Complaints: LeadTogether Highlight #14, 1-13-15

Dear Friends,

Last week our school completed work on a new grievance policy. In our discussions we explored what constitutes a grievance, what is the difference between a grievance and a complaint, and what principles are Through this I discovered a few core principles for dealing with complaints in general and there are ones specific to dealing with complaints in a collaborative community.
Understand that all complaints contain some insight
Everyone should clearly know who to complaint to about what
Every complainant should be given the opportunity to share what he or she wants to see done
There is an environment that embraces and accepts complaints without resistance
There is a clear visible process for dealing with complaints that provides
immediate acknowledgement
quick response
timely follow through
clear communications and
thorough documentation.
Everyone should clearly know what to do with complaints
Complaints should be bundled and analyzed for themes
Here is a checklist developed by One World Trust for NGO’s to assess the strength of your organization’s complaint process. OWT Checklist
Every complaint is both an opportunity for the organization to grow and for the relationship of the complainant to the organization to develop. This requires active, open and non-judgmental listening and honest reflecting and is an area where we have a lot to learn in our communities.

Keep in touch,

Michael