Tell Us Policy & Procedure

Document Status: Approved

Originator: Tracey Tudor

Revision History

Revision Date / Version Control / Summary of changes
1.4.12 / 01.01.01
20.4.12 / 01.01.02 / Minor typing amendments from AWG accepted
H&S forms inserted and referenced (AG)
25.7.2015 / 01.01.03 / Review of policy
14.12.2015 / 01.01.04 / Review of policy
20.1.2016 / 01.01.05 / Minor changes based on timescales to make complaints.
17.2.2016 / 01.01.06 / Minor changes following feedback from the tenants consultative group
4.11.2016 / 01.01.07 / Minor changes following feedback from HofS and lessons learned from ongoing management of the policy.
28.2.2017 / 01.01.08 / Changes made to the policy following a review of best practice via the Local Government Ombudsman.
30.3.2017 / 01.01.09 / Changes to policy as a result of consultation with the Chief Executive

Key Signatories

Approvals Creation and Major Change

Name / Title / Approved
Anica Goodwin / Director of Transformation and Corporate Performance / 1.11.2017
CMT / CMT approved / 1.11.2017
SLT / SLT approved / 4.12.2017
Cabinet / Cabinet approval / 6.12.2017

Approval Path

Major ChangeAction

Tracey Tudor Submission

Anica GoodwinSponsor

Heads of Service Consultative Group

CMT Corporate Approval

Cabinet Approval

Document Review Plans

This document is subject to a scheduled review to take place every year. Updates shall be made in accordance with business requirements and changes and will be with agreement with the document owner.

Where this document is subject to a Major Change the Trade Union Liaison Group (TULG) are consulted as an advisory body along with the Councils Data Protection Officer.

Distribution

The document will be distributed through NETConsent and will also be available on the Intranet, and internet.

Security Classification

This document is classified as SEC0 Routine with no restrictions in access to the policy.

TELL US POLICY

Purpose

To provide a framework that enables customers to give feedback about the Councils’ services, standards and to ensure consistency and fairness when dealing with this feedback.

Contents

Introduction
Scope
Complaints
  • What is a complaint
  • What is excluded

Complaints procedure and process
Compliments and Comments
Performance Management
  1. Tell Us Policy introduction

As a Council, we want to offer a service that isright first time – every time. Occasionally though we accept that things do not go as we planned.

We encouragecustomers to tell us about their experience, good or bad, and/or suggest ways toimprove our service delivery. This feedback can help us to:

  • enhance our reputation
  • improve our performance
  • improve our business processes
  • re-design our services
  • train and develop our staff
  • share good practice

Customer feedback supports the Customer Service and Access Strategy and Demand Management operating model in its desire to improve service, satisfaction, and to ensure that the Council is utilising the feedback provided by customers when planning and designing services.

2. Scope

This policy:

  • Applies to all Council employees and the employees of those organisations who deliver services on our behalf.
  • Applies to anyone affected by our services can give feedback.
  • Covers all compliments and comments received about a service or officer
  • States that compliments and comments can be made at any time and are not time restricted.
  • States that complaints can be made about a service within 12 months of the issue or incident occurring. Should a complaint occur that is older than 12 months, the Head of Service has the discretion to determine if the complaint –
  • falls within the policy and
  • should be considered under the policy because the issue was not previously evident
  1. Responsibility

3.1 Customer Services

The Head of Customer Services will –

  • develop the policy, procedure and promote the scheme,
  • give feedback on complaints/compliments regarding the performance of Council services, spot trends, identify training needs for staff,
  • ensure that the policy is being adhered to, and that the responses issued are to the standards detailed at the end of the policy for both stage 1 and 2 complaints,
  • review all complaints made about members of staff,
  • ensure that officers/services who receive compliments are aware of the customer’s satisfaction, and that we celebrate and acknowledge this success via a reward scheme where applicable,
  • provide training on the policy and the Customer Relationship Management System (CRM),
  • ensure thatincidents of hate and inequality are recorded and reported via the appropriate mechanisms,
  • provide analysis, information and performance information to managers, Corporate Management Team and Elected Members,
  • co-ordinate stage 1 and 2 complaints,
  • support the procedure whereby a complaint has been made to the Local Government Ombudsman,
  • ensure all Elected Members and MP complaints follow the procedure of the Tell Us Policy,
  • determine levels of compensation in accordance with the guidance issued by the Local Government Ombudsman,
  • ensure that the Tell Us Policy is embedded into the Councils procurement process,
  • ensure that complaints about contractors arepassed directly to the contractor and that contractors adhere to the Tell Us policy and process.

