in complaint handling.

Possible risks

• Harder to achieve quick resolution to complaints as complaints team have no control over service delivery.
• Lack of ownership within services to deal with issues before they become complaints.
• Complaints team may be unable to gain quick access to relevant records for purposes of an investigation.
• Centralised complaint service may be unable to cope with sudden increases in casework due to lack of flexibility of resource.
• Requires strong relationship management between complaints team and individual services.