Feedback and Complaints
Policy statement and principles
We aim to give our best to everyone who is involved with Student Minds and we welcome all feedback from people who have used our services. Whether you are happy or unhappy about any aspect of our activity or work, we would like to hear about it. We know that listening to your views will help improve our work as an organisation.
We seek to deal with comments and complaints in a respectful, open, timely and responsible way within the constraints of our resources. In turn Student Minds expects people who make a complaint tto communicate their concerns fairly and appropriately.
All comments and complaints will be treated with confidentiality except when made in relation to projects or activities not directly supervised and supported by Student Minds. In such instances, the comment or complaint shall be shared with the relevant third party such as the named university contact.
Thank you for helping us to provide a better service.
We seek to deal with comments and complaints in a respectful, open, timely and responsible way within the constraints of our resources. In turn Student Minds expects people who make a complaint tto communicate their concerns fairly and appropriately.
All comments and complaints will be treated with confidentiality except when made in relation to projects or activities not directly supervised and supported by Student Minds. In such instances, the comment or complaint shall be shared with the relevant third party such as the named university contact.
Thank you for helping us to provide a better service.
What does this policy cover?
This policy covers feedback about Student Minds’ mission and values, strategies, policies, objectives, decisions, activities, governance, performance, use of resources, and the behaviour of, for example, our staff, volunteers, and board members.
This policy does not cover:
● Feedback from staff and board members. This is governed by our internal policies
● Feedback about products and services provided to Student Minds by third parties. Student Minds will refer the feedback to the third party who will act upon it according to its own policies
This policy does not cover:
● Feedback from staff and board members. This is governed by our internal policies
● Feedback about products and services provided to Student Minds by third parties. Student Minds will refer the feedback to the third party who will act upon it according to its own policies
How to give feedback
We encourage all feedback (comments, suggestions and complaints) in the first instance to be shared directly and informally with the individual(s) concerned. You can contact us in whichever way is most convenient to you: mail, phone, or email. Unless a response is requested, the Head of Operations shall have discretion as to whether Student Minds will respond. If a response is required, comments should be made in writing and a reply will be sent within 15 working days.
Please remember to give us your name, address and contact telephone number. Please be respectful of our staff and volunteers when you give your feedback. We will not respond to feedback that is abusive or offensive.
If you are dissatisfied with the response or it is unclear to whom the feedback should be addressed, or where the complaint is of a particularly serious nature and requires a formal response, please follow the complaints procedure outlined below.
Please remember to give us your name, address and contact telephone number. Please be respectful of our staff and volunteers when you give your feedback. We will not respond to feedback that is abusive or offensive.
If you are dissatisfied with the response or it is unclear to whom the feedback should be addressed, or where the complaint is of a particularly serious nature and requires a formal response, please follow the complaints procedure outlined below.
What happens after I submit my feedback?
Your feedback will be logged, and if you have requested a response we will aim to acknowledge your feedback within 15 working days. Your feedback will either be answered directly by the individual(s) concerned who may be able to resolve it with an explanation or apology, or passed to the staff team for response, as appropriate.
Complaints Procedure
We have a three-stage complaints process. We expect the stages to be followed in order, in other words we will only investigate a complaint under stage three of the process, if stage two has already been undertaken.
At any stage in the process, the outcome of the complaint may be confidential, for instance if it contains confidential information about staff members or people aged under 18 years old.
[Staff members should also review our internal process guide for clarification and support]
Stage 1:
In the first instance, you should address your complaint to an appropriate member of staff. If you are unsure of who this is you should contact [email protected] or ring 0113 343 8440 where we will direct your complaint on accordingly.
What information we need from you:
We will need:
● a clear, detailed description of what your complaint is about
● copies of any letters or emails related to the complaint
● your email address and phone number (so we can reply)
All written complaints will be logged. You will receive written acknowledgment within five working days. In our response, we will set out our understanding of the precise complaint. We will clarify if the complaint refers to any legal obligation or compliance to expected standards and respond accordingly. We aim to resolve complaints as quickly as possible, usually within twenty working days. Sometimes, we may need to investigate the circumstances surrounding your complaint to ensure we take any appropriate action. Where possible, we will contact you to explain that we are doing this.
When the investigation is complete we will contact you. Where possible, this reply shall include detail of the action to be taken to address this complaint and the time frame within which this shall be implemented.
We will do our best to ensure that any person making a complaint is satisfied with the way we handle it. However, if you are not happy with our response, or do not feel comfortable addressing the staff member directly involved, please initiate stage two of the process.
Stage 2:
Please get back in touch with us by writing to Student Minds’ Head of Operations, who will review your complaint and oversee the process. At this stage your complaint will also be shared with Student Minds’ CEO and where applicable the CEO will be the one who will make a final decision on the outcome.
We will aim to respond in writing within twenty working days. If there is any issue preventing us from replying within twenty working days, we will let you know and provide an alternative timeframe. For example, if a complaint is very complex or requires further breakdown, it may be necessary to extend the time limit to ensure we have all the information necessary to deal with it. At this stage we may appoint an external investigator, in which case the process may take longer as we identify and secure such an individual and provide them with enough time to complete a meaningful investigation.
Email: [email protected],
Telephone: 0113 343 8440
Address:
Head of Operations,
PO Box 157
Leeds University Union
Lifton Place
Leeds
LS2 9JZ
If for any reason you feel your complaint is still unresolved or you would like to appeal the decision made by the CEO then please initiate stage 3 of the process.
Stage 3:
Please forward your complaint to Student Minds’ CEO ([email protected]) along with a request to refer the complaint on to the Board of Trustees. The CEO will forward the complaint to the Chair of the Board and the complaint will be discussed at the next Trustee Meeting (meetings are held quarterly). For the avoidance of doubt, if the complaint concerns the conduct of any member of staff, including the CEO, those individuals will not be present for that part of the meeting.
After the Trustee Meeting, the Board of Trustees will contact you no less than 10 days later to communicate a summary of the complaint along with their response. If there is any issue preventing us from replying within 10 working days we will let you know and provide an alternative timeframe.
This is our final appeal process.
How does Student Minds learn from my feedback?
Student Minds keeps a written record of all comments or complaints made to the charity and the subsequent action taken, which is overseen by the Head of Operations.
All feedback is reviewed on a quarterly basis by the Management Team who monitor the implementation of this policy and procedure; analyse feedback patterns; foster wider organisational learning and, where appropriate, recommend organisational change.
All feedback is reviewed on a quarterly basis by the Management Team who monitor the implementation of this policy and procedure; analyse feedback patterns; foster wider organisational learning and, where appropriate, recommend organisational change.
