Yesterday’s Public Sector Complaints Conference discussions reinforced a clear message: effective complaints management isn’t just about resolving issues - it’s about learning from them to enhance services and rebuild trust.
But how do we do that?
Key Takeaways
Embedding Continuous Learning into Complaints Management
Mike McMahon from The Adjudicator’s Office opened the conference by emphasising the importance of improvement and continuous learning. Complaints should not just be resolved - they should inform future service improvements.
Sarah Scott from the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman highlighted that while handling complaints is crucial, preventing them is even more important. Demand has increased, and cases are becoming more complex. Two years ago, the Ombudsman introduced complaint standards, alongside a free complaint management course, reinforcing the need for better approaches to learning from failures.
Proactive Complaint Management: The Role of Data and Technology
Our MD, John McMahon underscored the need for a proactive approach to complaints management. Public service satisfaction has plummeted over the past two decades, and the data is clear: a 10% drop in satisfaction results in a 54% increase in complaints.
Reactive approach: GovMetric CX captures real-time feedback to understand service quality.
Proactive approach: CaseTracker enables structured complaint resolution and learning.
Looking ahead: We introduced Project Octavia, which is set to transform complaints management further - sign up for the pilot programme and read more about it here.
Ann Booth from Citizens Advice expressed excitement about the future of complaint handling following GovMetric’s presentation. She noted that Citizens Advice provided support to 2.55 million people last year, highlighting the scale of public need for effective complaint resolution.
Making Complaints Handling More Accessible
Handling complaints from vulnerable service users was a key focus. Naomi Creutzfeldt (University of Kent) and Miriam Minty (Independent Prisoner Complaint Investigations) stressed that organisations must first recognise vulnerabilities before they can provide effective support. Clear, accessible communication is essential to ensuring fair outcomes, and outdated digital infrastructure remains a significant challenge, particularly within prison services.
Early Resolution and the Power of Customer Insights
Sam Little and Owen Bubbers-Jones from CMP discussed the importance of achieving early resolution in complaints handling. Their work focuses on conflict management and mediation, helping organisations prevent issues from escalating unnecessarily.
Brian Weston from the Institute of Customer Service shared that 70% of public sector customers who had a poor experience reported it.
What was the main reason for dissatisfaction? Issues with service quality and reliability. The key to improving complaint handling lies in prevention - understanding the root causes of dissatisfaction and acting early to resolve concerns before they escalate.
Embracing Complaints as Opportunities to Learn
Rosemary Agnew, the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman, and PK Khaira-Creswell, Director of Corporate Affairs at Forestry England, discussed embedding learning into complaints processes.
Forestry England launched its ‘Customer Voice’ initiative in November 2023 to treat complaints as opportunities for service enhancement.
Meanwhile, Telford & Wrekin Council, represented by Lee Higgins, has been an early adopter of the LGSCO complaint code, well ahead of its official launch in April 2026.
Cllr. Ben Wesson from the Nursing and Midwifery Council and Ealing Council also emphasised the importance of unbiased, open-minded approaches to complaints, ensuring they are seen as tools for service improvement rather than administrative burdens.
What’s Next?
The conference reinforced that effective complaint handling is not just about resolution - it’s about using insights to drive meaningful service improvements.
If you’re looking to shift from reactive complaints handling to proactive service enhancement, contact us and explore how GovMetric CX and CaseTracker can help.
If you would like to discover some of our Customer Stories, highlighting real-world customer experience transformations within the public sector, click below.
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