Item 3B – Tenants Complaints Process – Update Item 3B - Tenant Complaints Process Update Presentation TCHC Board Meeting – June 24, 2020 Tenants Complaints Process - Update Board of Directors - June 24, 2020
Item 3B - Tenant Complaints Process Update Presentation Background – Former Complaints Process • TCHC established a complaints policy as early as 2002 • Complaints were distinguished from disagreements over administrative decisions (such as rent calculations), subject to their own processes • The past policy escalated complaints along the management structure, ultimately ending with the CEO • Application of this policy appears to have been inconsistent and there is no evidence it resulted in a positive tenant experience • The decentralized nature of the policy made for poor data collection and uneven application of procedure 2020-06-17 Toronto Community Housing 2
Item 3B - Tenant Complaints Process Update Presentation Background – Ombudsman Involvement • As the Ombudsman points out, many tenants choose to escalate their complaints outside of the TCHC management structure, directly to the CEO, to her office, or to council • In late 2018 the Ombudsman’s office flagged concerns about the TCHC complaints process – with regards to both public awareness and the overall effectiveness of the process • As part of the restructuring plan of 2019 a new group, ‘Solutions’, was established to resolve tenant complaints based on a pilot that was run in 2018 • TCHC has posted an explanation of the complaints process and contact information for the Solutions team on its website • TCHC has also shared this process on posters and in social media 2020-06-17 Toronto Community Housing 3
Item 3B - Tenant Complaints Process Update Presentation New Process - Solutions • The Solutions process is based on a single-stage escalation model, managed by a centralized customer service function • Solutions’ mandate is to intake complaints about the poor, delayed, incomplete or otherwise unsatisfactory service from the call center or front-line staff • Solutions can be accessed by mail, email, phone, or through an online form • Complaints that are escalated directly to the CEO or COO will also be re-routed to Solutions • Solutions will respond to tenants in 24 hours with an initial contact and provide a written response to the complaint within seven business days • The Solutions team is also responsible for maintaining the complaints data set and for reporting complaints data internally once a week 2020-06-17 Toronto Community Housing 4
Item 3B - Tenant Complaints Process Update Presentation Next Steps • The new complaints process is not well known at this point. Internal and external communications are the priority for next steps • Internally, knowledge of the new process is being communicated through a staff training process that is concurrent to the rollout of TCHC’s Service Hub model • Non-essential external communications have been on hold since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. TCHC has created posters to publicize the new process that will rollout at an appropriate time in the near future 2020-06-17 Toronto Community Housing 5
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