PUBLIC SECTOR ORGANIZATIONS AND COMPLAINT HANDLING SYSTEMS DURING PANDEMIC: THE OMBUDSMAN PERSPECTIVE

 PUBLIC SECTOR ORGANIZATIONS AND COMPLAINT HANDLING SYSTEMS DURING PANDEMIC: THE OMBUDSMAN PERSPECTIVE

By

Marshall Israel. 

Complaint Handling is Very crucial in the Public Sector as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage the world. 

It is important and expedient to highlight and release new best practices aimed at helping public sector organizations deal with complaints fairly, efficiently and effectively.

I have seen first-hand that unprecedented disruptions in public services arising from the pandemic are generating a number of new complaints. I have received more than 600 COVID-related complaints and enquiries against local, State and federal governments and other public bodies since March, 2020. These are Complaints that were supposed to be resolved internally. 

These pandemic-induced changes in public services have, in many cases, left people confused and frustrated. They are finding it difficult to resolve their Complaints as Many Organizations have resorted to work online and from home. To ensure public complaints are thoroughly and professionally dealt with by public sector organizations,  new Complaint Handling system will provides key information including how to foster a workplace culture that values and learns from complaints, how to recruit and train staff skilled in complaint handling and dispute resolution and how to fairly and thoroughly investigate complaints.

To complement the work of the Ombudsman, staff of Public sector Organizations should start delivering online training and supplying additional resources such as checklists and a model complaint handling policy to help the Organization establish complaints handling systems during the pandemic. 

Public authorities should establish internal complaint handling policies including:

*Providing clear and accessible information about complaints processes on websites.

*Ensuring an opportunity for complainants to comment before a complaint review is finalized;

*Providing clear reasons for decisions when communicating with complainants after the review or investigation of a complaint;

*Establishing adequate systems for documenting, tracking and reporting out on complaint outcomes;

*Regular management reviews of complaint trends as a way to identify and resolve systemic issues that precipitate complaints. 

These elements are important to have in place all the time when dealing with complaints but are even more critical during the pandemic. 

With the extra pressures people are experiencing, the public needs to know that their concerns will be carefully considered and addressed. 

The Public Complaints Commission, also known as the NIGERIAN OMBUDSMAN has been investigating complaints from members of the public for over 50 years. 

The office is independent from government and its services are free, impartial and confidential. The Ombudsman has oversight over more than 1,000 public agencies and accepts a wide range of complaints especially on administrative injustice and maladministration, both related to COVID-19 and other administrative fairness matters. 

To see the Complaints handling guide and make your Complaints, visit the Public Complaints Commission in your State. 

Marshall Israel, is a Federal Commissioner representing Rivers and Supervising Bayelsa State in the Public Complaints Commission. He writes from Portharcourt. 

28th March, 2021.