Customer Service Officers will –

  • On behalf of the customer -
  • work to resolve complaints when they are first raised before they become an issue,
  • detail all complaints, comments and compliments onto the CRM system,
  • seek the views and feedback from a random sample of customers who have been through the Tell Us process,
  • record and acknowledge all compliments on the Councils CRM system and share them with the appropriate Head of Service,
  • record and acknowledge all comments on the Councils CRM system and share them with the appropriate Head of Service,
  • quarterly - share comments and compliments throughout the organisation via notice boards.

3.2 Service Areas

The Heads of Service (HofS) will -

  • manage the policy within their service,
  • designate an officer to deal with stage 1 complaints,
  • investigatestage 2complaints,
  • provide responses to the customer setting out the findings and the reasons for the findings
  • adhere to the standards set when dealing with complaints,
  • learn from feedback,
  • Heads of Service will include theTell Us Policy principals into any contracted or commissioned services and report performance to the Head of Customer Service for inclusion into the overall performance framework,
  • send all responses to the Customer Services Centre,
  • determine if a complaint if valid.

3.3 Corporate Management Team (CMT) and the Senior Leadership Team Meeting will on a quarterly basis -

  • ensure the policy is adhered to,
  • review the performance reportsand make recommendations on remedial actions where necessary.
  1. Tell Us Procedure

4.1 Reporting an initial enquiry/concern

Officers will, in all instances try to resolve a complaint when the customer first contacts us. The Customer Service Centre will deal with all initial enquires and try to resolve these at the first point of contact. We may need to make some further investigations, but we will keep the customer informed as we make the relevant enquiries.

If a suitable resolution is not reached, then advice will be given to the customer about accessing the Tell Us Policy and procedure. In order to make a complaint via the Tell Us process, customers can –

  • Ask any member of staff to complete the complaint, comment or compliment on behalf of the customer.
  • Visit our website at and use the ‘contact us’ button on our homepage.
  • Download our mobile app ‘My Staffs’
  • Text ‘tellus’ to 88020.
  • Customers can also contact us in writing,
  • Telephone 01827 709709 or call in to see us at Marmion House, Lichfield Street, Tamworth, Staffordshire, B79 7BZ where an officer will record the complaint.

Compliments and Comments

Compliments and comments are essential to appreciate where a team or an officer is demonstrating services that are meeting or exceeding customers’ expectations.

We encourage customers to provide any suggestions about how to improve the Council’s services.

Complaints

A complaint is defined as “an expression of dissatisfaction with the Council, however expressed and whether justified or not”.

All complaints will be treated seriously, responded to and if it is determined that the dissatisfaction of the customer is not justified we will notify the customer of this decision explaining why.

The following are examples of complaints -

If a matter has already been reported to the Council and the work has not been completed, or it has taken longer than we said it would take - this is a complaint. In addition, the following are also complaints -

  • When we have not provided a service to the standard stated,
  • Staff who are rude or unhelpful,
  • Not answering a customer’squestion or delivering a service,
  • Not following its own policies, rules or procedures,
  • A decision without consideration of all of the facts,
  • Discrimination or harassment on the grounds of age, disability, gender, race or sexual orientation,
  • A delay in taking in action without a good reason,
  • Giving incorrect or misleading information.

Complaints will generally exclude-

  • Matters of law or Central Government Policy or their interpretation,
  • Complaints about staffing appointments, dismissals, pay, conduct and other Human Resource policy and procedures,
  • Freedom of Information or Data Protection requests,
  • Commercial or contract matters,
  • Complaints that are following a judicial process or legal process (such as a planning decision),
  • A housing repair, requesting that a hedge is trimmed, some litter picking up, etc.
  • Wanting information or an explanation of a council policy or practice,
  • An appeal against a Planning application, a Housing application, a Benefit award decision, a parking ticket or statutory notices (these are dealt with under other procedures),
  • Complaints about licenses, permits, approvals, consents, permissions or registrations or any related enforcement actions (these are dealt with under other procedures),
  • Complaints made by members of staff against other members of staff that are covered under others policies such as the Whistle Blowingpolicy, Dignity and Respect at work etc,
  • Complaints against members/councilors conduct (these are covered under a separate code of conduct).

4.2 Stage One - Formal Complaints

Stage one complaints must detail what the customer is dissatisfied with in regards to the Council, and identify where they perceive a failing has occurred.

The Head of Customer Services will co-ordinate all stage onecomplaint’s and send it to the responsible Head of Service and their ‘designated officer’for investigation and action.

Within 7 days of receipt of the complaint, the complaintwill be recorded onto the CRM system with a reference number and an acknowledgement issued to the customeradvising –

  • that the complaint has been received,
  • the name of the officer dealing with the complaint,
  • a resolution date.

