Effective Complaint Handling 

Complaint handling is now very topical for the following reasons:

q The new Australian Standard AS ISO 10,002-2006 requires that that all personnel in contact with customers and complainants should be trained in complaint handling (see 5.3.4 of the Standard).

q Compliance with the new Australian Standard may be mandatory (depending the on the industry your organisation operates in).

q Turnover or attrition will often decrease when complaint handling staff receive relevant training and engagement rates will improve.

q Companies can save costs and increase profits by managing complaints effectively.

q 88% of customers who feel a complaint was handled well will remain loyal to the company (from TMI/SOCAP Complaint Culture Survey 2005).

q Companies that manage complaints well minimise risk and reduce the cost of external dispute resolution schemes.

q Companies that handle complaints well and learn from the experience obtain important customer feedback.

q Most companies are unaware of the cost of complaints to their company.  Most managers do not view complaints as important.

We can provide the following services:

• In-house 1 or 2 day workshops on Complaint Handling.

• A high level discussion with the executive team on the importance of Complaint Management and the business case for doing it well. For more information please contact us.

• On-line interactive training modules for call-centre staff. Click here for more information.

We can custom design a training program to meet the unique needs of your organisation.  We have custom designed in-house workshops for the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission,  Financial Industry Complaints Scheme (FICS) members, the Private Health Insurance Ombudsman (PHIO) conciliators, the Energy and Water Ombudsman (EWON) conciliators, CommSec and Optus to name only a few.

Nina Harding co-wrote the first Complaint Handling workshop for postgrad students in Australia.  This program was conducted at La Trobe University and is currently being run by Queensland University.

Custom design of course material, exercises and the course manual make these courses relevant to participants.  Our training courses are fun, interactive and educational.  We use a variety of tools to stimulate and inspire participants to change the way they resolve conflict; including, video, powerpoint, exercises,  roleplays,  discussion, fishbowl and demonstration by the course leader.

We have conducted training around Australia, in the Philippines,  New Zealand and Hong Kong.

Nina Harding has taught negotiation and mediation training courses for over 15 years.  She is a Course Leader for LEADR (the pre-eminent ADR membership organisation in Australia and NZ).  Nina is also a Adjunct Senior Lecturer at La Trobe University.

Below is a list of topics that have been popular with Complaint Handlers at previous workshops:

• What Complainants Expect / What we can provide

• An interest based approach to negotiation (and complaints handling)

• An introduction to AS ISO 10002 (the new Australian Standard)

• The Importance of Capturing and Resolving Complaints

• The cost of conflict (worksheet on costs and risks)

• Communicating with Complainants (Skills)

• Resolving Disputes Early (Skills)

• A Dispute Resolution Model (Skills)

• Complaint Handling System Design and Review

• Written complaint responses

• Delivering Bad News

• Phone Skills

• Dealing with Angry Complainants

• A 5year plan for complaints handling in your organisation.

For more information or a sample workshop program please Contact Us.