Dealing with difficult complaints and applicants

DEALING WITH ‘DIFFICULT’
COMPLAINANTS AND
APPLICANTS
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The facts of life
There are four fundamental facts of life we need
to recognise and accept:
• Fact number one: some complainants can
indeed be difficult.
• Fact (or widely held perception) number two:
the problem is growing in terms of the
numbers of ‘difficult’ complainants and the
seriousness of their ‘difficult’ interactions.
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• Fact number three: most people would
prefer not to deal with difficult people.
• Fact number four: this seems to be reflected
in the culture or general approach of most
complaint handling organisations.
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Perceptions of ‘difficult’ complainants
‘Difficult’ complainants are generally seen
by complaint handlers as:
• a nuisance
• an irritant
• a side issue interfering in the pursuit of
the core complaint handling business
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The down side of
difficult complainants
‘Difficult’ complainants typically make up a small
percentage of complainants, but:
• they take up much staff time and energy,
• they put stresses on staff
• they put pressure on organisational
resources
• they create an equity issue in relation to
resources available for other complaints.
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X
Y
X
Y
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= Event / issue
= Complaint / applications
= Agencies
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USUAL

X
Y
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A
B
C
X
Y
X
Y
Z
= Event / Issue
= Complaint / application
= XYZABC Agencies
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SOME JOURNALISTS & MPs

X
X
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A
B
X
Z
B
X
Y
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= Event / Issue
= Complaint / application
= XYZABC Agencies
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SCATTER GUN

X
Or
X
X
= Event / Issue
= Complaint / application
X
Y
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= XYZABC Agencies
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OBSESSIONAL / REPEAT

F
E
Z
Y
X
A
B
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= Event / Issue
= Complaint / application
D
X
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= XYZABC Agencies
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ROLLING THUNDER

Shifts of focus from the issue to
the complaint handler
It is very common for ‘difficult’
complainants to change the focus of their
complaints from the substantive issue and
the organisation responsible for it, to how
their complaint is being handled by the
complaint handling organisation and
certain of its staff.
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Our new approach for dealing with
‘difficult’ complainants
Our new approach to the management of so
called ‘difficult’ complainants includes:
• a realisation of the need to change the
attitude and culture of organisations
• a re-categorisation of the conduct that is
seen as ‘difficult’
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• a description of conduct which emphasises
‘unreasonable’ behaviour
• the implementation of fair and reasonable
management strategies to address each
type of unreasonable behaviour.
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A fundamental shift in culture is needed
For organisations to be able to properly
deal with unreasonable conduct by
complainants appropriately, a
fundamental shift needs to occur in the
culture of those organisations.
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What does that require?
That change in culture requires:
• a realisation that dealing with unreasonable
complaint conduct is an unavoidable and
integral part of core work,
• that this work must be given proper priority
and adequate resources, and
• that staff be given appropriate support,
encouragement, guidance, training and
direction.
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The importance of terminology
Terminology can influence how
complainants and their conduct is
perceived and responded to.
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The downside of labelling
Labelling the person runs the risk of
complaint handlers adopting a ‘one size
fits all’ approach or response to ‘difficult’
behaviour by a person.
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The focus should change
The focus should be on the conduct, not
the person – on observable behaviour not
the person’s mental state or possible
motives.
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Why the change in focus?
This change in focus allows for:
• the fact that many people often exhibit different
types of unreasonable conduct, each sometimes
warranting different responses – enabling more
focussed management strategies
• implementation by non-mental health professionals
• greater transparency in interactions with
complainants
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Our new categories of unreasonable
complainant conduct
Our new categories of unreasonable
complainant conduct are:
• unreasonable persistence
• unreasonable demands
• unreasonable lack of cooperation
• unreasonable arguments
• unreasonable behaviours
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Strategies to address different types of
unreasonable conduct
Management strategies to address different
types of unreasonable conduct are based on:
• for unreasonable persistence – strategies
about saying ‘no’
• for unreasonable demands – strategies
about setting limits
• for unreasonable lack of cooperation –
strategies about setting conditions
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• for unreasonable arguments - strategies
about declining or discontinuing
involvement
• for unreasonable behaviours – strategies
designed around a risk management
protocol
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The aims of the National Project
The aims of the National Project on
Unreasonable Complainant Conduct are to:
• minimise adverse impacts on:
– resource management
– the relevant processes of the agency
– agency staff
• minimise harm to people displaying
unreasonable conduct
• ensure equity across all matters
• achieve consistency of practice across
Ombudsman Offices.
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Best Practice
BEST
B - Boundaries
E - Expectations
S - Support
T - Training
PRACTICE
P - Practices
R - Responsibilities
A - Authority
C - Communication
T - Time
I - Impartiality
C - Consistency
E - Equanimity
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‘Ground rules’ or ‘rules of engagement’
We will develop a set of standard ‘ground
rules’, or ‘rules of engagement’ for
complainants and complaint handlers.
We will seek to have these adopted by
complaint handlers across Australia.
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