The service area’s designated officer will, within 28 days of the complaint being received:

  • Summarise the main issues to be resolved
  • Investigate the complaint,
  • Provide a detailed response to the customer setting out the findings and the reasons for the findings,
  • Advise the customer that if they are still dissatisfied, they can requestto progress the complaint to stage twowithin one month from the date at the top of their letter/response,
  • Provide the Head of Customer Service a copy of the response issued to the customer and a resolution.

Stage Two – Escalated Complaints

Stage 2 complaints the customer must state why they feel that the complaint should be escalated to stage 2, and why they disagree or are dissatisfied with the outcome of the stage 1 complaint.

The Head of Customer Services will co-ordinate all stage two complaint’s and send it to the responsible Head of Service for investigation and action.

  • All stage two complaints will be logged onto the CRM,
  • All stage two complaints must be made by the customer within one month from the date of the outcome of the stage one complaint,
  • The Head of Service will decide if there is enough information for the investigation of the complaint and if not, the Head of Service will advise the customer of their decision and ask for further evidence,
  • The customer must present this additional information within one month of this request,
  • The investigation and response will be issued will be within 63 days of receipt and the outcome will be notified to the customers,
  • All records will be maintained on the Council’s CRM system,
  • The decision made by the Head of Service is final.
  1. Local Government Ombudsman Investigations

We appreciate there will be certain circumstances when despite having utilised the Council’s Tell Us Policy customers will remain dissatisfied. In such circumstances, the customer can contact the Local Government Ombudsman who will investigate a complaint against the Council.

The Ombudsman is an independent, impartial and free service, and can be contacted at -

The Local Government Ombudsman
PO Box 4771
Coventry CV4 0EH

Fax: 024 7682 0001

Or, LGO Advice Team on 0300 061 0614 or 0845 602 1983. (Calls to 03 numbers will cost no more than calls to national geographic numbers (starting 01or 02) The Advice Team are available Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 5.00pm. You can also text ‘call back’ to 0762 480 4299.

Housing Ombudsman Service

Exchange Tower

Harbour Exchange Square

London

E14 9GE

Telephone : 0300 111 3000 (lines are open Monday to Friday from 9:15 to 17:15)

Fax : 020 7831 1942

Email :

6.Performance

6.1 Standards

We will seek to resolve all issues when a Customer first makes contact.

All feedback will be acknowledged within 7 days.

Provide a response within 28 days to all stage one complaints.

Provide a response to all stage two complaints within 63 days.

Respond to enquirieswithout using jargon. However, sometimes we may need to quote law or legislation.

Ensure that customers feel that their complaints are being treated seriously, even if the outcome is not to their liking, because at times we are restricted by law and legislation.

We are fair, and put things right when we are able to.

We will tell Customers how to take their complaint further if they are still not satisfied with the resolution offered.

Provide an interpreter, signer or information in an alternative language if required.

Listen to what customers tell us. If we make changes as a result of feedback, we will report this back to the customer.

Provide assistance and help register a complaint, compliment or comment.

Provide details of the officer dealing with the complaint.

Ensure customers will not be treated adversely as a result of making a complaint.

Ensure confidentiality with the information provided is protected under the Data Protection Act

Thank customers for their compliments and comments

Where a complaint has been made and it is evident that part of the complaint falls under other policies, process or procedures, e.g. a Freedom of Information request. The Council will seek to provide a response on all issues in a coordinated manner.

When a complaint is received via any other method from an elected member or Member of Parliament then these complaints will be recorded via the tell us process.

6.2 Performance Targets

All performance will be measured and monitored via the Councils Covalent system.

  • 100% of responses to stage one complaints delivered within 28 days
  • 100% of stage two complaints investigated and the outcome notified to the customer within63days
  • Reduce the number of complaints by 20%
  • Increase the number of compliments by 20%
  • Increase the number ofcomments by 20%
  • Increased usage of the scheme via digital channels to 95%
  • Measure the changes made to council services as a result of feedback via the Tell Us Scheme 100%
  • First response recorded on the Councils CRM systems via the Customer Service Centre 100%
  • Increase customer Satisfaction to 90% in the way their complaints are handled (not the outcome but the process).
  • Evaluate by survey, measuring professionalism of letter, timeliness of response, quality of response, learning from complaint, overall satisfaction from the customers’ point of view.

7.Ongoing Development

A review of this policy will be carried annually following a review of the previous year’s performance.

  1. Consultation

Consultation has taken place with CMT, Heads of Service, Internal Audit, colleagues and customers from our diverse community.

This policy has been Community Impact Assessed

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