HWGTA Feedback and Complaints Policy

HWGTA values all customer feedback and takes any cause for dissatisfaction very seriously. The Purpose of the Complaints Procedure is to:

Ensure complaints are recorded and investigated thoroughly in a transparent manner
Ensure that customers feel that any concerns are dealt with professionally and at the appropriate level.
Restore customer trust where this has been lost
Develop services through customer feedback
Avoid future customer dissatisfaction

To ensure that complaints are investigated as thoroughly as possible and in a timely fashion, we would expect any complaints to be reported within 1 month of any incident or concern.

Scope

All customers of the Association including

Employers
Learners
Delegates
Suppliers
Other customers

Complaints are defined as:

A written complaint in email or letter
A verbal complaint – sometimes individuals or employers might make a comment about being unsatisfied with the service that they have been given. This should be treated in the same way as a written complaint unless the individual or company states otherwise.
A negative comment via an evaluation form or process. In this case the manager responsible for counter signing the evaluation forms would decide if the comment should be documented within the complaints system

Responsibilities

All staff
Chief Executive (CE)
Management Team (MT)
Head of Organisational Development (HOD)
HR Advisor

Description

Complaints are identified using the criteria above in “scope” section

Complaints are reported to the appropriate MT immediately providing all necessary evidence

MT will then allocate investigation of complaint to appropriate member of staff, or carry out the investigation themselves – this could be carried out by the HR Advisor – particularly where objectivity is advantageous

The MT (or nominated person) will inform the complainant that their issue is being investigated within a reasonable time of the complaint being received and give them a reasonable timescale for response – this will depend on what form the investigation takes – but will not normally be longer that 10 working days

Full investigation to be carried out, including interview/discussion of all persons concerned (where appropriate)

Feedback about the investigation outcome will then be given to complainant and to relevant staff, within the agreed timescale. Where the investigation process is extended due to circumstantial reasons, the complainant will receive an update ahead of the agreed deadline and given a date when the investigation will conclude.

Areas for development will be identified and communicated to all relevant staff, including action plans where appropriate

Where a complaint relates to a programme administered by an external agency – eg HSE for First Aid at Work, Awarding Body etc. – any complaint that cannot be resolved internally is referred to the relevant external agency.

All complaints to be fully documented using the correct form and background information attached

Any complaints relating to Equality and Diversity, Safeguarding or Health and Safety to be reported to the Head of Organisational development immediately they are received

Complaint documentation to be returned, once complete to the HOD

HR Advisor to maintain central records electronically and summarise annually

Complaints reviewed monthly by SMT and bi monthly at Board level