User experience
Our aim is to provide an accessible, timely and person-centred complaints process.
Why?
People come to us after something has gone wrong, often at a time of distress, so making the user experience the best it can be is key to this strategy.
Our process needs to be easy to understand and navigate. A clear, efficient and timely process helps complainants feel respected, enables organisations to engage constructively, and allows our staff to focus on meaningful, person-centred interactions.
Effective communication sits at the heart of this approach. Early, responsive guidance helps people understand their rights, navigate complex systems and resolve issues before they deepen. Clear, empathetic communication ensures people feel heard and supported, even when decisions are difficult. These principles not only improve individual experiences but are also a core part of our aim to encourage openness and early resolution across all public services.
Modelling the high standards we expect of others means being open to feedback, willing to learn and transparent about how we improve. Feedback is not just a process; it is a statement of values. Using feedback helps us to demonstrate our commitment to fairness and accountability. Showing how people’s experiences inform our decisions and lead to meaningful change is essential to building public trust and fostering a culture of openness and learning across the public sector.
| Objective 1 | Outcomes |
| We will transform how people access and experience our service, using digital tools and AI-enabled pathways to make it clearer, faster and more transparent at every stage. |
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How?
We will apply user-centred design across all channels to simplify processes and improve efficiency. Everyone should know what to expect from our service, be able to understand our process and be able to access our service regardless of circumstances or capacity.
We will introduce new online accounts that will allow people to make complaints, and organisations we investigate to engage with us more easily. Through their accounts, complainants and organisations can share evidence securely and stay informed on the progress of a case. The accounts will include information about the decisions we have made and why. This will help us to manage evidence more efficiently and gather better feedback on people’s experience of our service. We will continue to offer accessible, non-digital ways to contact us, including our phone line, and we will maximise the alternative formats we have developed in recent years, including Easy Read and British Sign Language (BSL) options.
We will also modernise our casework systems so that digital tools and AI streamline time-consuming tasks. These tools will help caseworkers to collate information, search guidance and spend more time on talking to the people who use our service.
Our website will be easier to navigate, guidance will be clear, and the steps people need to take will be straightforward.
| Objective 2 | Outcome |
| We will provide clear, responsive advice that helps people understand their options, access the most appropriate support and resolve issues early wherever possible. |
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How?
We will improve how we signpost people to appropriate support, including to other organisations or routes to redress, so they can continue their journey with confidence when we are not the right organisation to resolve their concern.
We will communicate clearly and transparently and explain our decisions, including when we cannot investigate. We will continue to pursue and promote opportunities for early resolution, helping people to get the right outcome without going through an investigation.
We will develop staff skills in clear communication and supporting people in vulnerable situations, drawing on user research to make sure our guidance is accessible and tailored to people’s needs.
| Objective 3 | Outcome |
| We will collect and analyse real-time feedback and user insight to continuously improve the design and delivery of our service, better meet people’s needs, and model a culture of learning. |
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How?
Insight from user surveys and wider research will continuously shape improvements, making sure our service meets the needs of complainants and organisations alike, while giving staff confidence and the capacity to deliver high-quality casework and person-centred support.
The online account for complainants will capture insight at key points in the user journey to understand people’s experience of our service and how easy it is to use. We will make sure that feedback and lessons learned from our quality assurance processes and our engagement with our Public Engagement Advisory Group help to continuously improve day-to-day operations.
We will publish insights on our website to support transparency and accountability.