In the latest episode of Making Complaints Count, we heard how the Complaint Standards are making a real difference to complaint handling. Our guests shared how the Standards have helped them to learn from feedback to create lasting change.
I was joined by:
- Paul Hetherington, Inclusion and Experience Specialist, Improving Customer Delivery at DEFRA
- Gemma Rauer, Deputy Director of Communications and Engagement and Director of Patient Relations at University Hospital Birmingham
- Tina Bige, Principal Customer Engagement Manager at Natural England.
The value of complaints
A consistent theme across all three organisations is that complaints aren’t just issues to fix, they’re opportunities for organisations to learn from and improve.
Tina explained that at Natural England complaints offer a way to:
“build trust with customers and demonstrate that we care about what our customers have to say, and that we’ll act on feedback to improve our processes going forward.”
Gemma added that feedback can also come from other sources, including from staff. Listening to feedback from staff across an organisation can help to identify pain points and address issues before they escalate.
Promoting a learning culture that encourages staff to speak up and welcomes complaints is an important part of the Complaint Standards. It helps staff feel confident when things go wrong and empowered to learn from mistakes.
Putting the Complaint Standards into practice
We touched on how the Complaint Standards have changed the way the organisations handle complaints since they were rolled out. The guests praised the guidance, training and support available from our Stakeholder Engagement team.
Paul really liked the “customer friendly language” and the opportunities to collaborate with other organisations. Tina enjoyed the online training which she thought was “really interactive”.
Each guest also highlighted that the resources for organisations available on our website are easy to access and extremely useful. Gemma said the materials were really empowering and:
“encouraged us to look at our processes and make sure they are the best they can be.”
She urged other organisations to take full advantage of the guidance and tools provided.
What’s next for the Complaint Standards
We also explored what’s next for complaint handling and how the Complaint Standards can evolve.
The role of AI in complaints management emerged as a common theme, particularly how it could support a more consistent approach across government departments.
The guests also highlighted some specific challenges. Gemma would like to see more guidance on complaints related to bereavement. She called for more work to define what good looks like when supporting families who’ve lost a loved one and want to raise concerns.
Paul raised the issue of handling policy-related complaints in central government. This can be especially tricky when multiple delivery partners are involved.
“It can be a challenging area and further guidance would be really helpful.”
The Complaint Standards guidance is always evolving and we’ll take their feedback on board for future updates.
Share your story
It was great to hear the impact the Complaint Standards have had on complaint handling across each of these organisations.
Has your organisation used the Complaint Standards? We’d love to hear how they’ve made a difference for you and your service users. Join the conversation using #MakeComplaintsCount. Check out our toolkit for more information on how to get involved.
If you’d like to hear more, you can also listen to the full episode of the podcast: