No manager or small business owner wants to be on the receiving end of an employee complaint, but having a complaint procedure in place serves an important purpose. By addressing employee complaints, you’ll make your workplace more comfortable and engaging for your employees and improve employee relations.
Let’s take a look at eight common employee complaints. By the end of this article, you’ll know how you can streamline and standardize your complaint process with HR automation.
What Is an Employee Complaint Process?
An employee complaint process or grievance procedure is a formal process by which an employee can submit a complaint to their manager or HR department. These can range from minor complaints about your lunch menu to serious allegations of misconduct, or workplace safety issues that call for a corrective action plan.
Depending on the nature of the complaint, the process might include an interview with the complainant, a workplace investigation, or employee disciplinary action.
Why You Need a Formal Complaint Procedure
Every complaint is different, but having a formal procedure in place helps you respond to complaints promptly and efficiently. Here are three key benefits of having a standardized procedure.
Employee retention
Handling employee complaints efficiently can help you reduce turnover by showing that you take workplace issues seriously and want to make your organization a better place to work. Unhappy employees are less likely to leave if they’re confident that they’ll be heard and that raising their concerns will make a difference.
HR compliance
Your human resources department is responsible for adhering to labor laws like those enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC.gov) and the U.S. Department of Labor. Failing to respond to employee complaints can open you up to legal liability if your employee escalates the issue with an outside authority.
Workplace productivity
Addressing employee complaints when they arise can increase workplace productivity by resolving issues before they impact employee morale and efficiency. Sometimes, a complaint might present a better way of doing things or a more efficient workflow that you wouldn’t have thought of if an employee hadn’t pointed it out.
8 Types of Complaints and How to Resolve Them
Some employee complaints are minor issues that can be resolved in a day, while others may take more time to achieve a successful resolution. Here are eight different types of complaints and what you can do about them.
1. Hostile work environment
According to EEOC.gov, a hostile work environment is one in which the complainant is subject to “severe or frequent” harassment or abuse. If one employee accuses another of workplace misconduct, this is a complaint that needs to be taken seriously.
2. Micromanagement
Although performance management has its place, micromanagement goes a step too far. Employees may file a complaint if they feel like their boss is always looking over their shoulder and they don’t have enough autonomy to do things their own way.
3. No work-life balance
Employees may complain about overwork if they’re frequently expected to work long hours or attend after-work functions. Providing a more flexible schedule or allowing employees to work from home can resolve this common employee complaint.
4. Unclear job description
Sometimes, an employee’s day-to-day responsibilities don’t match the job they signed up for. Review their job description to make sure that the tasks you assign them align with their qualifications and their agreed-upon salary. This will help you avoid scope creep and ensure that every team member is doing their fair share of the work.
5. Insufficient pay
An employee may raise concerns about their pay or employee benefits — especially if they find out another employee is getting paid more. Ensure that your pay package is fair and equitable and aligns with industry standards. It should also comply with the Equal Pay Act (EPA) and exceed the minimum wage in your state.
6. Bias or favoritism
Complaints about bias arise when an employee is treated differently due to their race, gender, or another protected characteristic, while favoritism can refer to any incident in which an employee prefers one employee over another. Use performance metrics to ensure that employees are rewarded or promoted based on measurable criteria.
7. Poor communication
Employees who feel out-of-the loop may file a complaint about a lack of transparency in the workplace. Avoid this complaint by keeping employees informed about issues that affect them and have an open-door policy so they can get their questions answered.
8. Data silos
Data silos occur when information is stored in disparate systems and can’t easily be shared between departments. Avoid data silos by digitizing processes and switching from legacy systems to a centralized, cloud-based platform like Pulpstream.
Best Practices for Handling Employee Complaints
Having a haphazard grievance process can lead to employee complaints being ignored or overlooked. Follow these best practices to resolve complaints well within any legal or practical time limits and meet your HR compliance obligations as an employer.
Provide a written complaint form
First, make sure employees know how to file a formal complaint and make it easy for them to do so — ideally, using a cloud-based human resource management platform. With Pulpstream’s self-service portal, employees can log in online to file a complaint and track its progress with automatic email or SMS notifications.
Follow a standardized investigation process
Some complaints may call for an investigation before you can make a determination as to whether action is required. Use an incident management platform like Pulpstream to track events, generate documents, and conduct a thorough investigation.
Our cloud-based tools allow you to upload and access evidence from any device, and use integrated reporting tools to monitor trends across your organization.
Maintain confidentiality
When an employee makes a complaint about a superior or another colleague, they may have concerns about harassment or retaliation. Keep the complainant’s identity private to every extent possible, and consider allowing for anonymous complaints.
If you take disciplinary action against an employee, give them a chance to respond to the complaint while keeping the complainant’s contact information confidential.
Take complaints seriously
Not all complaints rise to the level of workplace misconduct, but it’s important to respond to each complaint so the employee knows you took it seriously.
Pulpstream’s employee relations management platform ensures you get a 360-degree view of each case and has a built-in AI engine to provide recommendations, such as disciplinary action or a performance improvement plan.
Know your legal obligations
Ensure that your response to workplace incidents adheres to any applicable labor laws and reporting requirements. Depending on the nature of the complaint, employees may be entitled to a leave of absence under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) or reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Make documents available in English, Spanish, and any other relevant languages so employees know their rights and obligations.
Resolve Employee Complaints Faster with Pulpstream
Employee complaints may seem like a distraction from your day-to-day operations, but they’re a chance to gain valuable feedback from employees and make changes to your work environment or company policies. Some complaints, such as micromanagement, can be resolved with clear communication, while others may require you to conduct a workplace investigation or implement a corrective action plan.
Pulpstream’s employee relations tools help you streamline the complaint process and achieve a fast and satisfactory resolution. From workplace incidents and investigations to employee counseling, our cloud-based platform makes it easy to standardize HR processes and ensure that every employee has somewhere to turn.
Request a demo today and get started with HR automation!
