About

Why Value Complaints?

Handled well, complaints provide a low cost and important source of feedback and learning for organisations to help drive improvement and restore a positive relationship with customers who feel let down by poor service. Handled badly, they erode public confidence and trust in public services.

Adopting good practice in complaints handling has real benefits.  As well as providing an effective way for service users to have their voice heard and issues addressed, complaints offer an opportunity for organisations to gain an accurate picture of the level and quality of service they offer from the perspective of the user.

Complaints can also provide an early warning of more fundamental problems in service design and delivery.  The evidence and learning from complaints can give organisations an opportunity to make improvements before problems escalate.

How we can help

We are keen to support organisations in a range of ways:

  • Providing expertise and assistance in changing your complaints procedures and developing a valuing complaints culture
  • Providing feedback on developing model Complaints Handling Pocedures (CHPs) and plans for implementation
  • Speaking to your staff, management teams or at sectoral events to explain the model CHPs, our requirements for adoption and monitoring arrangements
  • Providing e-learning modules to increase awareness of the model CHP and improve complaints handling skills for frontline staff
  • Facilitating the sharing of knowledge and best practice in complaints handling
  • Setting up networks of complaints handlers in both local authority and housing sectors, to support and learn from each other
  • Developing resources to help organisations learn from complaints
  • Offering support to ensure that complaints form part of the overall governance arrangements for an organisation

Want to know more?

About the Valuing Complaints tells you more about how we support organisations, and the wider work that the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman does.

Please contact us if you want to discuss anything further.