Why organisations should embrace complaints, not fear them
Most organisations say they want fewer complaints.
Fewer emails, fewer calls, fewer difficult conversations. On the surface, that feels like success.
But fewer recorded complaints does not always mean a better service. Quite often, it means the opposite.
Complaints are a form of organisational data. Not neat or comfortable, but deeply informative. When complaints are recorded accurately and consistently, they reveal trends and patterns early, often long before issues escalate into service failure, reputational harm or regulatory intervention.
The difficulty is that many organisations do not truly treat complaints as intelligence.
When low complaint numbers are not a positive sign
Under-recording complaints is common. Usually, it is not deliberate. It happens when organisations do not have a shared understanding of what a complaint actually is.
A complaint does not need to be formal, written or labelled as such. It might be:
- repeated expressions of dissatisfaction
- a customer chasing the same issue multiple times
- a resident questioning fairness or decision-making
When these interactions are handled informally or resolved without being logged, valuable insight is lost.
Low complaint volumes can sometimes indicate deeper issues, including:
- lack of trust that raising concerns will lead to change
- complaints processes that feel inaccessible or overly complex
- too many stages, unclear outcomes or inconsistent responses
- a belief that complaining is pointless
None of these reflect a healthy complaints culture.
Complaints as early warning indicators
When complaints data is recorded properly, it becomes an early warning system. It highlights pressure points in services, gaps in communication, and disconnects between policy and customer experience.
The real value lies in patterns, not individual cases. One complaint may be an anomaly. Multiple similar complaints point to a systemic issue that needs attention.
This only works when staff feel confident to record concerns honestly and consistently, without fear of criticism.
Leadership, culture and confidence
The way an organisation views complaints is shaped from the top. Executives and Boards set the tone for whether complaints are seen as learning opportunities or as failures to be avoided.
Where complaints are discussed defensively or treated as a reflection of individual performance, staff will naturally filter what they record. Where learning, curiosity and improvement are prioritised, reporting becomes more accurate.
A culture of learning does not mean avoiding accountability. It means asking better questions.
“What can we learn from this?” rather than “who is responsible?”
When that culture exists, front line staff are far more likely to record all complaints, including the small ones. Often, it is the small ones that tell you the most.
Why embracing complaints leads to better outcomes
Organisations that embrace complaints tend to improve more sustainably. Not because they have more problems, but because they are willing to see them early.
Complaints are feedback offered at a moment when someone still cares enough to speak up.
The real risk is not having too many complaints.
It is having too few, and not understanding why.
How I support organisations to learn from complaints
This is the work I focus on through The Outcome Practice.
I support public-facing organisations to:
- strengthen complaint recording and classification
- analyse complaint data to identify trends and root causes
- review complaints processes for accessibility and proportionality
- build learning-focused cultures that move beyond blame
The aim is not simply to handle complaints well, but to use them to improve services, reduce repeat issues and build trust with customers and service users.
If you would like to explore how your organisation is recording, learning from or responding to complaints, I am always happy to have an initial conversation, or you can take a look at my policy services.