Handling Employee Complaints

You probably don't want to spend the time and resources or have the need to develop an involved procedure for dealing with employee complaints. Instead, you may want to have some general guidelines so that employees know what to do if they have a complaint. A set of basic procedures helps you treat all complaints in a fair and consistent manner.

Your informal complaint procedure can be just about anything you want to make it. Typically, small business owners can adopt an informal, open door policy, or a more formal process involving periodic employee meetings.

Be sure to communicate basic information to employees about what to do if they have a complaint. In a "policy" of this sort:

explain that your business cares about its employees and wants to help solve any workplace problems that may arise
encourage employees to come forward with problems and assure them they will be taken seriously, kept confidential, and handled fairly and consistently
explain how employees should go about voicing a complaint

An alternative to having a traditional complaint procedure is to address complaints as they arise. This may be an effective approach for a business with just a few employees. However, if you find that you're spending a lot of time dealing with complaints, you may want to consider a more formal complaint procedure.

Requiring employees to follow procedures may also curtail aimless complaining or griping that they may feel is justified because you don't have a specific policy governing complaints.

Whatever the type of dispute or complaint resolution procedure, either an informal procedure or a case-by-case approach, it should:

resolve disputes in a timely manner
provide a binding resolution
involve those who must live with the decision
be externally defensible, in case the decision is subsequently challenged
be perceived as being fair overall

If employees feel that they are being treated with respect and fairness, they are more likely to accept the resolution you suggest, even if it is not exactly what they wanted or expected.

Be sure to treat all complaints seriously:

Allow the employee to talk without interruption.
Ask questions until you have a clear understanding of the facts. Probe for specifics.
Ask the employee what he or she would like to see in the way of a resolution.
Remain calm and in control; do not lose your temper or become accusatory.
Establish a record by taking thorough notes. This will also assure the employee that you are taking the matter seriously. You may want to have the employee write down the complaint, as well.
Repeat the complaint. This will ensure that you and the employee agree on the facts and the issues.
Don't make a decision until you obtain all the facts. If you must talk to others, explain that to the employee. It’s better to postpone a decision than to make one that you would regret or reverse later.
Check to see if any of the business’s other policies (if there are any) address the problem. Have there been other similar cases? How were they handled in the past?
Consider the source and gather information about the complaining employee. The more you know about the employee, the easier it will be to handle the complaint.
Advise the employee of the decision as soon as possible. Determine the most appropriate time and place to meet with the employee.
If the employee's complaint is without merit, explain it to the employee in a pleasant, low-key manner.
If the complaint is sound, thank the employee for calling it to your attention so that you can resolve it.
Follow through with corrective action as soon as possible. Delay may result in other problems.
Check back with the employee after taking action in order to determine if the issue has been completely resolved to his or her satisfaction.