Policy Name: Complaint Resolution Policy
Policy Number: GOV13-06
Policy Sponsors: Governance Committee
Approving Authority: ACHF Board of Directors
Enactment Date: November 21, 2013
Approval Date; September 26, 2024

Background

In all of our interactions with stakeholders, which includes donors, partners, volunteers, members of the community, and each other, we strive to provide an exceptional level of service that reflects the Foundation’s ICARE values of integrity, collaboration, authenticity, respect and excellence. Our employees are empowered to make decisions and take actions that support a positive stakeholder experience however, despite our best efforts, we might sometimes fall short of stakeholder expectations. This policy outlines our internal process for complaints and issue resolution with respect to Foundation business and employees.

For patient concerns or feedback about an experience at the Alberta Children’s Hospital, please see Alberta Health Services.

Purpose

As we strive for service excellence, this policy and procedure serves to create a transparent and fair process to promptly address complaints, concerns, and issues (“complaints”) received by the Foundation about our activities, programs, initiatives, service, staff or volunteers when they arise.

Definition

A complaint is a formal expression of dissatisfaction with the service, action or lack of action, policies, procedures, programs, or initiatives of the Foundation, our staff, or volunteers.

This could include our failure to follow through on an action we agreed to, a policy or procedure that we fail to observe, an error made by a staff member or volunteer, or disrespectful behaviour, actions, or comments made by a staff member of volunteer.

Principles

• Foundation employees can easily resolve most issues and concerns when they arise.
• Complaints provide information and feedback to improve Foundation policies, procedures, programs, or initiatives, as well as the overall stakeholder experience.
• The Foundation values stakeholder complaints and will take advantage of these opportunities to provide training or make changes to our policies and processes to ensure service excellence.
• Complaints will be responded to within 2 business days from the time received. When we are unable to resolve a complaint within 2 business days, we will provide an update within that time frame.
• Our review of complaints will be respectful, fair, impartial, and demonstrate our commitment to the protection of privacy.
• We will provide a resolution and supporting rationale that is clear and understandable.
• Stakeholders will have the option of speaking with the Executive lead for the relevant area, or with our CEO, if they are dissatisfied with the outcome.
• All Foundation staff and volunteers will have working knowledge and understanding of the complaint resolution process.

Procedure

While our employees are empowered to make decisions and take action to ensure service excellence or in the interest of service recovery, there will be circumstances where complaints remain unresolved. In such cases, the stakeholder may verbally request further information or submit a written report.

Any external stakeholder (such as donors, supporters, agencies and the public) who may have a concern or complaint related to Foundation business can submit a formal, written report using the following methods:

Email: customerfeedback@achf.com

Mail: Attention: Senior Director, Human Resources and Workplace Operations
Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation
28 Oki Drive NW
Calgary, Alberta T3B 6A8

Pursuant to the Foundation’s Safe Disclosure Policy, reports of suspected wrongdoing (which involves any unlawful or illegal behaviour by the Foundation, any of its employees, or where there is a concern about retribution, retaliation, or harassment) may be submitted anonymously and confidentially through our third party service provider, IntegrityCounts online, via email or by phone. Please note, concerns or feedback about a patient experience at the Alberta Children’s Hospital must be submitted directly to Alberta Health Services

Website: https://www.integritycounts.ca

Email: achf@integritycounts.ca

Phone: 1-866-921-6714

Further details on this process are provided in our Safe Disclosure Policy.

Process:

• Where appropriate, the employee will address and resolve a complaint received directly by them and provide a summary of the occurrence in the Feedback Tracking System;
• Should the employee be unable to resolve the complaint, they will seek assistance from their manager or Executive lead, working collaboratively to address and resolve the complaint;
• All complaints submitted through the email or mail addresses above will be received and reviewed by the Senior Director of Human Resources (“Senior Director”) who will determine the appropriate next steps based on the nature and sensitivity of the concern;
• The Senior Director or the appropriate Executive lead will work collaboratively to address and resolve the complaint and share the resolution with the stakeholder;
• Complaints that cannot be resolved by the Senior Director or appropriate Executive lead will be escalated to the CEO;
• Actions taken by the Foundation with respect to a specific complaint will depend on the nature of the situation.
• All complaints will be reported in the Feedback Tracking System by the person who resolves the issue;
• IntegrityCounts will maintain the full detail on complaints that are anonymous and confidential;
• On at least a quarterly basis, the Senior Manager, Donor Engagement will review entries in the Feedback Tracking System to determine whether there are frequently recurring complaints of a similar nature. A summary report will be provided to the Executive Team and CEO, along with recommendations to address any reoccurring issues;
• An annual report of the Feedback Tracking System will be provided to the Board as part of the Foundation’s Imagine Canada Standards Program Accreditation.