Directorate Seminar on Complaints HandlingDirectorate Seminar on Complaints Handling

Complaints Handling –Complaints Handling –2008 Government Survey2008 Government Survey

Steve Barclay

Assistant Director, Efficiency Unit

11 December 2008

The Survey

Objective

To understand the current situation

To identify good practices

To pinpoint potential improvement areas

Scope

All bureaux and departments

All types of public complaints (Oct 2007 to Sep 2008)

Exclude statutory appeals, objections or petitions to the CE, staff complaints, complaints referred from selected statutory public bodies, and complaints about crime and corruption

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Question

How many complaints has the Government received in the past 12 months?

(Hint: the ICC received 270,000 complaints, service requests, and suggestions in the same period)

A. 200,000 – 300,000

B. 300,000 – 400,000

C. 400,000 – 500,000

D. Over 500,000

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Complaints Received

Nearly 260,000 complaints reported by departments

Probably on the low side 7 departments could not provide

statistics Some departments’ statistics

surprisingly low

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Complaint Channels5

Many departments have publicised their complaints channels

Complaint Channels

… but a website search revealed that

Some departments published the channels inconspicuously, e.g.

Click “Service guide” > “XXX Complaints System” (p.5)

Click “About us” > “Enquiries and Contacts”

Some avoid using the word “complaint”, e.g.

“There will be occasions when, despite our best efforts, we are unable to provide the services within the specified standards. In such cases, if you want an explanation or if you feel that your case has not been dealt with adequately, you should ...”, Comments and Suggestions page

The telephone number given is the complaint hotline, but this is only stated explicitly on a departmental press release

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Complaints Received

Different mix of complaints observed

Considerable number of referrals received from external sources (excluding 1823) Are the existing complaint channels effective? Any issue on publicity of complaint channels?

Considerable number of complaints related to regulatory/oversight responsibilities Have different procedures been established to deal with such complaints?

Considerable number of complaints on policy issues 6% departments say policy prevents customer satisfaction 38% departments say complainants disagree with policy 47% departments receive complaints involving multiple departments Have the bureaux been informed about the public’s concerns?

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Complaints Handling System8

Complaints Handling System

Good practices

Clear roles and responsibilities of staff at different levels

Emphasise the importance of provision of customer-oriented service

Developed complaint record forms

Developed sample letters for communication with complainants

Case studies on complaint handling

Improvement opportunities

Recognise the importance of complaints

Multiple channels

Facilitation of making complaints

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Dealing with Complaints10

The problem is mainly with the complainants?

The problem is mainly with the complainants?

Dealing with Complaints

Target response time

Interim reply Departments: 94% Target: normally 7 – 10 days

Substantive reply Departments: 72% Target: normally 10 – 30 days

Keeping complainants informed of case progress

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Engagement of Service Providers12

Dealing with Complaints

Good practices

Maintaining close communication with complainants

Control mechanism on complaint processing time

Mechanism to handle repeated, groundless or malicious complaints

Limiting the number of internal referrals

Dedicated committees to monitor and review complaints

Job attachment programme for Customer Services Officers

Alert to potential complaint cases

Quality assurance

Explaining your decisions

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Dealing with Complaints

Improvement opportunities

Develop a mechanism to handle cross-departmental complaints 47% of departments have received such complaints but over 40% don’t have a

mechanism in place

Publicise complaint statistics Increase transparency Increase alertness Help make the system more robust

Ensure consistency of complaint handling practice by external service providers

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Analysis and Reporting15

Question

When was the last time you read your B/D complaints report?

A. In preparation for this seminar

B. Within the last month

C. Within the last 3 months

D. Within the last 6 months

E. Within this year

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Analysis and Reporting

Not many departments produce reports that are seen by senior directorate officers

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Analysis and Reporting18

28% of departments conducted reviews or customer satisfaction survey

Analysis and Reporting

Improvement opportunities

Compile report and analyse

Ensure that reports are seen regularly by directorate officers

To regularly review the complaint handling system and/or conduct customer satisfaction survey

Analyse the causes of complaints

Identify systemic weaknesses and improvement areas

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Assistance Required20

Next Steps

Further analysis of survey results: report in due course

Survey results will inform Admin Wing’s circular and EU’s complaints handling guide

EU/CSTDI noted departments’ interest in training – under discussion

EU can assist departments reviewing complaints handling arrangements

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