FEB 15 2019

Complaints and Professional Discipline

All Posts

Most professional organisations such as the New Zealand Law Society, and similar bodies for many other professions operate with some form of code of practice which incorporates complaint mechanisms and disciplinary procedures. The fact that such procedures exist means that many professionals will face some form of complaint over their practising careers. Very recently I came across a most useful practical guide for handling such complaints by the person who is the subject of the complaint. The link to the report, "Being Complained about: Good Practice Principles and Guidelines" is https://ukaji.org/2019/02/13/b...  and written by Chris Gill and Carolyn Hirst. I commend the report to anyone who is the subject of a complaint so that they may understand the best way to respond. A proud professional person will often respond with anger at being the subject of a complaint, which they feel is an attack on their competence and ability. The authors note that dealing with such complaints can often result in severe stress, anxiety and reduce job performance. The complaint may or may not be justified but there are better ways of dealing with the responses which can assist both the subject of the complaint and the complainant. They emphasise the need for an approach of fairness, transparency, confidentiality and efficiency, which is the recommended approach from the International Ombudsman Association in dealing with good complaint handling. I have previously written about early intervention in this context and in particular the use of restorative practice. Early intervention will often mean some form of mediation, and from time to time I have worked as a mediator in the space. Some features which Chris Gill and Carolyn Hirst emphasise are certainly important from my experience, and in particular the need to be efficient in dealing with the dispute so that both the complainant and the subject of the complaint can get the issue resolved quickly. There is nothing worse than an old complaint festering away, causing stress to both parties. So early intervention and the ombuds model of complaint handling can be very useful tools.

Most professional organisations such as the New Zealand Law Society, and similar bodies for many other professions operate with some form of code of practice which incorporates complaint mechanisms and disciplinary procedures. The fact that such procedures exist means that many professionals will face some form of complaint over their practising careers. Very recently I came across a most useful practical guide for handling such complaints by the person who is the subject of the complaint. The link to the report, "Being Complained about: Good Practice Principles and Guidelines" is https://ukaji.org/2019/02/13/b...  and written by Chris Gill and Carolyn Hirst. I commend the report to anyone who is the subject of a complaint so that they may understand the best way to respond. A proud professional person will often respond with anger at being the subject of a complaint, which they feel is an attack on their competence and ability. The authors note that dealing with such complaints can often result in severe stress, anxiety and reduce job performance. The complaint may or may not be justified but there are better ways of dealing with the responses which can assist both the subject of the complaint and the complainant. They emphasise the need for an approach of fairness, transparency, confidentiality and efficiency, which is the recommended approach from the International Ombudsman Association in dealing with good complaint handling. I have previously written about early intervention in this context and in particular the use of restorative practice. Early intervention will often mean some form of mediation, and from time to time I have worked as a mediator in the space. Some features which Chris Gill and Carolyn Hirst emphasise are certainly important from my experience, and in particular the need to be efficient in dealing with the dispute so that both the complainant and the subject of the complaint can get the issue resolved quickly. There is nothing worse than an old complaint festering away, causing stress to both parties. So early intervention and the ombuds model of complaint handling can be very useful tools.